evidence: Despite having UNESCO World Heritage sites, no Indian city was recognized as a World Heritage City by UNESCO until the walled city of Ahmedabad was declared India’s first UNESCO World Heritage city on Saturday night (IST), July 8. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the declaration of 600-year-old Ahmedabad as a world heritage city by UNESCO as "a matter of immense joy for India." [...] Located on the eastern banks of the Sabarmati River, India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City Ahmedabad was a thriving center of trade during the regime of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Ahmedabad was where the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan spent the prime period of his life, commissioning the construction of Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. From the Sultanate period till the independence of India, Ahmedabad witnessed the rise and fall of several dynasties including the Mughal, the Maratha, and the British. It was the provincial headquarters of the Mughal Empire until the Maratha power took control of it. Ahmedabad became home to a thriving textile industry during the British Raj in India. Since then, India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City has been nicknamed "Manchester of the East."