# Suket State

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 | Reign |
| 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 | 1901 | 1911 | 1911 | 1921 | 1921 | 1931 | 1931 | 1941 | 1941 |
| Religious group | 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. |||||||||||