KARAM SINGH CHAHAL (d. 1823) was, like his father Kattha Singh, in the service of the Bhangi sarddrst.a.hma. Singh and Gujjar Singh before he joined Ranjit Singh`s army after he had seized Lahore in 1799 from Lahina Singh Bhangi`s son, Chet Singh. Karam Singh rapidly rose in the Maharaja`s favour and became a powerful sarddr. He took part in most of the Maharaja`s campaigns, including those of Pindi Bhattian, Pothohar, Jhang, Kasur and Multan.
KHARAK SINGH, BABA (1868-1963), Sikh political leader and virtually the first president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, was born on 6 June 1868 at Sialkot, now in Pakistan. His father, Rai Bahadur Sardar HarT Singh, was a wealthy contractor and industrialist. Kharak Singh, having passed his matriculation examination from Mission High School and intermediate from Murray College, both at Sialkot, joined Government College, Lahore, and was among the first batch of students who graduated from the Parijab University in 1889.
LAHINA SINGH, SARDAR (d.1893) a military commander during Sikh rule in the Punjab, came of a Sohi Khatri family of Gharjakh, a village adjacent to the town of Gujranwala (now in Pakistan). His grandfather, Panjab Singh, was a trooper in the regiment of Sardar Fateh Singh Kalianvala, a general in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After Fateh Singh`s death in 1807 in the battle of Naraingarh, Panjab Singh left his regiment to join another directly under Ranjit Singh`s command, where he rose in rank and was given a jagir. His son, Kahn Singh, was given the command of 500 horse and ajagir worth 15,000 rupees a year.
MANGAL SINGH, SARDAR (1892-1987), journalist, politician and parliamentarian, long had the epithet `Akali` attached to his name for his prominence in Akali affairs. He was born on 6 June 1892 at the village of Gil), near Ludhiana, the son of Zaildar Kapur Singh, who had been granted by the British two squares (20 hectares) of land in 1898 in Chakk No. 208 in the newly developed canal colony of Lyallpur, to where the family eventually migrated. After passing the matriculation examination in 1911, Mangal Singh joined the Khalsa College at Amritsar. As the First World War broke out in 1914, he left off studies and enlisted in the signals section of the University Officers Training Corps.
MOHAR SINGH (d. 1785), a prominent leader of the Nishananvali chieftaincy, was the eldest of the three sons of Lal Singh. He added Ambala and Zira to the territories he had inherited and soon became an influential figure among the cis Sutlej chiefs. In September 1779, he at Thanesar waited upon `Abdul Ahd Khan who was then leading an expedition against Patiala, and received from him a khill`at of five pieces, a sarpech, and a sword. In 1785, Mahadji Scindia, regent of the Mughal empire, decided to win over the Sikhs by a treaty of friendship, and sent Ambaji Ingle to start negotiations.
NIHAL SINGH, of Naushahra near Tarn Taran in Amritsar district of the Punjab, was among the close associates of the Sikh revolutionary, Bhai Maharaj Singh (d. 1856), who assigned him to many a secret mission such as procuring weapons from Charhat Singh, an exkdrddr, and helping Bhai Tek Chand of Amritsar who had been charged with distributing "turbans" on his (Maharaj Singh`s) behalf among volunteers and zaminddrs who offered to join his standard.
PASHAURA SINGH, KANVAR (1821-1845), son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was born in 1821 to Rani Daya Kaur. He emerged from obscurity to claim the kingdom of the Punjab after the assassination of Maharaja Sher Singh. After his escape from Baba Bir Singh`s camp, where his brother Kashmira Singh was killed, he reached Lahore to make up with Raja Hira Singh. It was the most opportune time for him to be in the capital, for relations between Hira Singh and his uncle Gulab Singh had then become strained on the question of the disposal of Raja Suchet Singh`s treasure.
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, part of Kasur, Sharakpur, Gugera and, at one time, Kot Kamalia. Ran Singh had a force of 2,000 horsemen, with camel swivels and a few guns. His headquarters were at Bahirval in Lahore district. Ran Singh died in 1781 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Bhagvan Sfrigh, whose sister, Raj Kaur, was married to Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
SAHIB SINGH ISAPURIA (b.1805), son of Ram Singh Randhava, belonged to the Isapur branch of the Randhava family founded by his great grand father, Dasaundha Singh. At the time of his father`s death in 1836, he was serving under Raja Suchet Singh Dogra. He participated in many of Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s campaigns of conquest. He was present when Multan was conquered in 1818 and also joined the expedition to Kashmir the following year. He served under Prince Kharak Singh and Raja Suchet Singh at Mankera, Bannu and Derajat. He survived long after the occupation of the Punjab by the British and resided at isapur.
SHAMIR SINGH THETHAR (d. 1824), soldier and a minor commander in the Sikh times. He was the son of Prem Singh, of the village of Thethar, near Lahore, and brother of Lakkha Singh along with whom he entered the service of Sukkarchakkias. Shamir Singh fought in the battle of Rasulnagar in 1778-79 under Mahan Singh, who had joined hands with Jai Singh, of the Kanhaiya misi, against Pir Muhammad Khan Chattha.
