Surat is a city on the western coast of India, situated in the southern part of the state of Gujarat. It lies on the banks of the river Tapi, near its mouth on the Arabian Sea, and serves as the administrative headquarters of Surat district. Historically known as a major port of the Mughal Empire, Surat is today one of India's largest urban centres, recognised for its diamond cutting and polishing industry and its textile manufacturing base.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Surat |
| River | Tapi (Tapti) |
| Civic body | Surat Municipal Corporation |
| Languages | Gujarati, Hindi, English |
| Known for | Diamond industry, textiles, historic port |
Surat is located in southern Gujarat on the lower course of the Tapi river, approximately 25 kilometres upstream from the river's mouth on the Gulf of Khambhat. The terrain around the city is part of the alluvial plain of the Tapi basin. The climate is tropical with a hot summer, a monsoon season influenced by the south-west monsoon, and a mild winter.
Surat developed as a port settlement on the Tapi during the medieval period and rose to prominence under the Mughal Empire. By the seventeenth century it had become one of the most important ports of western India, handling pilgrim traffic to Mecca as well as overseas trade with West Asia, East Africa and Europe.
The English East India Company established a trading factory at Surat in 1612 after the Battle of Swally, in which English ships defeated a Portuguese fleet off the Surat coast. The Dutch and the French also set up factories in the city. Surat served as the principal English settlement on the western coast until commercial activity gradually shifted to Bombay in the later seventeenth century.
The city was sacked by Shivaji in 1664 and again in 1670, events that significantly affected its commercial standing. Surat later came under direct British administration in the late eighteenth century and was incorporated into the Bombay Presidency.
After Indian independence in 1947, Surat became part of the State of Bombay, and from 1960 it has been part of the newly formed state of Gujarat. From the late twentieth century onward the city expanded rapidly, driven by migration and the growth of the textile and diamond industries.
Surat is one of India's leading industrial cities. Its economy is built on several major sectors:
Municipal governance is carried out by the Surat Municipal Corporation, which administers the city's services including water supply, sanitation, roads and primary health care. The Surat Urban Development Authority oversees planning for the wider metropolitan area. The city is divided into administrative zones for ease of governance.
Surat hosts several institutions of higher education, including Veer Narmad South Gujarat University and the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), one of the National Institutes of Technology. Numerous engineering, medical and management colleges are affiliated to the regional university.
Surat has a long-standing mercantile and multicultural character shaped by centuries of maritime trade. The local Gujarati cuisine is well known for snacks such as locho, undhiyu, ghari and surti khaman. Festivals widely celebrated include Navratri, Diwali, Uttarayan (kite festival), Eid and Christmas. Historic landmarks include the Old Fort (Surat Castle) on the Tapi, Dutch and English cemeteries from the colonial period, and several heritage havelis in the inner city.
Surat's importance lies in its dual role as a historic port that connected India to global trade networks and as a contemporary industrial metropolis. Its diamond and textile industries make it central to India's export economy, while its urban growth has made it one of the most populous cities in Gujarat and in India.