letter

Explore Amir Ulimla, a rare manuscript of 247 Persian letters from Sikh chiefs of Punjab, highlighting power struggles and alliances. Only at British Library.

Discover Aurangabad, a historic district in Maharashtra, home to the Gurdwara Bhai Daya Singh and once a pivotal capital during the Yadavas era.

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 hiding place and visit some human habitations in search of food. Occasionally he would come to Amritsar by night to have a dip in the holy tank, spending the day in the wilderness around Tarn Taran. One day he was noticed by some people who thought he was a Sikh.

DAYA SINGH, BHAI (1661-1708), one of the Panj Piare or the Five Beloved celebrated in the Sikh tradition, was the son of Bhai Suddha, a Sobti Khatri of Lahore, and Mai Diali. His original name was Daya Ram. Bhai Suddha was a devout Sikh of Guru Tegh Bahadur and had visited Anandpur more than once to seek his blessing. In 1677, he travelled to Anandpur along with his family including his young son, Daya Ram, to make obeisance to Guru Gobind Singh, this time to settle there permanently. Daya Ram, already well versed in Punjabi and Persian, engaged himself in the study of classics and gurbani. He also received training in the use of weapons.

DINA, village 15 km south of Nihalsinghvala (30° 35`N, 75° 16`E) in presentday Faridkot district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Gobind Singh, who, after evacuating Anandpur in December 1705, came here and stayed a few days. Chaudhari Shamir and Lakhmir, grandsons of the local chief, Rai Jodh, who had fought on the side of Guru Hargobind in the battle of Mahraj in December 1634, served the Guru with devotion. A few hundred warriors from the surrounding districts joined Guru Gobind Singh here.

Discover Chandrahasa's journey from orphaned heir to a king, overcoming deceit and murder to reclaim his throne through faith and destiny.

FATEHNAMAH, or Namah-i-Guru Gobind Singh, a letter (namah in Persian) that Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) is believed to have addressed to Emperor Aurangzib prior to his better known Zafarnamah included in the Dasam Granth. The first reference to the existence of Fatehndmah dates to 1922 when Babu Jagan Nath Das published in the Nagari Pracharini Patrika, Savan 1979 / July-August 1922, a letter supposed to have been sent by Chhatrapati Shivaji to Mirza Raja Jai Singh. In his introduction, Babu Jagan Nath Das had mentioned that he had copied around 1890 two letters from manuscripts in the possession of Baba Sumer Singh, mahant of Takht Sri Harimandar Sahib at Patna from 1882 to 1902 one, Shivaji`s which he was publishing in the Patrika and the other. Guru Gobind Singh`s which, he added, he had lost and of which he could not procure another copy owing to the death of the owner of the original document.

Explore the life of Bhai Gurdas, a revered Sikh scholar who inscribed the first Guru Granth Sahib under Guru Arjan's supervision.

Explore the history of Gurmukhi, a key script for Punjabi, shaped by Guru Angad and rooted in the ancient Brahmi family.

Explore Jamiat Rai's dedicated service to Maharaja Duleep Singh, his journey from Gurdaspur to Bombay, and the rich history of 1885's unsung heroes.