In the year 1496, a Hindu trader called Mallik Gopi settled in Surat. According to the Portuguese chronicles, he was considered the governor of Surat but could not prevent the city from being looted at least seven times.

In 1861, Zafarali Mills took the plunge in the field of textiles....

In the year 1496, a Hindu trader called Mallik Gopi settled in Surat. According to the Portuguese chronicles, he was considered the governor of Surat but could not prevent the city from being looted at least seven times.

In 1861, Zafarali Mills took the plunge in the field of textiles. Nowadays, Surat is the main textile market of India and it has grown tremendously, not in the least because of establishments of several multinational companies in the field of petrochemicals, steel and cement. is also famous for its 'Ghari's' (a type of a sweet).

Surat will probaly never forget the donation of Sir Ferdunji Sorabji Parekh to the Government of Surat. Sir Parekh donated about five million Rs in the year 1915, i.e. with a value of about 2500 million Rs these days. The fund was raised for the development of educational and cultural activites in Surat.

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