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)

MASSE KHAN RANGHAR (d. 1740), a Rarighar Rajput landlord converted to Islam, belonged to the village of MandialT, 8 km south of Amritsar. He was appointed kotwdl of Amritsar by Zakariya Khan, the Mughal governor of Lahore (1726-45), after the death of Qazi `Abdur Rahman who had met his end

AKBAR KHAN MUHAMMAD (d. 1848), son of Dost Muhammad Khan, the ruler of Afghanistan. He was a Hery young man of great dash and daring. Like his father, he was keen to regain the Afghan possessions in India Multan, Kashmir, Attock and Peshawar. In 1837, Dost Muhammad Khan declared

METUI, a Russian soldier of fortune, described to be a captain in one of the regiments of the Sikh army in 1841 on a monthly salary of Rs 300. According to one account, he had married a Kashmiri woman and had a daughter by her and was a resident

AMARAPURI (AMARAVATI) In the Sikh Scripture, instead of Amaravati, the word Amarapuri has been used. "Ineffable is the discourse of Amarapuri (the immortal city). He also attains unto it, whom the Lord blesses." (Swayye Mahle Chauthe Ke, p. 1398) Amaravati is the city of Indra, the king of the

MULTAN (SO012`N, 71°31`E), ancient city which had been a prominent centre of Muslim piety, was where according to Bhai Gurdas, Varan I. 4445, Guru Nanak met with some local Sufi saints. Travelling from Kartarpur, on the River Ravi, Guru Nanak first went to Achal Batala and thence to Multan. As

BIANCHI, an Italian engineer, who arrived at Lahore in Sikh times. According to the Khalsa Darbar payrolls, he served the Sikh State and was employed in 1835 as a road engineer on a salary of 9 rupees per day. He constructed a road from General Ventura`s house to the

MERU (SUMERU) There are many Karma-bhumis (action-oriented worlds) and many Merus mountains)..... (Japu, p. 7) On the mountains (Meru Sumeru) many peacocks dance when the clouds are overcast. (Nal M. 4, p. 983) I ascended Sumeru and came back after searching the Lord. The Lord who has built this

BARANA (VARUNA) There are many Baranas..... (Sarag M. 5, p. 1236) He is the god of ocean and sovereign of waters. He carries a noose called Naga-Pasa for binding offénders. His favourite resort is Pushpa-girl (flower-mountain) and his city is Vasudha-nagara. He is one of the oldest of the

QILA GUJJAR SINGH, a residential area within the limits of Lahore, was designated a "fort" when in April 1765 the city was parcelled out among the three Bharigi Sardars, Gujjar Singh, Lahina Singh and Sobha Singh. The area outside the walled city of Lahore, about five square miles,

BENARES (BANARASA, VARANASI) .....They have rosaries around their necks and glittering jugs in their hands—they cannot be called the saints of Hari, they are the Thugs of Benares (Varanasi).(Asa Kabir, pp. 476) He lives on the bank of Asi rivulet in Benares (Varanasi). (Gond Namdev, p. 873) It is

RAI SINGH, son of Lakhmir Singh of Amritsar and a leader of the Bharigi family, captured, together with his brother Bagh Singh, 204 villages around Buria after the sack of Sirhind by the Sikhs in January 1764. Eighty-four of these villages including Jagadhari and Dialgarh fell to the share