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,

JUJHAR SINGH HADA (d. 1696), who comes in for a prominent mention in Guru Gobind Singh`s Bachitra Ndtak, was a Rajput general sent by the Mughal authority to the Sivalik hills in the last decade of the seventeenth century to retrieve its hold on the hill rajas. When the

SINGH, from Sanskrit sinha for lion, is an essential component of the name for a Sikh male. Every Sikh male name must end with `Singh`. Historically, this was so ordained by Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi day, 30 March 1699, when he inaugurated the Khalsa. introducing a new

ALIF KHAN, who is mentioned in Guru Gobind Singh\'s Bachitra Natak, was an officer in the Mughal army of Aurangzib. In 1691, he was despatched by Mian Khan, the viceroy of Jammu, to Kangra for collecting arrears of tribute from the hill chiefs. Raja Kirpal Chand Katoch of Kangra

KAHN SINGH, son of Baba Binod Singh, a Trehan Khatri, was with Guru Gobind Singh at Nanded during his last days. He, along with his father, was among the five Sikhs chosen to accompany Banda Singh Bahadur to the Punjab in 1708. He took part in Banda Singh`s campaigns

SUBEG SINGH (d. 1745), an eighteenth century martyr of the Sikh faith, was born to Rai Bhaga of the village of Jambar in Lahore district. He learnt Arabic and Persian as a young man and later gained access to the Mughal officials as a government, contractor. When in 1733, the

ANARKALI, the oldest Mughal tomb in Lahore, was built between 1605 and 1615 by Emperor Jahangir for his former favourite dancing girl Anarkali. The tomb was surrounded by extensive gardens enclosed within a high protective wall, and several buildings and palaces were erected in the gardens by Mughal princes and

KHUSHAL CHAND, RAJA, or Khushal Rai (d. 1752), an official under the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (1719-48) and a writer and poet of some merit, described himself as a NanakpanthI, i.e. a follower of Guru Nanak, his father Jivan Ram, and grandfather, Anand Ram Kayastha, had also served in the

SUNDARI, by Bhai Vir Singh, first published in 1898, is commonly acknowledged to be the first novel written in the Punjabi language. The story, set in the eighteenth century, depicts the trials and heroism of an imaginary character, Sundar Kaur (Sundari for short) who, born in a Punjabi Khatri Hindu

AURANGZIB, MUHI UDDIN MUHAMMAD ALAMGIR (1618-1707), the last of the great Mughal emperors of India, ascended the throne of Delhi on 21 July 1658 after he had gained a decisive victory in the war of succession at Samugarh, near Agra, on 29 May 1658. Aurangzib`s appointment in 1636 as

UDDA, BHAI, a Jatt of Harike in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab, received initiation at the hands of Guru Arjan. He was accompanied by Bhai Gangu and Bhai Nau, Bhai Rama and Bhai Dharma, who were also initialed along with him. The Guru, according to Bhai Santokh