THAKAR DAS, son of Kanhaiya Lal, worked as keeper of the small private signet of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in place of his father for some time. He was later appointed manager of the area of Dhanni, Rupoval, etc., on a salary of rupees 4,320 per annum when Kanvar Nau Nihal

BUDDHU SHAH, PIR (1647-1704), a Muslim divine whose real name was Badr udDIn and who was an admirer of Guru Gobind Singh, was born on 13 June 1647 in a prosperous Sayyid family of Sadhaura, in present day Ambala district of Haryana. Because of his simplicity and silent nature during

MEHAR SINGH NIRMALA, a Sandhu Jatt belonging to the Nishananvali misi, became famous by display of bravery and courage in the latter half of the eighteenth century. He was one of the persons who figured in the partition of Sirhind territory after the town was captured by Sikhs in

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,