BABA BAKALA (31°34`N, 75°16`E), a small town in Amritsar district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind and Guru Tegh Bahadur. The original name of the place was Bakala. As Guru Har Krishan lay on his deathbed in Delhi, he was asked by the sangat to name his

PARDUMAN SINGH GIANI, BHAI (d. 1877), principal granthi or priest and manager of Sri Darbar Sahib at Amritsar, was the eldest of the four sons of Bhai Gurmukh Singh Giani (d. 1843), a man of learning and an influential courtier in Sikh times. He was the grandson of the

BUNGA: A place of residence for the Sikhs or the place for rest for the pilgrims. There were at least 69 Bungas at Amritsar in the nineteenth century, some of them are still in existence. Another term for the resting hostel for the Sikh pilgrims is Saran. At Darbar Sahib,

RAM DIAL, RAI (d. 1863), news writer and vakil of the Sikh kingdom at FIrozpur, was the son of Rai Anand Singh, after whose death he was sent to Ludhiana as vakil in 1827. Shortly thereafter he was recalled to Lahore and, in 1832, was sent to Anandpur Sahib to

DARBAR, a Perisan word meaning "a house, dwelling; court, area; court or levee of a prince; audience chamber," is commonly used in Punjabi to signify a royal, princely or any high ranking officer`s court (as distinguished from courts of justice) where dignitaries granted audience to the common people, listened to

RANJODH SINGH MAJITHIA (d. 1872). military commander and jagirdar of the Sikh Darbar was the son of Desa Singh Majithia and foster brother of Lahina Singh Majithia. Details of his early career under Maharaja Ranjit Singh are scarce. British records, however, locate him as the governor of Hazara and

EVENTS AT THE COURT OF RANJIT SINGH, 1810-1817, edited by H.L.O. Garrett and G.I.. Ghopra, is a rendition in English of Persian newsletters comprising 193 loose sheets and forming only a small part of a large collection preserved in the Alienation Office, Pune. This material was brought to the notice

RICHMOND. COLONEL A.F., agent to the Governor General, North-West Frontier Agency (June 1843November 1844), who came to the Sutlej frontier when the political situation at Lahore had become unstable. It is believed that the Italian General Ventura, who had gained influence with the new Wazir, Hira Singh, feeling insecure at

HARIMANDAR (lit. the House of God; hari = Visnu, or God; mandar = temple, house), Golden Temple to the English speaking world, is the Sikhs` most famous sacred shrine. Also called Sri Darbar Sahib (the Exalted Holy Court), it lies in the heart of the city of

SANT SINGH GIANI, BHAI (1768-1832), renowned man of letters and custodian of Sri Darbar Sahib at Amritsar in Sikh times, came of a devout family of Chiniot, in present day Jhang district of Pakistan. His grandfather, Bhai Ram Singh had spent his life preaching Sikhism in those parts. His

HARSARAN DAS was news writer of the British government at the Sikh capital of Lahore who sent his reports to the political agent at Ludhiana. His despatches cover the period of political turmoil at Lahore from the death of Karivar Nau Nihal Singh, 8 November 1840, to the assassination of

SHAH DIN, FAQIR (d. 1842), son of Faqir `Aziz udDin, minister to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the Sikh court`s envoy with the British political agent at Ludhiana and later at Firozpur. He is described in contemporary chronicles as an able diplomat who often accompanied foreign dignitaries visiting Lahore and acted