nd set up the Surat Synagogue and Cemetery here. The Synagogue is now demolished but the cemetery still is on the Katargam-Amroli main Road. The Jewish community had a very strong business mind and well educated community at that time. After a few years they moved to Mumbai, Kolkata and Pune and have contributed many things to India.
The city and the surrounding district remained comparatively tranquil during British rule. Even during the Revolt of 1857 (also known as the first struggle for India's independence), peace was not disturbed, owing to the largely mercantile interests of the local population. In the 19th century the Bawamia family was the wealthiest and most powerful family in the city of Surat, they were also heavily involved in the development of the city by focusing on maximising exports to increase revenue and hence increase savings which led to investment in the diamond industry.
A fire and a flood in 1837 destroyed many of the buildings of Surat. Among the interesting monuments that survived that destruction are the tombs of English and Dutch merchants and their families, dating to the 17th century, including those of the Oxenden brothers.
By the early 20th century, the population had slowly climbed to 119,306 and Surat was a center of trade and manufacturing, although some of its former industries, such as shipbuilding, were extinct. There were cotton mills, factories for ginning and pressing cotton, rice-cleaning mills and paper mills. Fine cotton goods were woven on hand-looms, and there were special manufactures of silk brocade and gold embroidery (known as Jari). The chief trades were organised in guilds. Manufacturing and trading brought an eclectic mix of ethnicity to the city, making Surat's culture unique.
In 1992, violent riots took place between Hindus and Muslims, the first and worst of their kind in the modern history of Surat. In 1994, a combination of heavy rains and blocked drains led to flooding of the
