AJAB SINGH (d. 1705). son of Bhai Mani Ram, a Rajput Sikh of `Alipur in Multan district, now in Pakistan, came to Anandpur with his father and four brothers, and received the rites of initiation at the inauguration of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi day

AHIMSA. The term ahimsa is formed by adding the negative prefix a to the word himsa which is derived from the Sanskrit root \'han\', i.e. \'to kill\', \'to harm\', or \'to injure\', and means not killing, not harming, not injuring. The commonly used English equivalent \'non-violence\' is inadequate as it

AHLUVALIA MISL. See also MISLS Ahluvalia Misl was one of the twelve misls or Sikh confedracies which had gained power in the Punjab during the latter half of the eighteenth century, derived its name from the village of Ahlu, in Lahore district, founded by a Kalal or distiller of wine,

AMRITSAR (31°38\'N, 74°53\'E), principal holy city of the Sikhs, is the headquarters of a district (Amritsar) in the Punjab. The foundation of the town was laid in 1577 by Guru Ram Das (1534-81) when he inauguarted the digging of the holy tank Amritsar (amrit = nectar, sar = pool)

AHMAD SHAH DURRANI (1722-1772), the first of the Saddozai rulers of Afghanistan and founder of the Durrani empire, belonged to the Saddozai section of the Popalzai clan of the Abdali tribe of Afghans. In the 18th century the Abdalis were to be found chiefly around Herat. Under their leader

AHMAD, SHAIKH (1564-1624), celebrated Muslim thinker and theologian of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, was born on 26 May 1564 at Sirhind in present day Patiala district of the Punjab. He received his early education at the hands of his father. Shaikh `Abd al-Ahad, and later studied at Siaiko, now in

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

AHRAURA, a small town in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, 40 km south of Varanasi (25°20\'N, 8205-81 E). has a Sikh shrine called Gurudwara Bagh Shri Guru Tegh BahadurJi Ka. Guru Tegh Bahadur visited Ahraura in 1666 in the course of his journey in the eastern parts. It is

AHWAL-I-DINA BEG KHAN , Persian manuscript of unknown authorship, gives biographical details about Adina Beg Khan, faujdar of Jalandhar. The manuscript forms part of the collection of Persian Manuscripts, Sir H.Elliot\'s Papers, Additional MS. 30780 (ff. 2152-92), Extracts relating to India, vol. VIII. 1 , preserved in British Library, London.

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

AI PANTH, one of the twelve sects of yogis, whose adherents worship Ai Bhavani, a tribal female deity, believed to be an extension of Sakti. Siva in the form of ardhanarisvara is said to have two forms represented by his own halves. His right side is the male whose followers

AJAB, BHAI, a Jatt of Sangha clan who lived in the village of Darauli, now called Darauli Bhai, in Faridkot; district of the Punjab. He, like his brothers Umar Shah and Ajaib, forsook his faith in Sultan Sakhi Sarwar, became a Sikh and rendered devoted service at the time