The future of Ahmedabad should not be imitation, but a wiser version of ourselves: Abhay Mangaldas

Ahmedabad has always balanced memory and momentum. My concern today is the quality of growth. Rising AQI, shrinking lakes, mounting garbage and disappearing neighbourhoods suggest speed without calibration. Development must be measured not just in infrastructure, but in breathable air, living water bodies, and cohesive communities. Growth without ecological balance weakens identity.

Mahatma Gandhi stood for ethical courage, Vikram Sarabhai for scientific imagination. We still reflect experimentation, especially in enterprise. The question is whether growth remains ethical — environmentally responsible, inclusive, and socially engaged. Ethics today must include clean air, sustainable planning, and equitable urban design.

Heritage is not just carved façades — it is neighbourhood life, trust networks and shared spaces. When cities are designed primarily for cars rather than people, walkability shrinks and community weakens. Conservation must protect living patterns, not just buildings.

Two questions that Ahmedabad must have right now: Are we building for people or for vehicles? And are we trying to become someone else? Singapore is efficient, but Ahmedabad has a different history and social fabric. Our strength lies in creating indigenous models rooted in our ecology, climate and culture.

Ultimately, everything comes back to education. If we do not instil a clear sense of identity in the youth of Ahmedabad — an understanding of who they are and where they come from — they will naturally borrow aspirations from elsewhere. Without rooted confidence, cities imitate. With grounded education, they innovate.

Ahmedabad’s future will depend less on infrastructure and more on whether its young citizens are secure enough in their own inheritance to imagine a future that is distinctly their own. The future should not be imitation — it should be a wiser version of ourselves.