Sunar
The Swarnkar (alt ernat ely, Soni, Sonar or Sonaro) is a Hindu cast e in India. The Sonar communit y
work as t raders of gold or as goldsmit hs.[1] The communit y is primarily Hindu, and found all over India.
Etymology
The t erm Sonar may derive from t he Sanskrit suvarna kār, "worker in gold".[2]
The Sonar are st ill involved in t heir t radit ional occupat ion, t hat is being goldsmit hs. There is however
a st eady process in t aking up ot her occupat ions, and t he communit y in Haryana and Punjab as whole
is fairly successful, having produced several professionals.[3]
Factions
The Sonars are divided int o a large number of t errit orial and non-t errit orial groupings called alla.
Some of t he major alla are t he Jhankhad, Sant anpuriya, Lal sult aniya, Dekhalant iya, Mundaha,
Bhigahiya, Parajiya, Samuhiya, Chilliya, Kat iliya Kalidarwa, Naubast wal, Berehele, Gedehiya, Shahpuriya,
Mat hureke Paliya, Kat karia and Nimkheriya, Vaibhaha. Each lineage is associat ed wit h a part icular area.
To which it s ancest ors belonged t o. The Sonar use Soni, Set h, Swarnkar, Chauhan, Shah, Singh, Puri,
Bhut ani, Sonik, Kapoor, Mehra, Rast ogi, Verma, Dem, Saraf et c. as t heir surnames. In Gujarat and
Rajast han, t he communit y is also known as Soni.[4] In Haryana, t he Sonars are oft en known as
Swarnakar, Soni, Suri and Verma, are t heir common surname.[5] In Sindh t hey are called Sonaro, In
Punjab, Haryana and Rajast han, Mair Rajput communit y work as goldsmit hs.
Sunar in Nepal
The Cent ral Bureau of St at ist ics of Nepal classifies t he Sunar (called Sonar in t he Nepal census) as
a subgroup wit hin t he broader social group of Madheshi Ot her Cast e.[6] At t he t ime of t he 2011
Nepal census, 64,335 people (0.2% of t he populat ion 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%)
Bagmat i Province (0.0%)
Gandaki Province (0.0%)
Karnali Province (0.0%)
Sudurpashchim Province (0.0%)
The frequency of Sunars was higher t han nat ional average (0.2%) in t he following dist rict s:[7]
Parsa (1.6%)
Mahot t ari (1.3%)
Bara (1.1%)
Raut ahat (1.1%)
Sarlahi (1.1%)
Dhanusha (1.0%)
Siraha (0.5%)
Morang (0.3%)
Sapt ari (0.3%)
Famous Sunar Personality
Raj Babbar Film Act or & Polit ician[8]
Parmish Verma Punjabi Singer & Performer
See also
Mair (cast e)
References
1. People of Tiben: Lhasa (Volume XLII) edit ed by A Hasan & J C Das page 1500 t o 150
2. R.V. Russell (Oct ober 1995). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India (ht t p://www.
gut enberg.org/files/20668/20668-h/20668-h.ht m#d0e3452) . Vol. IV. Published Under t he
Orders of t he Cent ral Provinces Administ rat ion, Macmillan and Co., Limit ed St . Mart in's St reet ,
London. 1916. p. 517. Ret rieved 6 July 2011.
3. People of India: Haryana (Volume XXIII) edit ed by M.L Sharma and A.K Bhat ia pages 475 t o 479
Manohar Books
4. People of India: Ut t ar Pradesh (Volume XLII) edit ed by A Hasan & J C Das page 1500
5. People of India: Haryana (Volume XXIII) edit ed by M.L Sharma and A.K Bhat ia page 475 Manohar
Books
6. Populat ion Monograph of Nepal, Volume II [1] (ht t ps://nepal.unfpa.org/sit es/default /files/pub-
pdf/Populat ion%20Monograph%20V02.pdf)
7. 2011 Nepal Census, Dist rict Level Det ail Report (ht t ps://cbs.gov.np/wp-cont ent /upLoads/201
8/12/Volume05Part 02.pdf)
8. "Why Congress chose Raj Babbar t o lead part y in UP elect ions" (ht t ps://t ranslat e.google.com/t r
anslat e?u=ht t ps://indianexpress.com/art icle/polit ical-pulse/how-and-why-congress-chose-raj-
babbar-t o-head-up-fight /&hl=hi&sl=en&t l=hi&client =srp&prev=search) . 14 July 2016.
Further reading
R.K. Gupt a, S.R. Bakshi. St udies In Indian Hist ory: Rajast han Through The Ages The Herit age Of
Rajput s (set Of 5 Vols.) (ht t ps://books.google.com/books?id=eKGhCWZs59oC&dq=sunar+rajput &
pg=PA56) . Sarup & Sons, 2008. ISBN 81-7625-841-5, ISBN 978-81-7625-841-8
