ABSTRACT

Gira Sarabhai was born in a very wealthy, industrialist family in the city of Ahmedabad. She had an exceptionally privileged and progressive upbringing. Her family established the Calico Mills in 1880, one of Ahmedabad’s earliest and most prominent textile mills. Under the stewardship of Sarabhai’s father Ambalal Sarabhai, it became a modern and path-breaking production unit, manufacturing cotton textiles during the first half of the 20th century. Her family was a long-time supporter of Gandhi and his struggle for independence.