NAINA SINGH, AKALI, eighteenth century Nihang warrior esteemed as much for his piety as for his valour. His special title to fame rests on the fact that he was the guardian of the celebrated Akali Phula Singh (1761-1823) whom he trained in the martial arts. Little is known about his

AHLUVALIA MISL. See also MISLS Ahluvalia Misl was one of the twelve misls or Sikh confedracies which had gained power in the Punjab during the latter half of the eighteenth century, derived its name from the village of Ahlu, in Lahore district, founded by a Kalal or distiller of wine,

DESAN, MAI (d. 1778), daughter of Amir Singh of Gujrariwala, was married to Charhat Singh Sukkarchakkia in 1756. When her husband died in 1770, their eldest son, Mahan Singh, was barely ten years old. Mai Desan took the control of the Sukkarchakkia misi or chiefship into her own hands,

DASAUNDHA SINGH (d. 1767), founder of the Nishanavali misl, was the son of Chaudhari Sahib Rai belonging to the village of Mansur, in Firozpur district of the Punjab. He received pahul, the Khalsa initiatory rites at the hands of Diwan Darbara Singh, a prominent Sikh leader of the post