ABBOTT, SIR JAMES (1807-1896), British Resident\'s assistant at Lahore, capital of the sikh kingdom, after the first Anglo - Sikh war (1845-46), was born on 12 March 1807, the son of Henry Alexius Abbott. Passing out of the military college of the East India Company at Addiscombe, England, Abbott received

ABD USSAMAD KHAN (d. 1737), governor of Lahore from 1713 to 1726, a descendant of the Naqashbandi saint `Abdulla Ahrar, a great grandson of Khwaja Baki of Baghdad, was born at Agra when his father, Khwaja `Abd ul-Karim Ansari, had come out with his family from Samarkand on a tour

ABDUL RASUL KASHMIRI, a native of Srinagar who was in trade at Amritsar as a shawl merchant, was for a time a close confidant of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last Sikh King of the Punjab deposed by the British in 1849. Kashmir! acted as the deposed Maharaja`s liaison man with

\'ABDULLA BHAI\', Abdul according to some Sikh chroniclers, was a Muslim minstrel who recited heroic balladry at Sikh congregations in the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). Abdul was born in the village of Sursingh, now in Amritsar district of the Punjab. He first came to Amritsar in 1606 at the

ABDULLA, KHWAJA, a native of Mani Majra, near present day Chandigarh, was the keeper of the jail at Chandni Chowk kotwali in Delhi, where Guru Tegh Bahadur, Nanak IX, was detained under imperial warrant. He was a pious man and truly reverenced the holy detenu. He tried to mitigate

ABUL FAZL (1551-1602), principal secretary-cum-minister to Akbar, the Mughal emperor. He was an accomplished man of learning and was the author of two celebrated works, A`ini Akbari and Akbar-nama, the former being a description of Akbar`s administrative system and the latter a chronicle of the events of his reign.

ADAM, BHAI, also mentioned as Uddam in some chronicles, was, according to Giani Gian Singh, Twarikh Guru Khalsa, a Siddhu Jatt of Brar clan living at Vinjhu, a village near Bathinda (30°-14`N, 74°-58\'E). He had no male child and, advancing in years, he along with his wife came to

ADDAN SHAH, BHAI (1688-1757), third in succession to Bhai Kanhaiya, founder of the Sevapanthi sect, was born in 1688 in the village of Lau in Jhang district, now in Pakistan. His parents were of a devout temperament and he inherited from them a deeply religious bent of mind. He

ADHARKA, according to Bhai Bala Janam Sakhi, visited Guru Nanak in the train of his master, Salas Rai, the jeweller. Both master and servant turned disciples and set up a Sikh sangat, fellowship or centre, in their native town, Bishambharpur.

ADINA BEG KHAN (d. 1758), governor of the Punjab for a few months in AD 1758, was, according to Ahwal-i-Dina Beg Khan, an unpublished Persian manuscript, the son of Channu, of the Arain agriculturalist caste, mostly settled in Doaba region of the Punjab. He was born at the village of

AGNEW, PATRICK ALEXANDER VANS (1822-1848), a civil servant under the East India Company. He was the son of Lt Col Patrick Vans Agnew, an East India Company director. Agnew joined the Bengal civil service in March 1841. In 1842, he became assistant to the commissioner of Delhi division. In December

AGYA KAUR. BIBI (d. 1918), wife of Bhai Takht Singh and his helpmate in promoting women\'s education among Sikhs to which cause he was passionately devoted, was the daughter of Sardar Tek Singh of the village of Sultanpur, near Rahim Yar Khan railway station in the princely state of

AGYA RAM, BHAI (Bhai Agya Singh, according to Sukha Singh, Gurbilas Dasvin Patshahi), a Sikh of Delhi, who accompanied Bhai Jaita, Bhai Nanu and Bhai Uda to carry from Chandni Chowk in Delhi to the Dilvali Mahalla the severed head of Guru Tegh Bahadur who was executed there on

AHLUWALIA, JASBIR SINGH Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia,(1935 - ) born in 1935, is a leading radical Punjabi poet. He had a post-graduate degree in English and got his doctorate for his thesis on New conception of Reality, and got into the Punjab Civil Service. He came on deputation to Punjabi

AHMAD SHAH DURRANI (1722-1772), the first of the Saddozai rulers of Afghanistan and founder of the Durrani empire, belonged to the Saddozai section of the Popalzai clan of the Abdali tribe of Afghans. In the 18th century the Abdalis were to be found chiefly around Herat. Under their leader

