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Kingdom of Suket
765–1948
Flag 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 km (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 of	Himachal Pradesh, Republic of India

Suket State was one of the Princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. 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

According to tradition the predecessor state was founded about 765 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.

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

The rulers of Suket bore the title Raja. The clan name of the royal lineage was 'Suketi' or 'Suketr'.

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

Demographics

Religious groups in Suket State (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1901		1911		1921		1931		1941
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Hinduism	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

• Punjab States Agency
• Political integration of India
• Lalit Sen
• Hari Sen
• kamksha

Notes

1. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis

References

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. ^ 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.

External links

• Media related to Suket State at Wikimedia Commons

31°32′N 76°53′E / 31.53°N 76.88°E / 31.53; 76.88

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• States and territories established in the 760s
• States and territories disestablished in 1948
• Princely states of Punjab
• History of Himachal Pradesh
• Mandi district
• 8th-century establishments in India
• 765 establishments
• 1948 disestablishments in India
• Former monarchies of Asia
• Gun salute princely states
• Himachal Pradesh geography stubs
• Princely states of Himachal Pradesh