LITTLER, SIRJOHN HUNTER (1783-1856), garrison commander at Firozpur, the concentration point of British forward movement preparatory to the first Anglo Sikh war, was born on 6 January 1783 at Tarvin, Cheshire, England. He joined the 10th Bengal Native Infantry in August 1800 and served in the campaigns under Lord Lake

WHISH, SIR WILLIAM SAMPSON (1787-1853), divisional commander of the British army under Lord Hugh Gough in the second Anglo-Sikh war, was born at North world, England, on 27 February 1787, the son of Richard Whish. He received a commission in the Bengal artillery in 1804. In 1826, he was appointed

VAK, from Sanskrit vaka (sounding, speaking ; a text, recitation or formula) or vakya (speech, saying, statement, declaration, a sentence or period), has a special connotation in the Sikh system. In Sikh terminology, Vak means the command or lesson read from the Guru Granth Sahib. Vak laina or hukam laina

THACKWELL, SIR EDWARD JOSEPH (1781-1859), commander of cavalry division of the army of the Sutlej under Lord Hugh Gough in the first Anglo Sikh war was born on 1 February 1781, the son of John Thackwell. A veteran of Peninsula and Waterloo, he assumed command of the army of the

SULTAN MAHMUD KHAN (d. 1859) , son of General Ghaus Khan, was a commander of a section of heavy artillery during the regime of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. His derah of artillery was designated as Topkhanai Sultan Mahmud. After the death of General Ghaus Khan in 1814, although the chief command

SUCHAJl (SUCHAJJI), literally, a woman of good manner and accomplishment, is the title of one of Guru Nanak`s compositions, in measure Suhi, in the Guru Granth Sahib. Antithetically, it follows another of his compositions called Kuchaji (literally, an awkward, illmannered woman). Suchaji (`sn`, meaning good or appropriate; `chaf meaning

STEINBACH, HENRY, a Prussian, was one of the many European adventurers who secured employment in the Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors. Steinbach joined the Sikh infantry in 1836 as a battalion commander on a starting salary of Rs 600 per month, increased to Rs 800 by 1841.

RAM SINGH CHHAPEVALA (d. 1840) was a man of note who fought in the battles of Ramnagar, Cheliarivala and Gujrat during the second AngloSikh war of 1848-49. His father. Dial Singh, was born in a poor peasant family of the village of Dadumajra, in Sialkot district of the Punjab.

PURIS (Shiva Puri, Brahama Puri, Vishnu Puri and Indra Puri) Death will ultimately come in Indra Puri (heaven of Indra), Brahma Puri (heaven of Brahma) will not be there for ever;Shiva Puri (heaven of Shiva) will also come to an end..... (Gauri M. 5, p. 237) All the Puris,

MEVIUS, also recorded as Frank Ernest Mevins, was a Prussian who came to the Punjab in March 1827 and was employed in the Sikh army in the rank of a colonel. According to the Khalsa Darbar records, Mevius had to sign a pledge that he would, "during his period

MAZHAR ALI, an artillery officer in Sikh times who commanded the horse battery of Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s Topkhanai Khas. For a time, he served under General Ghaus Khan with command of a battery of 10 light guns. He took part in the Attock operations in 1813 under the command

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