AHMAD YAR KHAN TIWANA (d. 1829), second son of Khan Muhammad Khan, the Tiwana chief of Mittha Tiwana, in Shahpur district, measured swords with Sikhs more than once during Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s time. Ahmad Yar Khan revolted against his father and, having succeeded in attracting most of the tribe to

AHMAD, SHAIKH (1564-1624), celebrated Muslim thinker and theologian of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, was born on 26 May 1564 at Sirhind in present day Patiala district of the Punjab. He received his early education at the hands of his father. Shaikh `Abd al-Ahad, and later studied at Siaiko, now in

AJAB SINGH (d. 1705). son of Bhai Mani Ram, a Rajput Sikh of `Alipur in Multan district, now in Pakistan, came to Anandpur with his father and four brothers, and received the rites of initiation at the inauguration of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi day

AJAB, BHAI, a Jatt of Sangha clan who lived in the village of Darauli, now called Darauli Bhai, in Faridkot; district of the Punjab. He, like his brothers Umar Shah and Ajaib, forsook his faith in Sultan Sakhi Sarwar, became a Sikh and rendered devoted service at the time

AJAIB SINGH (d. 1705), one of the martyrs of Chamkaur, was the son of Bhai Mani Ram, a Rajput Sikh of the time of Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh. Mani Ram had presented five of his sons including Ajaib Singh to Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur where

AJAIB, BHAI, a Sangha Jatt who embraced the Sikh faith in the time of Guru Arjan. He belonged to the village of Darauli Bhai, in presentday Faridkot district. Two of his brothers, Umar Shah and Ajab, were the Guru`s masands or vicars. Bhai Ajaib took part in seva, voluntary

AJlT SINGH (1881-1947), patriot and revolutionary, was born in February 1881 at Khatkar Kalari, in Jalandhar district of the Punjab, the son of Arjan Singh and Jai Kaur. He had his early education in his village and then at Sain Dass Anglo Sanskrit High School, Jalandhar, and D.A.V. College,

AJIT SINGH PALIT (d. 1725), adopted son of Mata Sundari, the mother of Sahibzada Ajit Singh . Little is known about the family he came of except that Mata Sundari took him over from a goldsmith of Delhi and adopted him because of his striking resemblance with her son, Ajit

AJIT SINGH SANDHANVALIA (d. 1843), son of Basava Singh Sandharivalia, was a leading actor in the gruesome drama of intrigue and murder enacted in the Sikh kingdom following the passing away of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. One of the younger generation of the Sandharivalias, he outstripped his uncles, Atar Singh

AJIT SINGH, RAJA, ruler of Ladva, was born the son of Gurdit Singh who had acquired territory around Thanesar after the conquest by Sikhs in 1764 of the Mughal province of Sirhind. Gurdit Singh, who belonged to the same clan as Ranjit Singh, originally came from the village of

AJIT SINGH, SAHIBZADA (1687-1705), the eldest son of Guru Gobind Singh, was born to Mata Sundari at Paonta on 26 January 1687. The following year, Guru Gobind Singh returned with the family to Anandpur where Ajit Singh was brought up in the approved Sikh style. He was taught the

AJITTA, BHAI, a Randhava Jatt, whose name occurs in Bhai Gurdas`s roster of prominent Sikhs of Guru Nanak, Varan, XI. 14, was a resident of the village of Pakkhoke Randhave, close to the present town of Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab. It was at Pakkhoke

AJMER CHAND, ruler of Kahlur (Bilaspur), one of the princely states in the Sivaliks. He succeeded his father. Raja Bhim Chand, who had retired in his favour. Bhim Chand had led battles against Guru Gobind Singh, and his son, Ajmer Chand, continued the hostility. He formed a league of

AJMER SINGH was the name given a seventeenth century Muslim recluse of Chhatteana, a village in present day Faridkot district of the Punjab, as he received the initiatory rites of the Khalsa. His original name was Ibrahim, popularly shortened to Brahmi or Bahmi. According to an old chronicle, Malva

AJUDHIA PARSHAD, DIWAN (1799-1870), soldier and civil administrator in Sikh times, was the adopted son of Diwan Ganga Ram. Maharaja Ranjit Singh first employed Ajudhia Parshad in 1819 to serve in the military office in Kashmir. Three years later, he was recalled to Lahore and appointed paymaster of the

