SURAT, Gujarat

Main Attraction: SURAT CASTLE

In 1540, Sultan Mahmud III had this castle built with extra strength for protection against Portugese raids. The castle contains huge towers which are round in shape with a height of 12.2 meter. The walls of the tower are very wide with approximately 4.1 meter width. In order to ensure high strength for the building, the component units were fastened together using iron strips. The various joints around the caste were filled using melted lead to provide additional strength to sustain terrific attacks by the enemies. The most striking attraction of the castle is the gateway which opens towards the east direction and contained several projecting spikes on its door to stop the entrance of enemies. The castle was also provided with a moat which was connected to the river and the moat always had water in it. The access to the castle was through a drawbridge which could be closed when required thus restricting the enemies from getting access to the castle.

As per the historical evidences, Surat city has never been attacked by Portuguese after the construction of the Castle. The castle is presently a prime location for various government offices.

Brief History

The intervening region of Gujarat, including the present Surat District must have been under the Mauryas at the time of Ashoka (B.C. 273-236). As Ashoka is not credited with any conquests in Western India, it is likely that the whole of the Surat district, along with other parts of Gujarat might have been conquered by Chandragupta Maurya. This is corroborated by the inscription of Rudradaman at Girnar. The Mauryan power established by Chandragupta continued atleast up to the death of Ashoka. The history after Ashoka period is confused and it is difficult to find out the successors of Maurya till the Muslims finally conquered Gujarat in 1299 A.D. The settlement of Parsis at Sanjan also took place during this period. According to a poetic account known as Kissehi Sanjan, the Parsis who had left Persia came to Diu and stayed there for nineteen years. They again landed near Sanjan in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Jadirana, apparently a Yadav chief of South Gujarat, gave the permission to settle there on their agreeing to learn the language of the country, to make their women dress like Hindu women, to cease to wear arms and to hold their marriages at night. Surat, the headquarters of Surat district is believed to have been founded by Gopi, a Nagar Brahmin who rose to be the Prime Minister in the Sultanate of Gujarat under Mahmud I and Muzzffer II.

The castle of Surat was built in 1546 during the reign of Sultan Mahmud III to protect the city from the onslaught of the Portugese who had plundered it thrice before. Surat then fell into the hands of Emperor Akbar in 1573. The district and the city of Surat in particular enjoyed peace during the reign of Mogul emperors, viz. Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan for the next eighty five years, Surat which rose to be one of the first cities of India during the reign of Shahjahan; and though seized twice by Shivaji during the reign of Aurangzeb, the morale of its traders as well as its trade remained unaffected. Surat had its mint and coins which were current in South Gujarat till 1688. The British opened their factory at Surat in 1613 and the Dutch in 1620. After the death of Aurangzeb, it suffered from increasing disorders and the Governors of Surat were Subject to the court of Delhi in name only. The French also had established a factory at Surat in 1719 but with the ascendant of the English at Surat and their victories over the French in Southern India, deprived the factory of its importance in the history of Surat. Governor Sorabkhan ultimately styled himself as the Nawab of Surat in 1725 and became independent. Surat was then ruled by independent Governors till the English captured the city. The Governors of Surat who were then appointed by the English held to some extent a position of nominal indepedence till 1800 when the whole administration was taken over by the English.

During 1772, Surat was considered as one of the greatest emporiums of trade in India after which it had a time of decline in its fortunes as its foreign trade had practically been transferred to Bombay. After the British, the masters of the district, a Muslim named Abdul Rehman tried to break public peace in 1810 but he was successfully curbed down by the Britishers. They had to face the opposition of the people thrice, when they tried to introduce in the district the duty on salt in 1884, Bengal Standard Weights and Measures in 1848 and income tax in 1860. The people of Surat again protested when the Licence tax was introduced in 1878 and a riot had eventually broken out on the occasion. The district had formed a part of the Bombay Presidency and was administered as such till 1947. Surat had also suffered from a very severe flood in 1883 and a great fire in 1889. The Hope Bridge across the Tapi was also constructed in 1877 at a cost of Rs. 8.13 lakhs. The holdings of historic 23rd session of the Indian National Congress in Surat in 1907, the Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, the momentous Dandi March undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 are the landmarks in the history of the district. After the Independence, the territories of Dharampur and Bansada States and the Navsari prant of the former Baroda State were amalgamated with it to form the Surat district of the Bombay State.

In November 1956, the States were reorganized and the bigger bilingual State of Bombay was formed with Vidarbha, Marathawada, Saurashtra and Kachchh regions. The Surat district along with the other districts of Ahmadabad Division formed part of the bigger bilingual State. Lastly, the Bombay State was bifurcated on 1st May 1960 and separate States of Gujarat and Maharashtra were formed. Since that date, the Surat district became a part of the Gujarat State.