SUKH RAJ (d. 1842) was the youngest of the five sons of Misr Divan Chand, a general in Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army. Sukh Raj himself joined an infantry regiment and soon rose to be its commandant. He commanded a number of infantry battalions and took part in several of

VENTURA, JEAN BAPTISTE (1792-1858), a general in the Sikh army, was an Italian by birth who had served in Napoleon`s army as a colonel of infantry and had taken part in the battle of Wagram (1809), in the Russian campaign (1812) and in the battle of Waterloo (1815). After the

ARMY OF MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH, a formidable military machine that helped the Maharaja carve out an extensive kingdom and maintain it amid hostile and ambitious neighbours, was itself the creation of his own genius. His inheritance was but a scanty force which, in the manner of the Sikh misldari days,

GORDON (d. 1837), often miscalled Canon, an Anglo Indian, entered the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1820 as an infantry instructor on a salary of Rs 500 per month. Later, he was put in command of a battalion of artillery. In July 1822, his battalion received approbation from Allard

HISAB I AFWAJ MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH, Persian MS. No. 622, in the Oriental Public (Khuda Bux) Library, Patna, is a manual of the accounts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh\'s army. It is a highly illuminated manuscript with gold ruled borders, size 12"x 71/s" 477 folios, written in mixed shikasld and nasta

KAHN SINGH (d. 1876), son of Dula Singh, belonged to the village of KaIasvala, in Sialkot district. He began his career in Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army under General Avkabile and was present in the Khaibar Pass actions and throughout the Yusafzai campaign. He served in the Sher Dil Paltan

KHALSA DARBAR RECORDS, official papers in Persian, written in a running shikasid hand, pertaining to the civil, military and revenue administration of the Punjab under the Sikhs covering a period of 38 years, Samvat 1868 to Chet 1906 (AD 1811 to March 1849). These documents, which came into the hands

NICHOLSON, JOHN (1821-1857), political assistant at Firozpur (1844-45), was born in Dublin on 11 December 1821, the son of Dr Alexander Nicholson. He obtained cadetship in Bengal Infantry in 1839 and in December the same year was posted to the 27th Native Infantry at Firozpur. In 1844, he became political