SHAH DAULA (158 IP1676), a renowned Muslim divine of his time, was the son of `Abd urRahim Khan Lodhi, a descendant of Sultan Ibrahim Lodhi and Niamat Khatun, a scion of the chiefs of Gakkhar tribe of western Punjab, though the Gu^jars of Gujrat, now in Pakistan, claim him

MANOHAR DAS. BHAI, a great grandson of Guru Amar Das and a distant cousin of Guru Hargobind, was a devoted Sikh, known for his piety and humility. He had been brought up by Guru Arjan himself. As he grew up, he started performing kirtan at Gurdwara Chaubara Sahib and

MATT DAS, BHAI (d. 1675), the martyr, was the son of Bhai Hira Mal, also called Hiranand, a Chhibbar Brahman of Kariala, now in Pakistan. His grandfather, Bhai Paraga, had embraced the Sikh faith in the time of Guru Hargobind and had taken part in battles with the Mughal forces.

MEDINI PRAKASH, ruler from 1684 to 1704 of Sirmur, a state situated along the river Yamuna in the Kayarda Dun valley of the Sivalik hills, was one among the hill chiefs who did not support Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur in his designs against Guru Gobind Singh. In April 1685,

MIRI SINGH was son of Kahn Singh and grandson of Baba Binod Singh, who had under the orders of Guru Gobind Singh accompanied Banda Singh Bahadur from Nanded, in the South, to the Punjab in 1708 along with three other disciples. Miri Singh took part in several of Banda

RAN SINGH NAKAI (d. 1781), son of Nattha Singh, succeeded in 1768 his brother, Nahar Singh, to the leadership of Nakai misl. Ran Singh considerably increased the power and influence of the Nakais. The territory under his control was worth nine lakh of rupees per annum, and comprised Chuniari,

SADHARAN, SANT, was the name given by Guru Amar Das to one of his devoted Sikhs, a carpenter of Goindval, who had made a long wooden ladder for use in the baoli, or open well, then under construction. Pleased with his devotion and industry, Guru Amar Das called him

SANSRAM, son of Baba Mohan and a grandson of Guru Amar Das. According to Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahima Prakash, he lost his mother in infancy. His father being indifferent to worldly affairs, Guru Amar Das took him under his care. Sarisram grew up to be a gifted young man.

SATTA, also called Satta Dum because he was a du/n or miraslby birth, a rababior rebeckplayer to Guru Arjan, and co-composer, with Rai Balvand, of Ramkall ki Var, included in the Guru Granth Sahib in the Ramkali musical measure.

MALI SINGH (d. 1716), resident of the village of Salaudi near Sirhind, was in the service of Nawab Wazir Khan, the Mughal faujdar. Following his brother Ali Singh, he left his service and joined Banda Singh Bahadur\'s army. Mali Singh took part in several of Banda Singh\'s campaigns and

SHAHBAZ SINGH (d. 1745) was the son of Subeg Singh, the kotwal of Lahore under the Mughal governor, Zakariya Khan. He went to a Muhammadan school to read Persian and Arabic. He made good progress in his studies and caught the notice of the maulawi for his highly intelligent

SIKH TRADITION (HISTORIOGRAPHY) begins with Janam Sakhis, the life stories of Guru Nanak (1469-1539). There is hardly any evidence of the tradition of history writing in ancient India, though in modern times attempts have been made at different levels to show the existence of somewhat vague historio graphic elements particularly