LAILI or LAILA, a famous horse of superb beauty and grace, was originally owned by Yar Muhammad Khan Barakzai, the Sikh tributary governor of Peshawar. It was much coveted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, whose love for horses was proverbial. With the romantic name given it, Laili was known throughout Central

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,

AMAR NATH, DIWAN (1822-1867), bakhshi or paymaster of the irregular forces of the Sikh army who distinguished himself also as a historian, was born in 1822 the son of Raja Dina Nath, finance minister of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. During the prime ministership of Hira Singh, Amar Nath was assigned

AZIM KHAN, MUHAMMAD (d. 1823), was one of the sons of Painda Khan and a brother of Fateh Khan, who appointed him governor of Kashmir in April 1813. In 1814, Maharaja Ranjit Singh made an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Kashmir. On the death of Fateh Khan in 1818, Azim

BISHAN SINGH (d. 1868) was like his father, Sultan Singh, in the Ghorcharha regiment of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In Maharaja Sher Singh`s time, he was placed in charge of the artillery park at Lahore. After the annexation of the Punjab by the British, Bishan Singh joined the 2nd Punjab

CHATAR SINGH COLLECTION, comprising correspondence, papers, treaties, etc., particularly relating to transactions among the Dogra chiefs of Jammu (Dhian Singh, Gulab Singh and Suchet Singh) and between them and the Lahore Darbar, was put together by Thakur Chatar Singh of Dharamsala and is now preserved in the Punjab State Archives,

DHIAN SINGH, RAJA (1796-1843), the second son of Miari Kishora Singh Dogra and the middle one of the three brothers from Jammu serving Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was born on 22 August 1796. He was presented before Ranjit Singh at Rohtas in 1812 by his elder brother, Gulab Singh, and

GANGA RAM, DIWAN (1775-1826) was a Kashmiri Brahman whose father, Kishan Das, was a government employee. During the oppressive days of the governors of Kashmir, Kishan Das migrated to Delhi, and later settled in the village of Rampur, near Banaras, where Ganga Ram was born about the year 1775.

GUL BAHAR BEGAM (d. 1863), a dancing girl from Amritsar, was married to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1832. Gul Begam had danced before the Maharaja`s English guests at the time of his meeting with British Governor General, Lord William Bentinck, at Ropar in October 1831. Ranjil Singh there after

HONIGBERGER, DOCTORJOHN MARTIN (17951-865), physician to the court of Lahore from 1829 to 1849 and known to his Sikh contemporaries as Martin Sahib, was a Transylvanian born at Kronstadt in 1795. He combined with his medical knowledge an ardent spirit of enquiry and adventure. He had a great fascination for

JAMIAT SINGH, a water supplier by caste from the village of Mahimari Kaharari, in Amritsar district, was the son of Ratan Singh, a personal attendant of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Jamiat Singh continued in the service of Maharaja Duleep Singh as well and remained with him even after his deposition.

KAHN CHAND, son of Amir Chand, served under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors in various capacities. His family originally belonged to Multan. His father had served as a revenue officer under Misr Divan Chand at the Lahore court and afterwards as a commander under Hari Singh Nalva. Kahn