AKAL, BHAI, a carpenter resident of Vadda Ghar in present day Fandkot district of the Punjab and, according to Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, maternal grandfather of the celebrated Bhai Rup Chand, became a devotee of Guru Ram Das. He also served Guru Arjan and Guru Hargobind. He was a man

AKBAR KHAN MUHAMMAD (d. 1848), son of Dost Muhammad Khan, the ruler of Afghanistan. He was a Hery young man of great dash and daring. Like his father, he was keen to regain the Afghan possessions in India Multan, Kashmir, Attock and Peshawar. In 1837, Dost Muhammad Khan declared

AKBAR, JALAL UD-DIN MUHAMMAD (1542-1605), third in the line of Mughal emperors of India, was born on 23 November 1542 at Amarkot, in Sindh, while his father, Humayun, was escaping to Persia after he had been ousted by Sher Khan Sur. Akbar was crowned king at Kalanaur, in the Punjab,

AKIL DAS, an eighteenth century head of the Handali sect of Jandiala in Amritsar district of the Punjab, also known as Haribhagat Niranjania, was an inveterate enemy of the Sikhs. Giani Gian Singh, Shamsher Khalsa, describes him as "Akul Das who basked in the name of Haribhagat." He was

AKUL, BHAI, a resident of Sultan pur Lodhi in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab, embraced the Sikh faith in the time of Guru Amar Das. Bhai Gurdas in his Varan praises his sincerity and devotion to the Guru. Once Bhai Akul, along with several others from his

ALA SINGH, BABA (1691-1765), Sikh mis leader who became the first ruling chief of Patiala, was born in 1691 at Phul, in present day Bathinda district of the Punjab, the third son of Bhai Ram Singh. His grandfather, Baba Phul, had been as a small boy blessed by Guru

ALAM CHAND was a masand or parish leader at Lahore in Guru Arjan\'s time. He was known for his pious and honest ways. He brought to the Guru regularly offerings collected from the Lahore sangat. His favourite maxim, tells Bhai Mani Singh in the Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, was

ALAM CHAND HANDA, a Sikh of Guru Arjan\'s time. As says Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, Alam Chand, along with Bhai Murari Anand, Bhai Kaliana, Bhai Nanori, Bhai Latkan of Bindrao clan, and Bhai Saisaru Talvar, once came to the Guru and spoke with folded hands, "0

ALAM KHAN, son of Nihang Khan of Kotia Nihang Khan and son-in-law of Rai Kalha, the chief of Raikot, was a devotee of Guru Gobind Singh. According to Sarup Singh Kaushish, Guru kian Sakhian, he was with Rai Kalha when he met Guru Gobind Singh passing through Raikot after

ALAM SINGH NACHNA (d. 1705), a warrior in the retinue of Guru Gobind Singh, was the son of Bhai Durgu, a Rajput Sikh of Sialkot. He earned the popular epithet Nachna (lit. dancer) because of his uncommon agility. Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahima Prakash, describes him as one of Guru

ALEXANDER ALIAS MUHAMMAD SADIQ, a European of unknown nationality, who drifted to Lahore in 1841 from Kabul, where he had served in Shah Shuja\'s army, and had adopted the Muslim faith. He joined the Khalsa army as a battalion commander serving under John Holmes.

ALI SINGH (d. 1716), a native of the village of Salaudi, near Sirhind, was in the service of Wazir Khan, the Mughal faujdar of Sirhind. According to Ratan Singh Bharigu, Prachin Panth Prakash, Wazir Khan, on learning of Banda Singh\'s advance from the South towards the Punjab under the

ALIF KHAN, who is mentioned in Guru Gobind Singh\'s Bachitra Natak, was an officer in the Mughal army of Aurangzib. In 1691, he was despatched by Mian Khan, the viceroy of Jammu, to Kangra for collecting arrears of tribute from the hill chiefs. Raja Kirpal Chand Katoch of Kangra

ALIM, a Muslim poet, enjoyed the patronage of Guru Gobind Singh. Formerly in the employ of Prince Mu\'azzam (later Emperor Bahadur Shah), he probably came to Guru Gobind Singh sometime during the period 1687-94 when the prince, having fallen from the favour of his father, Aurangzib, was under internment.

