BAISAKHI, a seasonal festival popular in the Punjab which takes place on the First day of the solar month of Baisakh (Sanskrit Vaisakha, so called because according to astrological calculations, the moon at this time passes through visakha naksatra or constellation) of the Indian calendar. Traditionally, the festival was celebrated

CHANNAN SINGH, SANT (1907-1972), elected president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, successively from 1962 till his death in 1972, was born in 1907 to Tarlok Singh and Prem Kaur, a peasant couple of modest means, belonging to the village of Mullanpur, in Ludhiana district of the Punjab. As

GUJRAT (32°34`N, 7405`E). a district town in Pakistan, is sacred to Guru Hargobind, who stayed here for some time on his way back from Kashmir in 1620. Here he was met by the famous Muslim divine Shah Daula, well known to a local Sikh, Bhai Garhia, who also served

ISHAR SINGH GRANTHI, BHAI (1881-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was born at Bahoru village in Amritsar district in 1881, the son of Bhai Alar Singh and Mai Nihal Kaur. His schooling was interrupted owing to his father`s death. But the desire to learn was so strong in

KARTAR SINGH, GIANT (1902-1974), Akali leader who was known for his political astuteness and for his single mindedncss of purpose and who dominated Sikh politics during the 40`s and 50`s of the 20th century, was born the son of Bhagat Singh and MaT Jio on 22 February 1902 at Chakk

MAJHA, from manjhla, i.e. middle, is the traditional name given to the central region of the Punjab covering the upper part of the Bari Doab lying between the rivers Beas and Ravi (whence the name Bari) and comprising the present Gurdaspur and Amritsar districts of India and Lahore district of

SAMMAN SINGH, BHAl (1896-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was born in Savan 1953 Bk/July August 1896, the son of Bhai Pala Singh and Mai Man Kaur of Bandala village in Amritsar district. The family later settled in Chakk No. 71 Bandala Bachan Singhvala in Lyallpur district. Samman Singh

TEJA SINGH SAMUNDRI (1882-1926), a leading figure in the Gurdwara reform movement, was born the son of Deva Singh and Nand Kaur at Rai ka Burj in Tarn Taran tahsil of Amritsar district, on 20 February 1882. On land being assigned to Deva Singh in the Sandal Bar tract

BANTA SINGH (1890-1915). a Ghadr revolutionary, was born the son of Buta Singh in 1890 at Sangval, in Jalandhar district of the Punjab. He passed his matriculation examination from the local D.A.V. High School and left for abroad, first travelling to China and then onwards to America. In 1914,

CHET SINGH, BHAI (1891-1921), son of Bhai Javala Singh and Mai Ram Kaur, was born on 28 May 1891 at Bundala, in Amritsar district. In 1899 the family migrated westward to Chakk No. 64 Nihaleana, in the newly colonized Lyallpur district. Chet Singh studied up to the 5th standard

GULAB SINGH GHOLIA, SANT (1853-1936), Sikh saint and scholar, was born in 1853 to Bhai Dal Singh and Dharam Kaur of Bhattivala, a village 6 km south of Bhavamgarh, in the present Sarigrur district of the Punjab. He received his early education in the village dharamsald, and then spent five

ISHAR SINGH MAJHAIL (1901-1977), politician and legislator, was born in January 1901, the son of Bhai Asa Singh and Mat Basant Kaur, an agriculturist couple of Sarai Amanat Khan village, in Amritsar district. He was only about two and a half years old when his father went abroad to