SARBATT KHALSA (sarbatt from Sanskrit sarva/ sarvatas meaning the whole or entire) is a term with a dual connotation. It is a concept as well as an institution. In the conceptual sense, KhaJsa is the extension of sarig"at, holycongregation, an institution which has been eulogized in the Sikh Scripture as

SIKH ARMY PANCHAYATS, or regimental committees, were a singularly characteristic phenomenon of the post Ranjit Singh period of Sikh rule in the Punjab. Based on the Sikh principle of equality as well as of the supremacy of sangat or the sarbatt khalsa, they wielded great power during 1841-45. Like the