ALLAHDAD KHAN (d. 184.9) was the last ruler of Khattekhel family of Tonk, situated in Bannu district, on the northwest frontier. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered this region in 1821, Allahdad Khan became a tributary of the Sikh government. As the tribute had fallen in arrears, an expedition was

ALLARD, ACHILLE, a young Muslim boy whose parents had been killed in one of the battles of Multan, and who was saved by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, had been born at Sayyidpur in the then province of Multan. General Allard noticed his intelligence and asked the Maharaja\'s permission to adopt

ALLARD, BANNOU PAN DEI (1814-1884), born of Raja Menga Ram of Chamba and Banni Panje Dei at Chamba on 25 January 1814, married Jean Francois Allard, one of Maharaja Ranjit Singh\'s French generals, in March 1826, and bore him seven children, two of whom died in infancy and are

ALLARD, BENJAMIN (1796-1877), step-brother of General Allard, born at Saint Tropez in 1796, was sent to Lahore in 1829 in order to replace his brother as the military adviser of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but the two brothers failed to win the confidence of the Maharaja, who would not release General

ALLARD, JEAN FRANCOIS (1785-1839), Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, an order instituted in 1802 by Napoleon I, was born at Saint Tropez, France, on 8 March 1785. In 1803, he joined the French army and served in it fighting in the Imperial Cavalry in far flung fields in Italy,

ALLAYAR, a wealthy Muslim horse dealer of Delhi, who turned a preacher of Sikhism, first came to Guru Amar Das at Goindval escorted by Bhai Paro, a prominent Sikh of Dalla, a village in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab. It is said that returning from Kabul once

ALMAST, BHAI (1553-1643), Sikh preacher and head of a dhuari or branch of the Udasi sect, was born in a Gaur Brahman family of Srinagar (Kashmir) on 26 August 1553. He was the son of Bhai Hardatt and Mai Prabha, and was the elder brother of Balu Hasna, another

ALVARINE, an Italian (Irishman, according to C. Grey`s European Adventurers of Northern India), who joined service under the Sikh Darbar in 1841. He died at Lahore soon afterwards.

AMAR DAS, GURU (1479-1574), the third of the ten Gurus of the Sikh faith, was born into a Bhalla Khatri family on Baisakh sudi 14, 1536 Bk, corresponding to 5 May 1479, at Basarke, a village in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab. His father\'s name was Tej Bhan

AMAR NATH, DIWAN (1822-1867), bakhshi or paymaster of the irregular forces of the Sikh army who distinguished himself also as a historian, was born in 1822 the son of Raja Dina Nath, finance minister of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. During the prime ministership of Hira Singh, Amar Nath was assigned

AMAR SINGH (1888-1948), of the Sheri Punjab, journalist, scholar and a prominent figure in Sikh politics, was born on 27 May 1888 at Pindi Gheb in Attock district of the Punjab, now in Pakistan. His grandfather, Gauhar Singh, had held a civil appointment under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He spent

AMAR SINGH (1888-1962), who came into prominence in the Gurdwara reform movement, was the eldest of the three sons of Gopal Singh of the village of Jhabal, in Amritsar district of the Punjab. His great grandfather, Gulab Singh, had served in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his

AMAR SINGH MAJITHIA (d. 1848). known as Amar Singh Khurd (junior) to distinguish him from his namesake Amar Singh Kalan (senior) who was also from the village of Majitha, son of Mahna Singh (d. 1802), was aJagmfar and military commander under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was placed in the

AMAR SINGH MAJITHIA, soldier and administrator in Sikh times, called Amar Singh Kalan (senior) to distinguish him from his namesake Amar Singh Khurd (junior) who was also from the village of Majitha, was the son of Dargaha Singh Majithia. He took part in many an early campaign under Maharaja

AMAR SINGH MAN (d. 1805), landowner in Amritsar district who left his village about the year 1759, adopted the Sikh faith and joined the Kanhaiya Misl. He overran and took possession of a large part of Gurdaspur district, including Sukalgarh and Dharamkot. He built a fort at Sukalgarh which

AMAR SINGH WASU (1884-1932), Akali activist and journalist, was born Ganga Ram at the village of Wasu, in Gujrat district, now in Pakistan, in 1884, the son of Ladha Mall and Lachhmi Devi. Under the influence of the Singh Sabha movement, the family went through the Sikh initiatory rites,

AMAR SINGH, RAJA (1748-1782). of Patiala, was born on 6 June 1748, the son of Sardul Singh and Rani Hukman. In 1765, he succeeded his grandfather, Ala Singh, who had no son living at the time of his death. His succession to the throne of Patiala was challenged by

