GAJJA SINGH, MAHANT (c. 1850-1914), maestro of Sikh classical devotional music, was born in a Jatt Sikh family of Vandar, a village in Faridkot district of the Punjab. He had a sensitive ear for music from his early childhood. His father, a pious Sikh himself, apprenticed him for religious

GHANAUR JATTAN, locally called Tall Ghanaur, village on the left bank of the Ghaggar Branch of the Sirhind canal, about 30 km southeast of Sangrur (30°14`N, 75°50`E) in the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind and Guru Tegh Bahadur. A small domed Manji Sahib commemorates the visits of the

GURU NANAK SARBSAMPRADAI CONFERENCE, 1934, convened at Bhaini Sahib, centre of the Namdhari Sikhs, on 13 and 14 October 1934 at the instance of Baba Partap Singh, the Namdhari chief, with the primary object of forging unity among various Sikh sects following the teachings of Guru Nanak. Almost all the

HIRA SINGH, BHAI ( 1880-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was the eldest of the four sons of Bhai Buta Singh and Mat Bhagan, farmers of modest means living in village Taungarivali in Gujranwala district (now in Pakistan). Under the influence of Bhai Varyam Singh, Hira Singh turned

KESAR SINGH, BHAI (1875-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was the son of Bhai Mihari Singh and Mai Bhagan, farmers of moderate means of Bharokt village in Gujrariwala district, who later migrated to Sheikhupura district. He was a simple peasant with a large family of three sons and

KHUSHAL SINGH, BHAI (1889-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was born on 5 Chet 1945 Bk/17 March 1889, the son of Bhai Buddh Singh. He learnt to read Gurmukhi in the village Gurudwara and received the rites of Khalsa initiation. He was one of the 15 Akali volunteers

KIRPAL DAS, MAHANT, an Udasi prelate, was putting up with Guru Gobind Singh at Paonta Sahib at the time of the commencement of the battle of Bharigam, fought between the troops of hill chiefs and those of Guru Gobind Singh, in 1688. As his followers, not given to fighting

LACHHMAN SINGH (1885-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was the leader of the jatha of more than one hundred Sikhs who were attacked in Gurdwara Janam Asthan (birthplace of Guru Nanak) by the custodian of the shrine, Mahant Narain Das, and his accomplices, and killed to a man. Lachhman

LEHAL KALAN, village 9 km southeast of Lahira (29°56`N, 75°48`E), in Sarigrur district of the Punjab, was visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur, who halted briefly on a sandy mound, about 400 metres west of the village. An old farmer, Arak by name, served him, and received instruction from him. Bhai

MAHITAB SINGH, MAHANT (1811-1871), founder Sri Mahant (head) of Sri Nirmal Panchaiti Akhara, at Patiala, was born in 1811 in a Jatt Sikh family of the village of Lehal Kalan, now in Sangrur district in the Punjab. He learnt to read Punjabi in his village and gained fluency in

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

NIHAL SINGH DAMDAMIAN, 19th century Nirmala saint, a native of Mimsa village of the former princely state of Patiala, received initiation and religious education at the hands of Mahant Dunna Singh, of Uchcha Buriga, a Nirmala sanctuary at Damdama Sahib, Talvandi Sabo, in present day Bathinda district, and became