BIKRAM SINGH, RAJA (1842-1898). born in January 1842, succeeded his father, Wazir Singh, to the throne of Faridkot state in 1874. A dominant figure in Faridkot history, Raja Bikram Singh modernized the state administration. He employed retired British officials of experience and in 1875 set up offices and courts on the British model and adopted British law. Schools and charitable hospitals were opened and dharamsalas and rest houses for travellers constructed. Sadavarats or free kitchens were established at Faridkot, Thanesar and Amritsar. Sanskrit pathshalas, or schools were started where free food was served to the students.
CHARHAT SINGH (d. 1770), grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the eldest of the four sons of Sardar Naudh Singh. He took to arms while still very young and started taking part in the raids and expeditions led by his father. He also fought in the Sikhs` skirmishes with the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Durrani. After the death of his father, he broke away from the Faizullapuria Misi and determined to acquire territory for himself. He left his ancestral village of Sukkarchakk and established his headquarters at Gujranwala, where he had gathered a considerable following within a short time.
DEVA SINGH, SARDAR BAHADUR(d. 1872), son of Fateh Singh and a great grandson of Savan Singh, cousin of Sarigat Singh, the leader of the Nishanavali misi, came of a Shergil Jatt family of Mansurval, in Firozpur district. Deva Singh joined service under Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1816 at a very young age. After some time, he was put under Lahina Singh Majithia who made him commandant of the regiment of his brother, Gujjar Singh. In 1834, he accompanied the young Sardar to Calcutta on a mission half complimentary, half political. In 1842, he was transferred to the Gurkha regiment to serve in Hazara.
DASAUNDHA SINGH (d. 1767), founder of the Nishanavali misl, was the son of Chaudhari Sahib Rai belonging to the village of Mansur, in Firozpur district of the Punjab. He received pahul, the Khalsa initiatory rites at the hands of Diwan Darbara Singh, a prominent Sikh leader of the post Banda Singh period. By 1734, Dasaundha Singh was a leading figure in the Taruna Dal. At the time of the formation of the Dal Khalsa in 1748, he was proclaimed the leader of the Nishanavali misl.
GOLA, BHAI, a Kukk Jatt, was initiated into Sikhism by Guru Arjan. The Guru taught him to devote himself to the remembrance of God. See GOIND KUKK, BHAI
GURDIT SINGH, BABA (1861-1954), patriot of Komagata Maru fame, was born in 1861, into a Sandhu Sikh family of Sarhali, a village in Amritsar district. Gurdit Singh`s grandfather had served in the Sikh army as an officer but his father, Hukam Singh, was a small farmer of moderate means. Failing monsoon in 1870 drove Hukam Singh to seek a living away from home. He migrated to Taiping, Malaysia, where he became a small time contractor. His eldest son, Pahilu Singh, joined him there later but Gurdit Singh remained in the village where, in the absence of a regular school, he learned to read and write Gurmukhi at the feet of the custodian of the local dharamsald.
HIRA SINGH (c. 1706-1767), founder of the Nakai mislor chief ship, was a Sandhu Jatt of the village of Bahirval, near Chuniari, in Lahore district, now in Pakistan. He was born the son of Chaudhari Hem Raj, headman of the village. In 1731, he received the initiatory rites of the Khalsa at the hands of the celebrated Bhal Mani Singh, and took to the adventurous and daring way of life of the Sikhs of those days. A number of young men of neighbouring villages joined him in his exploits, and he collected a lot of goods and many cattle, camels and horses. When the Sikhs sacked Kasur in 1763 and conquered Sirhind in 1764, Hira Singh occupied Bahirval, Chunian, Dipalpur, Jambar, Jelhupur, Kariganval and Khudlan.
JAMIAT SINGH, a water supplier by caste from the village of Mahimari Kaharari, in Amritsar district, was the son of Ratan Singh, a personal attendant of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Jamiat Singh continued in the service of Maharaja Duleep Singh as well and remained with him even after his deposition. He was in Maharaja Duleep Singh`s train when he left for England, but died on the way at Calcutta.
JHANDA SINGH (d. 1774) succeeded his father, Hari Singh, to the leadership of the Bharigi principality upon his death in 1765. Under Jhanda Singh, the power and prestige of the Bharigi misi rapidly increased. In 1766, he challenged both Shuja` Khan. Afghan governor of Multan, and Mubarak Khan, the ruler of Bahawalpur. As a result of the battle that followed, the holy town of Pakpattan was declared to be the line of demarcation between the Bharigi territories and those belonging to the Muslim chiefs. In 1772, Jhanda Singh attacked Multan once again, and drove out the Nawab. Multan became a Khalsa territory and the city was parcelled out between Jhanda Singh and his commander, Lahina Singh.Jhanda Singh then went on to sack Jharig, Khushab, Mankcra and Kala Bagh. He also attacked the stronghold of Chattha Jatts at Rasulnagar, later known as Ramnagar.
KAHN SINGH MAJITHIA (d. 1853), son of Amar Singh Majithia, served as a general in the Sikh army in the second AngloSikh war. During Maharaja Ranjil Singh`s reign, Kahn Singh was a minor military officer when he is said to have killed a lion with his sword while out hunting with the Maharaja in 1831. In 1838 he was an officer in the Ghorchara Khas. He was commandant of the Sikh force at Peshawar in 1848 when his troops marched out of Peshawar to join Chatar Singh and Sher Singh; Kahn Singh fought the British both at Cheliarivala and Gujrat.