AMARO, BIBI, elder daughter of Guru Angad and Mata Khivi, is especially remembered in the Sikh tradition for introducing (Guru) Amar Das to Guru Angad whose disciple, and eventually successor in the holy office, he became. She was born in c. 1526 at Khadur Sahib, in present day Amritsar

AMARU, BHAI, a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Amar Das. He lived at the village of Dalla, in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab, and was initiated a Sikh at the hands of Guru Amar Das. See RAMU BHAI

AMIA, BHAI (d. 1635). a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind. He was one of the five disciples sent to supervise the inhabitation of the village of Ruhela, renamed after Guru Hargobind. Bhai Amia took part in the battle of Amritsar (1634). According to Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahf,

AMIR CHAND, son of Misr Ram Kumar of the village of Dalval, in Jehlum district, joined service in Maharaja RanjitSingh`s toshakhana or treasury in 1830, soon becoming superintendent of Bela To shakhana, i.e. the treasury for charitable purposes. In June 1832, he was appointed to collect arrears of land

AMIR SINGH, an Akali or Nihang who was a veteran soldier, joined the band of Bhai Maharaj Singh, leading a popular rebellion against the British in 1848-49. When the British deputy commissioner of Jalandhar, Vansittart, raided Maharaj Singh`s camp near Sham Chaurasi on the night of 2829 December 1849,

AMIR SINGH SANDHANVALIA (d. 1827), a collateral of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was born the son of Didar Singh Sandhanvalia. In 1784, he, upon the death of his father, succeeded to the family estates which he considerably enlarged. As Mahan Singh and Ranjit Singh rose to power, he seized several

AMIR SINGH, GIANI (1870-1954), a widely revered Sikh school man, was born in 1870 at the village of Dargahi Shah in Jhang district, now in Pakistan. His parents, Prem Singh and Thakari Devi, a religious minded couple of modest means, admitted him at the age of 15 to Mahant

AMRIK SINGH, a Jambar Jatt of Maghiana in Lahore district, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Gobind Singh. Bhai Santokh Singh, 5n GurPratap Suraj Granth, lists him among those who received baptismal rites on the day the Khalsawas initiated (30 March 1699). Amrik Singh, according to

AMRIT RAI, son of Chhail Rai, a Bhatt of Lahore, and pupil of Chatar Das, a noted poet, had completed his Ras Ratnakar and Chitra Bilas ( the latter in 1679) before he came under the patronage of Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur. What is left of his compositions

AMRITA SHERGIL (1913-1941), colourful and innovative painter of modern India, was born on 30 January 1913 in Budapest, Hungary. Her father, Umrao Singh Sher Gil, scholar and savant, learned in Sanskrit as well as in Persian, came of an old Sikh family of the village of Majitha, in Amritsar

ANABHI, a Jain hierarch, who, according to Puratan Janam Sakhi, met Guru Nanak during his journey to the South. Anabhi addressed the Guru thus: "Eatest thou corn, old or new, consumest thou parched gram, and drinkest thou cold water without filtering to ensure absence of living organisms; yet thou

ANAK SINGH. warrior son of Bhai Mani Ram, resident of the village of Alipur, district Multan (now in Pakistan), received baptismal rites at Anandpur at the time of the initiation of the Khalsa, on 30 March 1699, and took part in the battles of Nirmohgarh and Anandpur. As says

ANAND SINGH, RAI (d. 1827), vakil or agent of the Sikh kingdom, belonged to the famed Bhandan family of Batala founded by Bhag Mall, a wealthy adventurer. In 1809, Anand Singh was appointed an agent of the Sikh Darbar at Ludhiana, the British military station and political agency. He

ANAND, BABA, was the second son of Baba Mohri and a grandson of Guru Amar Das. He received his name from the Guru himself who also uttered a long hymn in Ramkali measure calling it Anandu. The hymn has since formed an important part of Sikh liturgy. Baba Anand

ANANDGHANA, SVAMI, an Udasi sadhii known for the commentaries he wrote on some of the Sikh scriptural texts. Not much biographical detail is available about him, but references in his own works indicate that he was a disciple of Baba Ram Dayal, an Udasi ascetic; also, that he was

ANANTA, BHAI, son of Bhai Kuko, a Vadhavan Khatri, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, he once earned the Guru`s displeasure for wantonly hitting a crow which became lame as a result of the

