DEVI DAS, DIWAN (1767-1830), eldest son of Diwan Thakur Das Khatri of Peshawar, was, like his father, in the service of the Afghan rulers prior to joining the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. At the time of Shah Zaman`s last invasion of northern India (1798-99), the Maharaja, who had

MIHAN SINGH (d. 1841), Sikh governor of Kashmir from 1834 to 1841. He had taken part in numerous military operations under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors. As governor of Kashmir, he ordered a free assessment of the land in the province. He also had his TarikhiKashmir, which was

DHANPAT RAI, DlWAN (d. 1831), son of Ram Kumar, served Maharaja Ranjit Singh in various capacities. His grandfather Gutu Mall, who belonged to Shahpur district, was employed as diwan to the Bharigi sardars, Gujjar Singh and Sahib Singh, regulating the civil affairs of a large tract of land under

MIT SINGH PADHANIA (d. 1814), soldier, commander and jdgirddr under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was the son of Sukkha Singh Padhama, and entered the service of the Sukkarchakkia mislunder Mahari Singh, who assigned to him a^agirworth Rs 12,000 annually. In 1804, in Ranjit Singh`s reign, he had command of

DAYA KAUR, RAM (d. 1823), widow of Gurbakhsh Singh of the Nishanavali principality of the Sikhs who ruled over Ambala, assumed control of the misi and the family estate upon her husband`s death in 1786. She ruled over the territory remarkably well for nearly 37 years. Sir Lepel Griffin

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

FATEH SINGH KALIANVALA (d. 1807), military commander and jagirdar under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the son of Jassa Singh and grandson of Jaimal Singh. Jaimal Singh was a Sandhu Jatt and the first in the line to embrace the Sikh faith. He was a resident of Kala village in

NIJATULLAH SHAH, SAYYID, British news writer at the Sikh capital of Lahore. Press lists of old records refer to his news diaries which give an account of the political state of affairs in the kingdom. He reports the events at Peshawar, the withdrawal of the British garrison at Jalalabad,

GURBAKHSH SINGH KALSIA (d. 1785), a leading figure in the Karor Singhia misi of the Sikhs, was a Sandhu Jatt, belonging to the village of Kalsia in Lahore district. He received Sikh initiatory rites at the hands of the revered Bhai Mani Singh at Amritsar in the time of

NIRMOHGARH SAHIB, GURDWARA, situated on top of a low hill 4 km south of Kiratpur (31° ll`N, 76° 35`E), is dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh. In August 1700, Anandpur, which was then the seat of Guru Gobind Singh, was attacked by a combined force of several of the surrounding hill

HIMMAT SINGH JALLEVALIA (d. 1829), son of Chaudhan Gulab Rai, a Bairis Jatt of Mahalpur, in present day Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab, joined the Sikh forces which conquered Sirhind province in 1764, and secured for himself the village of Jalla, whence the family derived its cognomen of Jallevalia.

OCHTERLONY, SIR DAVID (1758-1825), soldier and diplomat, son of David Ochterlony, was born at Boston, Massachusetts, on 12 February 1758. In 1777, he joined the service of the East India Company as a cadet. He served under Lord Lake in the battle of Delhi and was appointed British resident in