San Francisco Frontiers - India's Ahmedabad: ancient city with sporting dreams, dark history

The event is widely seen as a stepping stone towards India's ambition to host the 2036 Olympics.

The city of more than seven million people is the economic and political heart of Gujarat state, a stronghold of the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Summer temperatures routinely push past 50C, yet Ahmedabad is one of India's most dynamic urban centres, home to major industries, political heavyweights and expanding infrastructure.

- Sporting dreams -

India says that the 2030 Commonwealth Games will be a "full-fledged" multisport event, including disciplines it hopes to push into the Olympic programme, such as tag team sports kabaddi and kho kho.

Despite its population of 1.4 billion people, India has won only 10 Olympic gold medals in its history.

Beyond cricket -- which returns at the 2028 Los Angeles Games -- its strongest sports traditionally include hockey and wrestling.

"The 2030 Games will also reinforce India's long-term ambition to become a global sporting hub," the sports and youth ministry said in a statement.

- Power base -

Ahmedabad is a political and economic powerhouse -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat's chief minister from 2001 to 2014.

His close ally and fellow Gujarati, Home Minister Amit Shah, welcomed the Games announcement as "a day of immense joy and pride".

Shah's son, International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah, called the decision a "momentous occasion for Indian sports".

The city is home to the Adani Group, the ports-to-power conglomerate led by tycoon Gautam Adani, a longtime associate of Modi, and sponsor of India's team at the Paris Olympics.

Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, also has deep roots in Gujarat. His Reliance Group operates the world's largest oil refining complex in the state, as well as a privately run mega-zoo billed as the biggest "wild animal rescue centre".

- Gandhi's home -

Ahmedabad's old walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserves its 15th century winding lanes, massive gateways and intricately carved wooden homes.

At the heart stands the imposing Bhadra Fort, along with centuries-old mosques, Hindu temples and stepwells -- a stair-lined water reservoir.

Nearby is Sabarmati Ashram, one of India's most important heritage sites as Mahatma Gandhi's residence during the independence movement.

It was from here that he launched the 1930 Salt March, a defining moment in the struggle against British rule.

- Giant infrastructure -

The city already boasts the world's largest-capacity cricket stadium, the 130,000-seat arena named after Modi.

It hosted the 50-over 2023 Cricket World Cup final and is a key venue for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

The stadium complex, which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool, has also been the stage for high-profile political events.

These included a 2020 rally for US President Donald Trump and a 2023 spectacle in which Modi circled the ground in a golden chariot alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

India's previous hosting of the Commonwealth Games, in New Delhi in 2010, was marred by delays and corruption allegations.

This time, the government hopes to project an image of a modern, fast-growing nation on track to become the world's fourth-largest economy.

Massive investments in roads, metro lines and sports facilities are planned to reshape the city.

- Dark history -

Ahmedabad was the epicentre of religious riots in 2002 that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, and drew international condemnation.

Modi, then Gujarat's chief minister, faced accusations that he failed to stop the violence, but India's top court said there was no evidence to support that.

More recently, the city was shaken by the June 12 Air India crash in which 241 people on a London-bound flight and 19 people on the ground were killed. One passenger survived.

B.Turner--SFF