ANANTI, MATA, wife of Baba Gurditta and mother of Guru Har Rai, Nanak VII. She was popularly known as Mata Natti. Some chroniclers have also used for her the names of Nihal Kaur and Bassi. See NATTi, MATA

ANDREWS, CHARLES FREER (1871-1940). Anglican missionary, scholar and educationist, was born to John Edwin Andrews on 12 February 1871 in NewcastleonTyne in Great Britain. His father was a minister of the Evangelical Anglican Church. Andrews grew up in an intense and emotional religious environment. A nearly fatal attack of rheumatic

ANGAD DEV, GURU, (1504-1552), the second of the ten Gurus or prophet teachers of the Sikh faith was born Lahina on Baisakh vadi 1, Sammat 1561 Bikrami, corresponding with 31 March 1504. His father, Bhai Pheru, was a Trehan Khatri and a trader of humble means, whose ancestral home was

ANI RAI, BABA (b.1618), son of Guru Hargobind, was, according to Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, born to Mata Nanaki at Amritsar on 16 Maghar 1675 Bk/14 November 1618. The first to arrive to see the child`s face was grandmother, Mata Ganga, and she was the most rejoiced of all the

ANOKHI, BIBI, born, according to Kesar Singh Chhibbar, Bansavalinama Dasan Patshahian Ka, in the Bikrami year 1592/AD 1535. She was the third child and the younger of the two daughters of Guru Arigad and(Mata) Khivi. M.G.S. ANUPDEI, MATA, mother of the fourth Guru, Guru Ram Das (1534-81). See HARDAS.

Anoop Singh (1910 - 1989) was a lawyer by profession, hailing from the North-West Frontier Province of undivided Punjab. A lover of every good thing in life, he came to writing poetry seriously very late in life but his output compensated his late-coming both quantitatively and qualitatively. The most

ARDAMAN SINGH, BHAYEE (1899-1976), of pious lineage was born on 20 September 1899 (father: Bhayee Arjan Singh; mother: Devinder Kaur) at Bagarian, in present day Sarigrur district of the Punjab. The family traces its descent from Bhai Rup Chand, a devout Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644)

ARGOUD, BENOIT, a Frenchman, who joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s infantry in November 1836 as an instructor. He was of a quarrelsome nature and readily picked rows with his colleagues and subordinates. Dismissed from service in April 1837, he proceeded to Afghanistan, but failed to get any employment there. Returning

ARIF, KISHAN SINGH Arif, Kishan Singh(1836 - 1904) was a popular Punjabi poet. His father Narain Singh was a publisher and bookseller in Bazar Mai Sewan, Amritsar. He began studying books and Kissas at an early age. After the death of his father, he adopted the same profession. From

ARJAN DEV, GURU (1563-1606), fifth in the line of ten Gurus or prophet teachers of the Sikh faith, was born on Baisakh vadi 7, 1620 Bk/15 April 1563 at Goindval, in present day Amritsar district, to Bhai Jetha who later occupied the seat of Guruship as Guru Ram Das, fourth

ARJAN SINGH (d. 1859), a military commander in Sikh times, was born the son of Jamiat Singh of Rarighar Nangal, in Gurdaspur district. In 1845, on the eve of the first AngloSikh war, he was given the command of four infantry regiments, one regiment of cavalry, and a troop

ARJAN SINGH CHAHAL, SARDAR BAHADUR (1839-1908), was only seven when his father, Javala Singh, died in 1846 in the prime of his life. Arjan Singh belonged to the village of Chahal in Amritsar district. He held large jagirs in Tarn Taran tabsil and in Lyallpur district. He was an

ARJAN SINGH GARGAJJ (1905-1963), revolutionary and journalist, was born the son of Sundar Singh Ramgarhia, an artisan of Tarn Taran, in Amritsar district of the Punjab, in 1905. In 1919, when he was studying in class VI, young Arjan Singh was expelled from school for refusing to salute the

ARJAN SINGH NALVA (d. 1848), a minor jagirdar in Sikh times, was youngest of the four sons of the famous general, Hari Singh Nalva. He was a favourite of Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s grandson. In July 1840, it was reported that Arjan Singh had killed one

ARJAN SINGH THAPA was the son of the Gurkha general, Amar Singh Thapa, who had advanced his conquests up to Kangra in the early years of the nineteenth century. Maharaja Ranjit Singh expelled him from the Kangra hills, but the Gurkhas had fought so bravely that he decided to

ARJAN SINGH, BHAI (c. 1906-1924), born to Kishan Singh of the village of Kamalia, now in Sahival district of Pakistan, was a zealous worker in the cause of Sikh Gurdwara reform. As a young boy he was deeply affected by events at Nankana Sahib in 1921 (See NANKANA SAHIB MASSACRE).

