LAILI or LAILA, a famous horse of superb beauty and grace, was originally owned by Yar Muhammad Khan Barakzai, the Sikh tributary governor of Peshawar. It was much coveted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, whose love for horses was proverbial. With the romantic name given it, Laili was known throughout Central

RAM SINGH (1744-1839), son of a Khatri belonging to Hasanvala in Gujrariwala district, was taken into the household of Charhat Singh Sukkarchakkia at a very young age. When he grew up, he rode in the chief`s troops. He considered Mahan Singh, son of Charhat Singh, his putreld

SAMMAN BURJ, also called Musamman Burj, an octagonal tower commanding a wide range of buildings within the Lahore Fort, was built by Emperor Akbar, who made the city his capital for some time. Within the Fort was situated the royal palace which was enlarged by Jahangir and,

ADVENTURES OF AN OFFICER IN THE PUNJAB (2 vols.) by Major H. M. L. Lawrence, under the pseudonym of Bellasis, published in AD 1846 by Henry Colburn, London, and reprinted in 1970 by the Languages Department, Punjab, Patiala. The book which is a rambling account, half fact half fiction, of

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

AHWAL-I-FIRQAH-I-SIKKHAN, variously titled as Twarikh-i-Sikkhan, Kitab-i-Tankhi-Sikkhan and Guzarish-i-Ahwal-i-Si\'kkhan, by Munshi Khushwaqt Rai, is a history in Persian of the Sikhs from their origin to AD 1811. Khushwaqt Rai was an official news writer of the East India Company accredited to the Sikh city of Amritsar. It was written at the

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

AKHBARAT-I-DEORH!I-MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH BAHADUR, a Persian manuscript written in nastaliq, mixed with shikasta, preserved in the National Archives of India at New Delhi. This is a copy of the roznamacha, i.e. a day today account, of the proceedings of the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh covering the period from January

AKHBAR-I-DARBAR-I-MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH, also called Akhbari Deorhi Sardar Ranjit Singh Bahadur, is a set of Persian manuscripts comprising 193 loose sheets of unequal size and containing, as the title indicates, news of the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). These sheets are believed to be newsletters sent from the Punjab

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,

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 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