SARDAR, in Persian amalgam of sar (head) and dar (a suffix derived from the verb dash tan, i.e. to hold) meaning holder of headship, is an honorific signifying an officer of rank, a general or chief of a tribe or organization. Sikhs among whom, during the time of the Guru

TARIKHIPANJAB, by Pandit Debt Prasad, is a book in Urdu delineating the history of the Punjab in two parts : Part one covering the period from the time of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) to the British conquest of the Punjab in 1849, and Part two containing a detailed account of

AJUDHIA PARSHAD, DIWAN (1799-1870), soldier and civil administrator in Sikh times, was the adopted son of Diwan Ganga Ram. Maharaja Ranjit Singh first employed Ajudhia Parshad in 1819 to serve in the military office in Kashmir. Three years later, he was recalled to Lahore and appointed paymaster of the

AS KAUR, daughter of Gurdas Singh, was married to Raja Sahib Singh (1773-1813) of Patiala in 1792 and, in 1798, she bore him a son and heir who was named Karam Singh. She was a woman of great ability and her wise administration of the Patiala state during part

BHAG SINGH, RAI (d. 1884) was son of Rai Kishan Chand Bhandari who worked as a vakil or agent under the Sikh government. In the beginning of 1838 when Rai Kishan Chand accompanied Colonel Wade to Peshawar, Bhag Singh officiated in his place as agent at Ludhiana, in the

BURNES, SIR ALEXANDER (1805-1841), British traveller, explorer and writer, was born on 16 May 1805. He joined Bombay infantry in 1821. Upon his arrival in India, he devoted himself to the study of the local languages and was, while still an ensign, selected for the post of regimental interpreter. In

FANE, SIR HENRY (1778-1840), commander-in-chief of the British Indian army, who visited the Punjab in 1837 on the occasion of the marriage of Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s grandson. Sir Henry Fane`s visit to Ranjit Singh was an event of considerable interest. He was highly impressed by the

HOLMES, JOHN (d. 1848), a Eurasian soldier of fortune, who started his career as a trumpeter in tlic Bengal Horse Artillery. In September 1829, lie left the British, and joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army as a gunner, eventually rising to the rank of colonel. He took part in the battle

KALHA, RAI, feudatory chief of Raikot in Ludhiana district of the Punjab, was a contemporary of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). Converted from Hinduism to Islam, the Rai`s family were still among the admirers of the Gurus. When Guru Gobind Singh, after his escape from Chamkaur, was passing through his

LAL SINGH, RAJA (d. 1866), son of Misr Jassa Mall, a Brahman shopkeeper of Sanghoi, in Jehlum district in West Punjab, entered the service of the Sikh Darbar in 1832 as a writer in the treasury. He enjoyed the patronage of the Dogra minister Dhian Singh and, when in 1839

MUL RAJ, DIWAN, governor of Hazara during Sikh times, was connected through family lies with Misr Beli Ram, an influential courtier. During the prime ministership of Raja Hira Singh (1843-44) when Misr Beli Ram was imprisoned, Diwan Mul Raj too was suspected of disloyalty towards the State. He was placed

PRICE, JAMES, an Englishman who deserting the British camp at Ludhiana in early 1809. came to Lahore and joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army on a salary of Rs 300 per month. He served under Diwan Muhkam Chand. The British demanded his extradition which was denied. However, he did not