->Will Sandberg at 22:48, 17 April 2020

2020-04-17T22:48:49Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
The '''Sunhak''' are a [[Muslim]] community found in the state of [[Himachal Pradesh]] in [[India]]. They are [[Muslim]] converts from the [[Chandela|Chandel]] [[Rajput]]s of [[Kahlur]]. According to their traditions, their ancestor, a Chandel Rajput married a [[Muslim]] woman, and as such he was disowned by other members of his tribe. His descendants now number a few hundred families found in the villages of Chunjhani and Salahon in [[Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh|Bilaspur District]]. They are to have acquired the name Sunhak for from the [[Pahari language|Pahari]] word for hawk, as the community were employed as hawk handlers by the [[Kahlur|Rajahs of Kahlur]].<ref name=autogenerated1>People of India Himachal Pradesh Volume XXIV by B.R Sharma and A.B Sankhyan Manohar 1996 pages 590 to 593</ref>

The Sunhak are strictly [[endogamy|endogamous]], with the odd intermarriage with the [[Ranghar]] and Pathan communities. They are entirely [[Sunni]] and speak the [[Bilaspuri language]]. However, like other Himachali Muslims, they incorporate folk beliefs such as veneration of regional deities such as Balakh Nath and Guga Pir. The Sunhak are a community of small and medium-sized farmers, with cattle rearing being an important subsidiary occupation. An important subsidiary occupation is service in the army and police. The Sunhak have fairly strong caste council that resolves any intra community dispute and punishes those who transgress community norms.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Muslim communities of India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Himachal Pradesh]]

Sunhak - Revision history

->Will Sandberg at 22:48, 17 April 2020