ARJAN SINGH, BHAYEE (1875-1946), of Bagarian, titled chief much honoured in Sikh piety, was a descendant of Bhai Rup Chand, a devoted disciple of Guru Hargobind, who had bestowed on him the title `Bhai` (also written as Bhayee) or holy brother. Rup Chand belonged to the village of Vadda

ARUR SINGH (1890-1917), also known as Doctor Rur Singh, described in British government records as "a dangerous man," was born the son of Arjan Singh in 1890 at Sangval, a village in Jalandhar district of the Punjab. Working as a compounder in a veterinary hospital at Jalandhar, he came

ARUR SINGH, Maharaja Duleep Singh`s personal attendant and confidant, belonged to the village of Kohali, in Amritsar district. He was one of the five Sikhs who administered pahul or Sikh initiatory rites to Maharaja Duleep Singh at Aden on 25 May 1886. From Aden, Arur Singh accompanied the Maharaja

ARUR SINGH, BHAI (1872-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was born in November 1872 at Thothian village in Amritsar district, the son of Bhai Nihal Singh and Mat Jio. His education was limited to reading and writing the Gurmukhi script which he learnt in the village gurdwara. He

ARUR SINGH, SARDAR BAHADUR SIR (1865-1926), sarbarah (manager) of the principal Sikh shrines at Amritsar and Tarn Taran from 1907 to 1920, much maligned for his role during the popular movement for reform in the managment of Sikh shrines, came of a well known Shergil family of Naushahra in

AS KAUR, daughter of Gurdas Singh, was married to Raja Sahib Singh (1773-1813) of Patiala in 1792 and, in 1798, she bore him a son and heir who was named Karam Singh. She was a woman of great ability and her wise administration of the Patiala state during part

ASMAN KHAN or ASMAN KHAN (d. 1635), a Pathan who sacrilegiously appropriated the robe of honour, a sword and a horse bestowed by Guru Hargobind on his father in law, Painda Khan, and poached a hawk belonging to the Guru`s eldest son, Baba Gurditta. When questioned, Painda Khan defended

ATA MUHAMMAD KHAN BARAKZAI, son of Painda Khan Barakzai, became the governor of Kashmir in 1809. When Shah Shuja`, the king of Afghanistan, was dethroned, he fled towards the Punjab. At Attock he was captured by the governor, Jaharidad Khan. who sent him to Kashmir to be handed over

ATAL RAI, BABA (1619-1628), son of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), was born to Mata Nanaki at Amritsar on 23 October 1619. He died at the tender age of nine years. The circumstances of his death, as narrated in Gurbilas Chhevin Patshahi, were most extraordinary. Atal Rai had a playmate, Mohan,

ATAR SINGH, one of the twenty-two Kuka subas, i.e. governors or deputies, appointed in different parts to espouse Kuka or Namdhari patriotism and reform during the latter part of the nineteenth century, belonged to Ludhiana district. He was born in 1832 the son of Buddh Singh. He sold all

ATAR SINGH ATARIVALA (d. 1897), son of Chatar Singh Atarivala, governor of Hazara. He joined his father during the latter`s re volt against the British in 1848-49 and was, after the annexation of the Punjab, confined within the limits of his village, along with his father and brother, Raja

ATAR SINGH ATLEVALE, SANT (d. 1937), Sikh holy man and preacher, born in early fifties of the nineteenth century, was the eldest son of Bhai Kishan Singh and Mai Naraini, a devoted couple of Mirpur, in Jammu and Kashmir state. Atar Singh, originally known as Hari Singh, was adopted by

ATAR SINGH KALIANVALA (d. 1851), soldier and feudatory chief in Sikh times, was son of Dal Singh Naherna, a military commander under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Atar Singh`s ancestors belonged to the village of Karial, in Sheikhupura district, now in Pakistan. His great great grandfather, Sahib Singh, had been given

ATAR SINGH MAJITHIA (d. 1843), commander and civilian officer under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was the adopted son of Uttam Singh Majithia, and, in 1809, was appointed governor of Rawalpindi and its dependencies. He held an estate worth Rs. 28,000 at Sayyid Kasrari.

