DALLA, an old village, 6 km southeast of Sultanpur Lodhi (31° 13`N. 75° 12`E) in Kapurthala district of the Punjab, is one of the oldest centres of the Sikh faith. It had a flourishing sangat a fact which has been noted by Bhai Gurdas in one of his Varan.

DEV SAMAJ, a religious and social reform society, was founded on 16 February 1887 in Lahore by Pandit Shiv Narayan Agnihotri (1850-1929). The story of the Dev Samaj is in essence the story of its founder. Pandit Agnihotri was born in the village of Akbarpur, in Uttar Pradesh, on 20

DHARAM SINGH, BHAI (d. 1921) was the youngest of the four sons of Bhai Sant Singh and Mai Hukmi, of the village of Bundala, in Amritsar district. He was only four years old when the family migrated to Chakk No. 71 Bundala Bachan Singhvala in the newly colonized district

GHORIAN, hymns by Guru Ram Das in measure Vadahans in the Guru Granth Sahib. The word `ghondn` in Punjabi is tlie plural form of ghon, a mare. In Punjabi folk poetry, a type of lyrical songs which are sung on the occasion of marriage are called ghondn. A Punjabi

GURU KA LAHORE, a town in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, 12 km north of Anandpur Sahib associated with the matrimony of Guru Gobind Singh. In 1673 Bhai Hari Jas, a Subhikkhl Khatri of Lahore, had while on a visit to Anandpur betrothed his daughter Jito to him and

LAVAN is the title traditionally given a short fourslan/a composition by Guru Ram Das included under rdga Suhi (p. 773) in the Guru Granth Sahib. The word Idvdn, in the Indian tradition, also stands for the marriage ceremony: in Hindu society the couple reverentially circumambulates the holy fire to

MAHITAB KAUR (d. 1813), the first wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the daughter of Gurbakhsh Singh Kanhaiya and Sada Kaur. Sada Kaur persuaded her father-in-law, Jai Singh Kanhaiya, after her husband had been killed in a show of arms with Maharn Singh Sukkarchakkia, to betroth her daughter to

MANMAT PRAHAR LARI (lit., a series to overcome heresy) comprises tracts written by Bhai Mohan Singh Vaid of Tarn Taran between 1903 and 1908, denouncing unSikh customs and rituals to which the Sikhs had succumbed. This had been one of the primary objectives of the Singh Sabha reform and a

MAU, village 10 km west of Phillaur (3101`N, 75°47`E) in the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Arian, who was married here to (Mata) Gariga Devi, daughter of a local resident, Krishan Chand, on 22 Har 1646 Bk19 June 1589. Gurdwara Patshahl V, popularly known as Gurdwara Mau Sahib, raised

MIHTAR SIKHS, like Mazhabi Sikhs, their Punjabi counterpart, belong to the so called scheduled castes. Mihtar, a Persian term, meaning elder, chief, or governor, is the name given to the members of the community of scavengers which stands at the lowest rung of Indian society. Scattered in different villages

SADA RAUR, SARDARNI (1762-1832); Daughter of Dasaundha Singh Gill was married to Gurbakhsh Singh, son of Jai Singh, leader of the Kanhaiya clan. As the menace of Ahmad Shall Durrani`s incursions receded, conflicts broke out among the Sikh misl chiefs. Mahan Singh Sukkarchakkia, helped by Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and

SANHSIS, also called Sansis, Sainsis and Bhatus, are a nomadic people counted among one of the Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution of India which entitles them to certain special rights and privileges. They claim descent from one of the Aryan tribes entering India centuries ago. Some of the immigrants