Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to face in Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now the commercial and economic centre of South Gujarat, and one of the largest urban areas of western India. It has well-established diamond and textile industry, and is a major supply centre for apparels and accessories. About 90% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. It is the second largest city in Gujarat after Ahmedabad and the eighth largest city by population and ninth largest urban agglomeration in India. It is the administrative capital of the Surat district.
The city is located south of the state capital, Gandhinagar; south of Ahmedabad; and north of Mumbai. The city centre is located on the Tapti River, close to the Arabian Sea.
Surat will be the world's fastest-growing city from 2019 to 2035, according to a study conducted by The Economic Times. The city registered an annualised GDP growth rate of 11.5% over the seven fiscal years between 2001 and 2008. Surat was awarded "best city" by the Annual Survey of India's City-Systems in 2013. Surat has been selected as the first smart IT city in India which is being constituted by the Microsoft CityNext Initiative tied up with IT services majors Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. The city has 2.97 million internet users, about 65% of total population. Surat was selected in 2015 for an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant. Surat has been selected as one of twenty Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission. Surat is also home to the world's largest office building by floor area, the Surat Diamond Bourse.
Surat is listed as the second cleanest city of India as of 21 August 2020 according to the Swachh Survekshan 2020 on 20 August. It suffered a major pipeline fire which caused some damage. In the 2021 edition of the same survey, it slipped to 12th place and further dropped to 25th in 2023. Despite these recent fluctuations, Surat continues to implement various cleanliness initiatives and shared the title of the cleanest city in India with Indore in the .
History
Etymology
The traditional account is that Surat was built up by a wealthy Hindu merchant named Gopi around the year 1500. At first, the town had no name and was simply called "the new place". Gopi consulted with astrologers, who suggested the name "Suraj", or "Suryapur", or "city of the sun". Gopi sent a request to the unnamed king of Gujarat for this to be the new town's name. The Muslim king altered it to Surat after the word surah, which is the name of the chapters of the Qur'an. However, the names Suryapur and Surat are both mentioned in sources before 1500, so both the name and the town predate Gopi's time.Duarte Barbosa described Surat as Suratt. Jacob Peeters referred to Surat as Sourratte which is a Dutch name. There are many other names of Surat in history. Surat is referred to as Surrat, Surate or Soorat in some literature.
Surat before the Mughal Empire
Before the rise of Surat in the 1500s, the nearby town of Rander was the main commercial centre in the area. Rander had a prominent Arab merchant community involved in overseas trade with regions such as Burma, China, Malaya, and Sumatra. In the 1500s, Rander declined due to Portuguese raids. Surat became an important port city around the same time, and some of Rander's merchant population likely moved to Surat for economic opportunity.Early references to Surat appear by the 10th century, but they shed little light on what type of settlement it was. As Suryapur, it is mentioned along with Bharuch as a place where an army from Anhilwara passed through in 990 en route to attack the ruler of Lata. Suryapur may also be the port called "Surabaya" mentioned by the 10th-century Arabic geographer Istakhri as being four days south of Khambhat and five days north of Sanjan. Other Arabic authors spelled the name as "Subara" or "Sufara". The identification of this place with Surat, though, is uncertain, and in any case these early mentions of Suryapur or Surabaya do not indicate whether it was a sizeable town or just a small hamlet.
Another early mention of Surat is in the 1190s, after Qutb ud-Din Aibak, then a general of Muhammad Ghuri, defeated the Chaulukya king Bhima II in battle. According to the local histories of Bakshi Mian Walad Shah Ahmad and Munshi Ghulam Mohi ud-Din, Aibak went as far south as Rander and Surat. Surat was then ruled by a Hindu chief based at nearby Kamrej. This ruler initially tried to take refuge in a garden at Surat, but then decided that he had no chance of resisting Aibak's forces and offered his submission. Aibak, in turn, confirmed him as ruler of Kamrej.
From 1297, Gujarat was gradually conquered by Allauddin Khilji, the ruler of the principal state in north India at the time, the Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate appointed Governors to control Gujarat, but this had to be forcefully imposed, notably in 1347, when Muhammad bin Tughluq sacked Surat, among other cities. Firoz Shah Tughlaq later built a fort at Surat in 1373. According to Bakshi Mian's account, when Zafar Khan was appointed governor of Gujarat in 1391, he appointed his son Masti Khan to govern Rander and Surat, but Bakshi Mian adds that Surat was not very populous at this point.