ATAR SINGH SANDHANVALIA (d. 1844). son of Amir Singh, was a collateral of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After the direct descendants of the Maharaja, he, as the eldest of the Sandhanvalia family, stood close to the throne. A daring soldier, Atar Singh was a calculating and shrewd courtier. He took

ATAR SINGH, SANT (1867-1927), of Gurdwara Reru Sahib at Rampur, in Ludhiana district in the Punjab, was born in March 1867 at the village of Lopon, now in Faridkot district. He was the son of Lal Singh, the village headman. Atar Singh was married in 1885 to Bishan Kaur

ATAR SINGH, SANT (1867-1927), of Gurdwara Reru Sahib at Rampur, in Ludhiana district in the Punjab, was born in March 1867 at the village of Lopon, now in Faridkot district. He was the son of Lal Singh, the village headman. Atar Singh was married in 1885 to Bishan Kaur

ATMA SINGH, also remembered as Atma Ram, was a faqir of Shuja`bad, near Multan, who received the Sikh rites under the influence of Baba Khuda Singh. Before his initiation into the Sikh faith, he lived in a dharamsala at Shuja`bad which received a grant of Rs 100 from the

ATMA SINGH, BHAI (1881-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was the son of Bhai Hira Singh, a Mazhabi Sikh of village Mustrabad in Gurdaspur district. The family later shifted to village Dharovali in Sheikhupura district where Atma Singh came in contact with Bhai Lachhman Singh, an active Akali

Attar Singh is a famous critic. He has so far published three collections of critical essays—Kavya Adhyayan (Study of Poetry), Drishtikon (Viewpoint), and Samadarshan (Perspectives). In his view, it is the first duty of progressive literature to fight against those tendencies that would tie literature to reaction. This can

ATTAR SINGH, SARDAR SIR (1833-1896), scholar nobleman, was a collateral of the rulers of Patiala, and belonged to the village of Bhadaur, in present day Sangrur district of the Punjab. He was born in 1833, the son of Kharak Singh. From the very beginning, he had a bent for

AUCKLAND, GEORGE EDEN, EARL OF (1784-1849), Governor General of India, son of William Eden, First Baron of Auckland, was born at Eden Farm, near Beckenham, in Kent, in August 1784. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the bar at Lincoln`s Inn in 1809. From 1810-13,

AULUKH, AJMER SINGH Aulukh, Ajmer Singh has published three collections of short plays. Arbad Narbad Dhundakar (Aeons and the Nebula, 1978) includes five such plays. The title is taken from a line of Guru Nanak in the Guru Grantha in which he has given cosmology on the lines of

AURANGZIB, MUHI UDDIN MUHAMMAD ALAMGIR (1618-1707), the last of the great Mughal emperors of India, ascended the throne of Delhi on 21 July 1658 after he had gained a decisive victory in the war of succession at Samugarh, near Agra, on 29 May 1658. Aurangzib`s appointment in 1636 as

AVITABILE, PAOLO CRESCENZO MARTINO (1791-1850), a Neapolitan soldier of fortune who, starting life as a private gunner, succeeded in obtaining high ranks in two widely separated Asiatic armies of Persia and Punjab, was born at Agerola, Naples, Italy, on 25 October 1791. From 1807 onwards he successively served in the

AVTAR SINGH AZAD Avtar Singh \'Azad\', (1906 - 1972) the minor Punjabi poet, is not deserving of notice. Before independence, he had published four collections of poems, Swant Bundan (Drops of Bliss), Savan Pinghan (The Swings of Savan), Vishva Vedna (Plight of the World) and Kansoan (Intimations), and published

AVTAR SINGH VAHIRIA, polemicist and scholar of Sikh texts, was born on 12 June 1848 at Thoha Khalsa, a village in Rawalpindi district, now in Pakistan. As a small boy, he learnt to recite the Sikh psalms from his mother and maternal uncle, Prem Singh. After he had learnt

AZIM KHAN, MUHAMMAD (d. 1823), was one of the sons of Painda Khan and a brother of Fateh Khan, who appointed him governor of Kashmir in April 1813. In 1814, Maharaja Ranjit Singh made an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Kashmir. On the death of Fateh Khan in 1818, Azim

AZIZ UDDIN, FAQIR (1780-1845), physician, diplomat, and foreign minister at the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the eldest son of Ghulam Mohy udDin, a leading physician of Lahore. Of his two brothers, Nur udDin held charge of the city of Lahore and had been governor of Gujrat, and Imam