SHAHIDGANJ AGITATION (1935-40) marked culmination of the tussle between Sikh and Muslim communities in the Punjab for the possession of a sacred site in Lahore upon which stood Gurdwara Shahidgahj (shahid = martyr, gahj = hoard, treasure or mart) in memory of Sikh martyrs of the eighteenth century and which

RAM SINGH BEDI, BABA (d. 1797), a Nihang warrior, was the son of Bhai Faqir Chand, of the village of Kotia Faqir Chand, in Sialkot district, now in Pakistan. The family claimed direct descent from Guru Nanak. Ram Singh took khande di pahul or vows by the double edged sword,

RAM SINGH, a holy man maintaining a dharamsala at Zahura, near Tanda, in Hoshiarpur district, assisted Bhai Maharaj Singh, the leader of the anti British rebellion of 1848-49, not only by lodging him and his followers in his dharamsala but also introducing him to several influential

SAMMAN BURJ, also called Musamman Burj, an octagonal tower commanding a wide range of buildings within the Lahore Fort, was built by Emperor Akbar, who made the city his capital for some time. Within the Fort was situated the royal palace which was enlarged by Jahangir and,

ABD USSAMAD KHAN (d. 1737), governor of Lahore from 1713 to 1726, a descendant of the Naqashbandi saint `Abdulla Ahrar, a great grandson of Khwaja Baki of Baghdad, was born at Agra when his father, Khwaja `Abd ul-Karim Ansari, had come out with his family from Samarkand on a tour

ARJAN SINGH NALVA (d. 1848), a minor jagirdar in Sikh times, was youngest of the four sons of the famous general, Hari Singh Nalva. He was a favourite of Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s grandson. In July 1840, it was reported that Arjan Singh had killed one

BATTICE, an Italian, who joined the Sikh service in 1843. He was employed in the ordnance factory at Lahore for manufacturing gunpowder and saltpetre. In 1844, the army Panchayats removed him from the service, along with some other European officers. He died at Lahore soon afterwards.

BOTA SINGH (d. 1739), an eighteenth century martyr of the Sikh faith, belonged to the village of Bharana in Amritsar district. In those days of dire persecution, he along with many fellow Sikhs had sought the safety of wastes and jungles. At nightfall, he would come out of his

CHANDU SHAH, a wealthy banker and revenue official at the Mughal court at Lahore. He earned the annoyance of Sikhs by uttering disparaging words when his family priest proposed Guru Arjan`s son, Hargobind, for his daughter who was of marriageable age. Chandu Shah accepted the suggestion but with reluctance

DE LA ROCHE, HENRI FRANCOIS STANISLAUS (d. 1842), a Frenchman born in Mauritius, served in the army of Begam Samru. As the force was disbanded by the British after the Begam`s death, he came to Lahore in 1838 and