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Fig. 122.

Area, 420 sq. m. Pop. 54,928. Rev. Rs. 200,000 = £13,333.

Suket lies between Mandí and the Sutlej. Its Rája, Ugar Sen, like his distant relative, the Rája of Mandí, came under British protection in 1846. His great-grandson, Rája Bhim Sen, is the present chief.

Area, 1198 sq. m. Pop. 138,520. Rev. Rs. 600,000 = £40,000.

Fig. 123. The late Rája Surindar Bikram Parkásh, K.C.S.I., of Sirmúr.

Sirmúr (Náhan) lies to the north of the Ambála district, and occupies the greater part of the catchment area of the Girí, a tributary of the Jamna. It is for the most part a mountain tract, the Chor to the north of the Girí rising to a height of 11,982 feet. The capital, Náhan (3207 feet), near the southern border is in the Siwálik range. In the south-east of the State is the rich valley known as the Kiárda Dún, reclaimed and colonized by Rája Shamshér Parkásh. There are valuable deodár and sál forests. A good road connects Náhan with Barára on the N.W. Railway. In 1815 the British Government having driven out the Gurkhas put Fateh Parkásh on the throne of his ancestors. His troops fought on the English side in the first Sikh War. His successors, Rája Sir Shamsher Parkásh, G.C.S.I. (1856-98), and Rája Sir Surindar Bikram Parkásh, K.C.S.I. (1898-1911), managed their State with conspicuous success. The present Rája, Amar Parkásh, is 25 years of age. In the second Afghán War in 1880, Sirmúr sent a contingent to the frontier, and the Sappers and Miners, which it keeps up for imperial service, accompanied the Tirah Expedition of 1897.