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Sunar (alternately, Sonar or Swarnkar) is a Hindu Kshatriya and Vishwakarma caste in India referring to the community of people who work as goldsmiths.There are mainly three types of sunars first is SURYAVANSHI RAJPUT SWARNKAR second is CHANDRAVANSHI RAJPUT SWARNKAR and the third one is VISHWAKARMA SUNARS along with this also a community of vaishya sunar got emerged and they were AYODHYAVASHI SUNAR. The community is primarily Hindu, and found all over India. Indian and Nepali sunar use soni as their surname.
Etymology
The term Sunar may derive from the Sanskrit suvarna kār, "worker in gold".
Sunar who uses Verma , Soni are the Kshatriya, Who started the business of gold
Factions
The Sunars are divided into a large number of territorial and non-territorial groupings called alla. Some of the major alla are the Jhankhad, Santanpuriya, Lal sultaniya, Dekhalantiya, Mundaha, Bhigahiya, Parajiya, Samuhiya, Chilliya, Katiliya Kalidarwa, Naubastwal, Berehele, Gedehiya, Shahpuriya, Mathureke Paliya, Katkaria and Nimkheriya ,Vaibhaha . Each lineage is associated with a particular area. To which its ancestors belonged to. The Sunar use Soni, Seth, Swarnkar, Shah, Singh, Puri, Bhutani, Sonik, Kapoor, Mehra, Rastogi, Verma,Saraf etc. as their surnames. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, the community is also known as Soni. In Haryana, the Sunars are often known as Swarnakar, Soni, Suri and Verma, are their common surname. In Punjab and Rajasthan, Mair Rajput community work as goldsmiths.
Sunar in Nepal
The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Sunar (called Sonar in the Nepal census) as a subgroup within the broader social group of Madheshi Other Caste. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 64,335 people (0.2% of the population of Nepal) were Sunar. The frequency of Sunars by province was as follows:
- Madhesh Province (1.0%)
- Koshi Province (0.1%)
- Lumbini Province (0.1%)
- Bagmati Province (0.0%)
- Gandaki Province (0.0%)
- Karnali Province (0.0%)
- Sudurpashchim Province (0.0%)
The frequency of Sunars was higher than national average (0.2%) in the following districts:
- Parsa (1.6%)
- Mahottari (1.3%)
- Bara (1.1%)
- Rautahat (1.1%)
- Sarlahi (1.1%)
- Dhanusha (1.0%)
- Siraha (0.5%)
- Morang (0.3%)
- Saptari (0.3%)
Notable
- Raj Babbar Film Actor & Politician
See also
References
- People of India: Uttar Pradesh (Volume XLII) edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 1500 to 150
- R.V. Russell (October 1995). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India. Vol. IV. Published Under the Orders of the Central Provinces Administration, Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martin's Street, London. 1916. p. 517. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- People of India: Uttar Pradesh (Volume XLII) edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 1500
- People of India: Haryana (Volume XXIII) edited by M.L Sharma and A.K Bhatia page 475 Manohar Books
- Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume II
- 2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report
- https://translate.google.com/translate?u=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/how-and-why-congress-chose-raj-babbar-to-head-up-fight/&hl=hi&sl=en&tl=hi&client=srp&prev=search
Further reading
- R.K. Gupta, S.R. Bakshi. Studies In Indian History: Rajasthan Through The Ages The Heritage Of Rajputs (set Of 5 Vols.). Sarup & Sons, 2008. ISBN 81-7625-841-5, ISBN 978-81-7625-841-8