As control from the Delhi Sultanate waned at the end of the 14th century, pressure grew for an independent Gujarat, culminating in Zafar Khan declaring independence in 1407. Surat was controlled directly by the nobles of the Rajput kingdom of Baglana who fell either under the Gujarat Sultans or the Deccan sultanates. However, following the fall of the Gujarat Sultanate in 1538 it was controlled by more local nobles starting with Chengiz Khan who enjoyed absolute authority over Surat, Broach, Baroda and Champaner. However, in 1637, Aurangzeb fully annexed Baglana into the Mughal Empire.
In 1514, the Portuguese traveler Duarte Barbosa described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. By 1520, the name of the city had become Surat. It was burned by the Portuguese, conquered by the Mughals and was twice raided by the Maratha king Shivaji. Mughal Emperor Akbar placed major importance on Gujarat and successfully obtained numerous towns in Gujarat. The Mughals were able to conquer Surat due to his campaigns against Gujarat during his rule. In the 1570s, he launched two major campaigns against Gujarat—one of a much longer duration and one much shorter. The fall of Surat occurred during the former campaign and lasted one month and seventeen days. Akbar implemented large military power during these conquests, fighting many battles. Notably, the conquest of Surat was an important catalyst for overseas trade during the rule of the Mughal Empire as it became the most important port city of that reign and evolved into a bustling trading hub.
During the Mughal Empire
It was the most prosperous port in the Mughal empire. Despite being a rich city, Surat looked like a typical "grubby" trader's town with mud-and-bamboo tenements and crooked streets, although along the riverfront there were a few mansions and warehouses belonging to local merchant princes and the establishments of Turkish, Armenian, English, French and Dutch traders. There were also hospitals for cows, horses, flies and insects run by religious Jains, which puzzled travelers. Some streets were narrow while others were of sufficient width. In the evening, especially near the Bazaar, the streets became crowded with people and merchants selling their goods. Surat was a populous city during the Mughal era but also had a large transient population: during the monsoon season, when ships could come and go from the ports without danger, the city's population would swell. In 1612, England established its first Indian trading factory in Surat. The city was looted twice by the Maratha king Shivaji, with the first sacking occurring in 1664. Shivaji's raids scared trade away and caused ruin to the city.Later, Surat became the emporium of India, exporting gold and cloth. Its major industries were shipbuilding and textile manufacture. The coast of the Tapti River, from Athwalines to Dumas, was specially meant for shipbuilders, who were usually Rassis. The city continued to be prosperous until the rise of Bombay. Afterward, Surat's shipbuilding industry declined and Surat itself gradually declined throughout the 18th century. During 1790–1791, an epidemic killed 100,000 Gujaratis in Surat. The British and Dutch both claimed control of the city, but in 1800, the British took control of Surat. A fire in 1837 resulted in more than 500 deaths and the destruction of much of the city.
By the middle of the 19th century, Surat had become a stagnant city with about 80,000 inhabitants. When India's railways opened, the city started becoming prosperous again. Silks, cotton, brocades, and objects of gold and silver from Surat became famous and the ancient art of manufacturing fine muslin was revived.
Surat under British Raj
Under British Raj, Surat saw a period of decline from its success under the Mughal Empire. Though it remained a pivotal city for textile-based products, it was less important to the British as a port city than it was for the Mughals. Nevertheless, Surat was very interconnected with Asia and Europe, involving trade with both Europeans and Armenian merchants.Tactically, Surat involved itself in trade in fields that did not compete with existing European products, such as pearls and silver. The textile industry was also a large portion of Surat's shipping success. But despite being a primary port for textiles, Surat rarely manufactured these textiles locally. Bullion was also quite important to Surat's economy during this time. During his first-hand experience on a trip to Surat, English priest John Ovington recalls the great ores Surat possessed, such as gold and silver. He recollects the notable "abundance of Pearls" and other precious stones like diamonds that could "be purchas'd here at very reasonable rates." As Ovington observed, this industry was imperative to Surat's prosperity under the British Raj and allowed it to maintain its relevance as a port city.
During the Quit India Movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1942, A large number of 3,000 Koli cultivators from Matwad, Karadi, Machhad and Kothmadi in Surat District fought against the Indian Imperial Police at Matwad with lathis and dharias on 21 August 1942. In this fight, four persons including one policeman died. The kolis also snatched away four police rifles and two bayonets. Kolis smashed up the Jalalpore Railway Station, removed the Rails and burnt down the post office. After this, situation in the neighbouring towns of Borsad, Anand and Thasra taluqas became so tense that troops were marched through the villages between 22 and 24 August 1942 to restore order.