Suvali Beach
urban beach along the Arabian Sea situated near the village of Suvali in the Hazira suburb of Surat
Suvali Beach was previously known as Suwally, Swally (anglicised version of Suvali), Swalley-Road, or Swally Beach. Suvali Beach is an urban beach along the Arabian Sea situated near the village of Suvali in the Hazira suburb of Surat in Gujarat State, India. The black sand beach lies 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the centre of Surat and is the cleanest beach in India.
History
Suvali Beach was the gateway from where the East India Company made inroads into India. In 1612, Captain Thomas Best encountered and defeated the Portuguese at the Battle of Swally. Suvali Beach is also known as the birthplace of the modern Indian Navy.
The public source identifies “Suvali Beach” as urban beach along the Arabian Sea situated near the village of Suvali in the Hazira suburb of Surat. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Suvali, Beach and urban.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Suvali Beach”, the useful work is to connect “urban beach along the Arabian Sea situated near the village of Suvali in the Hazira suburb of Surat” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q28153930. Authority coordinates are 21.162, 72.641. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1612.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Suvali Beach”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Suvali Beach primary sources, Suvali Beach archive and Suvali research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Suvali Beach”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Suvali Beach” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.