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

WALI QANDHARl (lit. Saint of Qandahar) was, according to a tradition popularized by Bhai Bala Janam Sakhi and Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Nanak Prakash, a Muslim recluse putting up on top of a hill near Hasan Abdal, now in Campbellpore (Attock) district of Pakistan Punjab. Accompanied by Bhai Mardana,

CASTLE HILL, an 182acre estate in Mussoorie, a hill city in the Himalayas, which was the summer residence for a short period of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last Sikh sovereign of the Punjab who after the annexation of his dominions was exiled by the British to Fatehgarh, in present day

DESA SINGH MAJITHIA (1768-1832), an army general and civil administrator in Sikh times, was the son of Naudh Singh, a feudal retainer under Amar Singh Bagga of the Kanhaiya misl. When Naudh Singh died in 1788, Desa Singh succeeded to the family estates. He served Buddh Singh Bagga, successor

DIAL, RAJA (d. 1691), of Bijharval who allied himself with Alif Khan, the Mughal commander, despatched by Miari Khan, the viceroy of Jammu, to exact tribute from the hill chieftains. The hill princes sought Guru Gobind Singh`s help and a battle took place on 20 March 1691 at Nadaun

JUJHAR SINGH HADA (d. 1696), who comes in for a prominent mention in Guru Gobind Singh`s Bachitra Ndtak, was a Rajput general sent by the Mughal authority to the Sivalik hills in the last decade of the seventeenth century to retrieve its hold on the hill rajas. When the

KALIANA, BHAI, a prominent and learned Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. The Guru once sent him to the hill country, present day Himachal Pradesh, to raise funds and bring timber for the holy Harimandar, then being built at Amritsar. When Kaliana arrived at Mandi, the capital of

KESARI CHAND, Raja of Jasvan, a tiny hill state situated in the foothills of the Sivaliks. Besides being a close relation, he was a confidant and ally of Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur, who once deputed him to Anandpur to seek from Guru Gobind Singh the loan of an

MAHITAB DEVI (d. 1839), known as Rani Katochan or Rani Gaddan, was daughter of Raja Sansar Chand Katoch of Kangra. She was married to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1829 and had great influence over him. At Lahore she introduced the art of Phulkari embriodery, arranged marriages of orphan girls

MANGAL SINGH RAMGARHIA (1800-1879), manager of the Golden Temple at Amritsar for 17 years from 1862 till his death in 1879, was the son of Divan Singh Ramgarhia, a nephew of the famous Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. During his younger days, Mangal Singh remained in attendance on Maharaja Ranjit

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