4 min readSuratMar 11, 2026 12:01 AM IST
The 17th-century Mughal Sarai building, which houses offices of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), will now be called Tapi Bhavan, while Muglisara, the area where it is located, will be renamed Tapipura. The decision was taken on Tuesday by the BJP-ruled civic body during the last general board meeting before the end of the elected body’s term ahead of the upcoming urban local body elections.
The renaming proposal was tabled by Mayor Daxesh Mavani in the general board — the highest decision-making body of the municipal corporation — and was cleared by a majority.
In 2018, BJP corporator Vijay Chaumal had sent a request to then mayor Dr Jagdish Patel to change the name of Mughal Sarai to Tapi Bhavan or Suryapur Bhavan, the latter being the ancient name of Surat.
After the decision, Chaumal told The Indian Express, “I am very happy as, after six long years, my dream to rename Mughal Sarai has come true.”
Sarai described as ‘heaven’
According to the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) website, Mughal Sarai was a travellers’ inn built during the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1644 A.D. by Eshak Beg Yazdi, a chief guard of the family of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Shah Jahan.
In the 18th century, the British used the building as a jail. Since 1867, the building has been occupied by the present municipal corporation.
The inscriptions in Arabic on marble stones that describe the history of the sarai are now preserved at the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai (now the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya), according to the SMC website.
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“According to these inscriptions, although the building was constructed as a sarai during the rule of Emperor Shah Jahan in the name of Almighty Allah, it was believed to be a ‘heaven’ during those days,” the SMC website states.
The Mughal Sarai was built to accommodate pilgrims travelling by sea from different parts of India to Mecca and Medina. Instructions regarding the use of the sarai stated that no rent would be charged from scholars and pilgrims travelling to Mecca and Medina. Rent collected from other travellers was to be used for the maintenance and administrative expenses of the building, with the remaining amount allocated for donations. Soldiers were prohibited from occupying the sarai.
The building has a central courtyard open to the sky, with an ornate fountain surrounded by small rooms with arched entrances that originally served as lodging spaces and are now occupied by offices.
After the name change was announced and approved, Mayor Mavani, along with BJP corporators, came out to the main gate of Mughal Sarai, distributing sweets and bursting firecrackers.
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Mavani said, “The Tapi River has importance in the Hindu religion. There was a demand from local people and even elected corporators to change the name of Mughal Sarai. We submitted this proposal to the Standing Committee on Monday, and on Tuesday it was brought before the SMC general board meeting. It was approved by all the municipal corporators. We have also changed the name of the area Muglisara to Tapipura, which was also approved by the corporators.”
An SMC release citing mythology said, “The Tapi River is considered the daughter of the Sun and the sister of Shani Dev, and is therefore revered as Tapi Mata. The city’s industrial growth has attracted people from different parts of the country to settle in Surat, and this development has historically depended on the Tapi River.”
