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Suket State

Coordinates: 31°32′N 76°53′E / 31.53°N 76.88°E / 31.53; 76.88
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Kingdom of Suket
765–1948
Flag of Suket
Flag
Coat of arms of Suket
Coat of arms

Detail of the territory of Suket State from a map of the various Hill States of the Punjab Hills region, copied in 1852
Area 
• 1931
1,088 km2 (420 sq mi)
Population 
• 1931
58,408
History 
• Established
765
• Accession in
Dominion of India
15 April 1948
 Succeeded by
Dominion of India
Today part ofHimachal Pradesh,
Republic of India
Raja Ranjit of Suket and Raja Shamsher Sen of Mandi in the Darbar; ca. 1772

Suket State was one of the Princely states of India during the period of the British Raj.[1] The capital of the state was Pangna. Its last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 15 April 1948. Formerly it belonged to the States of the Punjab Hills and currently, it is part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The present-day Mandi district was formed with the merger of the two princely states of Mandi and Suket.

History

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According to tradition the predecessor state was founded about 765[2] by Bira Sen (Vir Sen), claimed to be a son of a Sena dynasty King of Bengal, however such an early Sena Dynasty is not known. The early history of Suket was marred by constant warfare against other principalities, especially against the Kingdom of Kullu. At the time of Raja Bikram Sen, Kullu was under the overlordship of Suket State and was reduced to paying tribute to Suket. Raja Madan Sen's reign was the golden age of Suket, when its ruler reduced into submission the neighboring smaller states. During the reign of Raja Udai Sen Suket came under the influence of the Mughal Empire who were content with merely exacting tribute.

At the time of Raja Bikram Sen II, Sukket survived the invasion of the Gurkhas of Nepal (1803 to 1815) and the ensuing brief period of Sikh dominance thanks to the Raja's diplomatic skills. In 1845, when war broke out between the Sikhs and the British, the Rajas of Suket and Mandi took the side of the British, signing a Treaty of Alliance in Bilaspur in 1846. In the same year a sanad was granted to Raja Ugar Sen II confirming him and his heirs in the possession of the Suket territories.[3]

The family goddess (kuldevi) or hut devi of the Rajas of Suket is at Jaidevi (known as rajrajeswari maa kamaksha). which is about 8 miles from Sundarnagar. All religious ceremonies in the royal family, e.g., Jarolan (hair-cutting ceremony), zanarbandi (the ceremony of investment with the sacred thread), etc., are performed at Jaidevi in the temple of the goddess. The Raja goes in a procession to the temple and offers bhel to the goddess on the occasion of these ceremonies.

Rulers

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The rulers of Suket bore the title Raja.[citation needed] The clan name of the royal lineage was 'Suketi' or 'Suketr'.[4][5][page needed]

Name Portrait Reign Reference(s)
Raja Dip Sen ca.1590 – ca.1620 [4]
Raja Shyam Sen ca.1620 – ca.1650 [4]
Raja Ram Sen ca.1650 – ca.1663 [4]
Raja Jit Sen ca.1663 – 1721 [4]
Raja Garur Sen 1721–1748 [4]
Raja Bhikam Sen 1748–1762 [4]
Raja Ranjit Sen 1762–1791 [4]
Raja Bikram Sen II 1791–1838 [4]
Raja Ugar Sen II 1838–1876 [4]
Raja Rudra Sen 1876 – Apr 1878 [4]
Raja Arimardan Sen 1878–1879 [4]
Raja Dasht Nikandan Sen 29 Mar 1879 – 27 May 1908 [4]
Raja Bhim Sen 27 May 1908 – 12 Oct 1919
Raja Lakshman Sen 13 Oct 1919 – 15 Aug 1947

Demographics

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Religious groups in Suket State (British Punjab province era)
Religious
group 		1901[6] 1911[7][8] 1921[9] 1931[10] 1941[11]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Hinduism [a] 54,005 98.77% 54,268 98.8% 53,625 98.71% 57,616 98.64% 69,974 98.43%
Islam 665 1.22% 587 1.07% 659 1.21% 733 1.25% 884 1.24%
Sikhism 6 0.01% 71 0.13% 44 0.08% 44 0.08% 234 0.33%
Christianity 0 0% 2 0% 0 0% 1 0% 0 0%
Buddhism 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 14 0.02% 0 0%
Jainism 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Zoroastrianism 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Judaism 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Others 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Total population 54,676 100% 54,928 100% 54,328 100% 58,408 100% 71,092 100%
Note: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis

References

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  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Punjab" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ Princely states of India
  3. ^ Mark Brentnall, ed. The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh. p. 94
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Archer, W. G. (1973). Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills. Vol. 1: Text. Sotheby Parke-Bernet. pp. 420–422.
  5. ^ B. R. Beotra, ed. Gazetteer of the Suket State. (1927)
  6. ^ "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. p. 34. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. p. 27. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393788. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  8. ^ Kaul, Harikishan (1911). "Census Of India 1911 Punjab Vol XIV Part II". p. 27. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Census of India 1921. Vol. 15, Punjab and Delhi. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. p. 29. JSTOR saoa.crl.25430165. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1931. p. 277. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793242. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab". 1941. p. 42. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215541. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
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31°32′N 76°53′E / 31.53°N 76.88°E / 31.53; 76.88


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