NANAKI, BEBE, or Bibi Nanaki (1464-1518), elder sister of Guru Nanak and the daughter of Kalian Chand (Baba Kalu) and Maia Tripta, was born in 1464 in her mother`s home at the village of Chahal, now in Lahore district of Pakistan Punjab. Five years older than her brother, she

FATEH KHAN (d. 1818), son of Painda Khan, the Barakzai chief, who overthrew Shah Zaman, the king of Afghanistan (1793-1800), and placed his half-brother Shah Mahmud on the throne of Afghanistan, himself becoming prime minister. Shah Mahmud was dethroned in 1803 and was succeeded by Shah Shuja`. Fateh Khan expelled

RAVANA Rama has gone and Ravana has gone, who had a big family; the world is a dream and nothing is stable, saith Nanak. (Shalok M. 9, p. 1428) Ravana, who had one lakh sons and lakh and a quarter grandsons; there is not even a lamp and a

GULAB SINGH ATARIVALA (d. 1887), the second son of Chatar Singh Atarivala, was appointed, along with his brother Raja Sher Singh, to look after, during his minority, Maharaja Duleep Singh who had been betrothed to their sister, Tej Kaur, and to manage the palace household. In 1848, when Raja

SATI DAS, BHAI (d. 1675), the martyr, was the younger brother of Diwan Mati Das. According to Bhatt Vahl Talauda he served Guru Tegh Bahadur as a cook. He was, under imperial warrant, detained along with the Guru at Dhamtan, as the latter was travelling to the eastern parts in

GURDIT SINGH NALVA (1807-1882), soldier and jdgirddr in Sikh times, was the eldest son of the famous general, Hari Singh Nalva. He received a sum of Rs 2,200 from Maharaja Ranjit Singh as his share out of money left by his father. The British settled upon him an allowance

SHAH ZAMAN, son of Taimur Shah and grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani, became the ruler of Afghanistan in May 1793 at the age of 23. As soon as Shah Zaman came to the throne, he proclaimed his intention of reestablishing the Afghan sway in India. His first attempt to conquer

GURMUKH SINGH (1799-1870), son of Fateh Singh , belonged Lo the village of Turig, near Amritsar. In 1816, he joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh `s army. He was given command of 100 horse and placed under Misr Divan Chand and, after the latter`s death in 1825, under Desa Singh Majlthia.

SINGARU, BHAI, and his brother Jaita, both brave soldiers, received initiation at the hands of Guru Arjan. The Guru directed them to be in attendance upon his son, Hargobind. They continued to serve the latter and were happy to see him installed as Guru in 1606. According to Bhai

HARI LAL, BHAI, and his brother, Bhai Krishan Lal, Brahmans of Kashi who, disregarding caste prejudice and pride, joined the Sikh faith in the time of Guru Arjan. According to Bhai Kahn Singh, Gurushabad Ratandkar Mahdn Kosh, slokas in SahaskritT, a contemporary variety of Sanskrilized diction, were composed by

SUNDARI, by Bhai Vir Singh, first published in 1898, is commonly acknowledged to be the first novel written in the Punjabi language. The story, set in the eighteenth century, depicts the trials and heroism of an imaginary character, Sundar Kaur (Sundari for short) who, born in a Punjabi Khatri Hindu

JANGNAMA LAHOW:, by Kahn Singh, is a poem describing the battles fought between the British and the Sikhs during 1845-46. Kahn Singh belonged to Bariga, Jalandhar district, and undertook the work at the instance of the British Deputy Commissioner of the area, Mr Vanistart. Though there is no internal evidence