BURNES, SIR ALEXANDER (1805-1841), British traveller, explorer and writer, was born on 16 May 1805. He joined Bombay infantry in 1821. Upon his arrival in India, he devoted himself to the study of the local languages and was, while still an ensign, selected for the post of regimental interpreter. In

PAINDA KHAN (d. 1844), chief of Darband lying on the eastern bank of the River Indus in a narrow valley, remained in rebellion against the Sikh government from the time Ranjit Singh had occupied Attock in 1813. Unable to expel the Sikh garrisons established at various strategic places, he

PUAT, is an old village in Ludhiana district, 8 km east of Machhivara (30°55`N, 76°12`E). Guru Gobind Singh passed through this village after quitting Chamkaur on the night of 7 December 1705. but there was no Sikh shrine constructed here. It was only after the migrations of 1947 that

BENTINCK, LORD WILLIAM CAVENDISH (1774-1839), Governor General of India, son of William Henry, third duke of Portland, was born on 14 September 1774. In 1803, he was appointed governor of Madras, but recalled in 1807 in consequence of the sepoy mutiny at Vellore. In 1827, Bentinck succeeded Lord Amherst as