VIR SINGH. BHAI (1872-1957), poet, scholar and exegete, was a major figure in the Sikh renaissance and in the movement for the revival and renewal of Punjabi literary tradition. His identification with all the important concerns of modern Sikhism was so complete that he came to be canonized as Bhai,

BHASAUR SINGH SABHA, or to give its full name Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Bhasaur, was established in 1893 twenty years after the first Singh Sabha came into existence in Amritsar at the village of Bhasaur in the then princely state of Patiala. The Singh Sabha, a powerful

DALLA, BHAI (later Dall Singh), a Siddhu Jatt and chaudhari or landlord of Talvandi Sabo, enthusiastically received Guru Gobind Singh when he arrived there with his entourage early in 1706, and attended diligently to the needs and comforts of the daily growing sangat. According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sn

GURBACHAN SINGH KHALSA BHINDRANVALE, SANT GIANI (1903-1969), holy man, preacher and exponent of the Sikh sacred texts, was born on 12 February 1903, the son of Rur Singh of the village of Akhara, 6 km south of Jagraori, in Ludhiana district of the Punjab. He learnt to read and

JIND KAUR, MAHARANI (1817-1863), popularly known as Jindari, was wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and mother of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last Sikh sovereign of the Punjab. She was daughter of Manna Singh, an Aulakh Jail of Gujrariwala, who held an humble position at the court as an overseer

KHALSA DIWAN MALAYA, a religious organization of Sikhs in Malaysia, was established on 27 December 1903 at Taiping (4"51`N, 100"44`E) at a divan at the gurdwara of the Malaya State Guides celebrating the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh. The Khalsa Diwan was assigned to promoting Sikh religion, managing

MAYYA SINGH, BHAI (1862-1928). spelt as Maya Singh in contemporary English writings, was a leading figure in the Singh Sabha awakening. He was born in 1862. Little is known about his early life, except that after his school years he joined the railways at Lahore as a clerk. There

NISHCHAL SINGH, PANDIT SANT (1882-1978), widely respected holy man, preacher of Sikhism and head of the Sevapanthi sect of the Sikhs (1950-78), was born on 18 April 1882, the son of Bhai Amir Singh and Mat Piar Kaur, a pious couple of Mittha Tiwana in Shahpur (Sargodha) district of

SANT SINGH (d. 1705), an Arora Sikh of Patti in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab, was one of the warriors in the retinue of Guru Gobind sirigh. He took part in the battles of Anandpur and Nirmohgarh as also in tlial of Chamkaur. At Chamkaur, Guru Gobind

SINGH, from Sanskrit sinha for lion, is an essential component of the name for a Sikh male. Every Sikh male name must end with `Singh`. Historically, this was so ordained by Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi day, 30 March 1699, when he inaugurated the Khalsa. introducing a new

TARUNA DAL, army of the youth, was one of the two main divisions of Dal Khalsa, the confederated army of the Sikhs during the eighteenth century, the other one being the Buddha Dal (army of the elders). These Dais came into existence in 1734 when, during a truce with Zakariya