ALPHABET (GURMUKHI) Punjabi alphabet is known as Gurmukhi. Since its characters were used for writing and transcribing the biography and hymns of Guru Nanak, it was given this name by the second Sikh Guru, Guru An gad Dev. It is a misnomer to call the Guru as the inventor of its characters, because before the advent of Guru Nanak, their usage had been prevalent according to in a tablet found at A thur in Ludhiana district. Even Guru Nanak himself based one of his poems entitled \'patti\' on its characters. This Alphabet is also called \'Paint is Akhri\' because it contains thirty-five letters.
BISHAN SINGH, a general in the Sikh army, was the adopted son of Jamadar Khushal Singh, the royal chamberlain (deorhidar). He received his education at the Ludhiana Mission School across the AngloSikh frontier. In 1848, when stationed at Pind Dadan Khan, Bishan Singh was ordered to move his troops to assist Herbert Edwardes, the British resident`s assistant at Bannu, who was then marching against Diwan Mul Raj at Multan. A few months after, his troops revolted and joined the insurrectionists, but Bishan Singh sided with the British and joined Lord Gough`s camp. For this he was rewarded with a pension by the British government.
DARSHAN SINGH PHERUMAN (1885-1969), political leader and martyr, was born at the village of Pheruman, in present day Amritsar district, on 1 August 1885. His father`s name was Chanda Singh and his mother`s Raj Kaur. After passing his high school examination, he joined in 1912 the Indian army as a sepoy. Two years later, he resigned from the army and set up as a contractor at Hissar. He was doing well as a contractor, when a taunt from his mother, who was deeply religious, led him to give up his business and plunge into the Akali movement for the reform of Gurdwara management.
