CHAUPA SINGH (d. 1724), earlier name Chaupati Rai, was a prominent Sikh in the retinue of Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75) and then of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). He was born in a Chhibbar (Brahman) family of Kariala, a village in Jehlum district, now in Pakistan. His grandfather, Gautam, had accepted the Sikh faith and was followed in this allegiance by his two sons Paira and Praga. The former was Chaupati Rai`s father; in the lineage of the latter, known for his martial skill during the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), were Dargah Malt, Dharam Chand, Gurbakhsh Singh and Kesar Singh.
CHANDIA, BHAI, a Dhir Khatri, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. He rendered dedicated service during the digging of the sacred pool and the construction of Harimandar at Amritsar. His name is included among the Guru\'s devotees in Bhai Mani Singh, Sijchari di Bhagat Mala. See BULA DHIR, BHAI
CHARHAT SINGH (d. 1770), grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the eldest of the four sons of Sardar Naudh Singh. He took to arms while still very young and started taking part in the raids and expeditions led by his father. He also fought in the Sikhs` skirmishes with the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Durrani. After the death of his father, he broke away from the Faizullapuria Misi and determined to acquire territory for himself. He left his ancestral village of Sukkarchakk and established his headquarters at Gujranwala, where he had gathered a considerable following within a short time.
CHIKA, an old village in Kaithal district of Haryana, 26 km west of Pehova (29° 59`N, 76° 35`E), is sacred to Guru Hargobind and Guru Tegh Bahadur. The former passed through Chika at the time of his visit to Kurukshetra in 1638. Guru Tegh Bahadur arrived here from Samana en route to Delhi, in 1675, and stayed here for two days with Bhai Glaura, the masand of the Barigar area extending up to Hansi and Hissar. A low platform in a room on the first floor of an old house in the northeastern part of the village commemorated the visits of the holy Gurus.
CORTLANDT. HENRY CHARLES VAN (1814-1888), son of Colonel Henry Clinton Van Cortlandt of the British army, by an Indian wife, was born at Meerut in 1814, and was educated in England. In 1832, he returned to India and joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army on a monthly salary of Rs 250, subsequently raised to Rs 800, with a monthly stipend of Rs 800 for his wife. Cortlandt participated in various campaigns including the battle of Jamrud in which the famous general, Hari Singh Nalva, was killed.
