JASVANT SINGH, RAJA (1775-1840), succeeded his father, Raja Hamir Singh, to the throne of Nabha in 1783 at the age of eight, under the guardianship of his stepmother, Mai Deso, a very resourceful and energetic woman. In 1790, after the death of Mal Deso, he assumed the reins of

KARAM SINGH DULLU, an eighteenth century Bhangi sarddr, was the chief of Jhang district, along the River Chcnab. He commanded about 2,000 cavalry and 1,000 infantry as a permanent force, and could on occasions muster 6,000 horse and 3,000 foot. He had eight strong forts in his territory. Karam

KEHAR SINGH SANDHANVALIA (d. 1864), son of Afar Singh Sandharivalia, a collateral of Maharaja Ranjil Singh, was imprisoned, along with his uncle Lahina Singh Sandharivalia, by Maharaja Shcr Singh in January 1842 for conspiring against the Slate. As long as lie remained in Lahore, he endeavoured, at the instigation

MIRZA SINGH (d. 1787),wasson of Chuhar Singh, a Shergil Jatt. One of his ancestors, Chaudhari Sarvani, had founded the village of Naushera, also known as Raipur Sarvani, during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahari and was permitted to hold it rent free as remuneration for collecting the revenue of

MISLDARI OR MISALDARI, a system of political relationship as well as of land tenure which came into being with the rise of Sikh power in the eighteenth century Punjab. The Sikh warriors who, since the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716, had lived precariously as small guerilla bands, had

MUHKAM CHAND, DIWAN (1750-1814), a renowned Sikh army general of the early years of Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s reign, was born around AD 1750. Son of a small shopkeeper, Baisakhi Mall Khatri, of Kunjah, a village in Gujrat district, now in Pakistan, he trained as an accountant and served as a

NARINDER SINGH, MAHARAJA (1824-1862), born at Patiala on 26 November 1824, succeeded his father, Maharaja Karam Singh, to the Patiala throne on 18 January 1846. Narinder Singh aided the British with supplies and carriage during the first AngloSikh war and was rewarded with additional estates, especially from Nabha territory.

PERRON, PIERRE CUILLIER (1755-1834), in chief and all powerful deputy in northern India. Perron endeavoured to extend Maratha influence up to the River Sutlej. When in 1800 the British emissary, Mir Yusaf `Ali Khan, came on a mission to the court of RanjTt Singh, Perron did not wish an entente

RAM SINGH NURPURIA, an associate of Bhai Maharaj Singh in his revolt against the British, was the son of Shiam Singh alias Shiama, a Pathania Rajput and Wazir or minister to Raja Bir Singh, chief of Nurpur, 25 km east of Pathankot (32° 18`N, 75° 40`E), a feudatory of

SOBHA SINGH, a native of Doaba region, joined Bhai Maharaj Singh, a leading figure in the 1848-49 revolt, in his march to Multan in aid of Diwan Mul Raj in June 1848, and remained with him throughout till he reached Dev Batala, in the Jammu territory, after the battles

ALLAHDAD KHAN (d. 184.9) was the last ruler of Khattekhel family of Tonk, situated in Bannu district, on the northwest frontier. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered this region in 1821, Allahdad Khan became a tributary of the Sikh government. As the tribute had fallen in arrears, an expedition was

TARUNA DAL, army of the youth, was one of the two main divisions of Dal Khalsa, the confederated army of the Sikhs during the eighteenth century, the other one being the Buddha Dal (army of the elders). These Dais came into existence in 1734 when, during a truce with Zakariya