DHARAM ARTH BOARD, a body representing different sections of the Sikh community constituted in May 1949 by Maharaja Yadavinder Singh, Rajpramukh of the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), to manage the major Sikh shrines within the new state which had come into being in consequence of the amalgamation of the eight princely territories in the Punjab. Before merger some of these states had their own boards or committees for the purpose. Patiala state had, for instance, its Interim Gurdwara Board formed on 8 November 1946; Kapurthala its General Gurdwara Committee; and Jind its Gurdwara Committee.
FANE, SIR HENRY (1778-1840), commander-in-chief of the British Indian army, who visited the Punjab in 1837 on the occasion of the marriage of Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s grandson. Sir Henry Fane`s visit to Ranjit Singh was an event of considerable interest. He was highly impressed by the extraordinary discipline of the Maharaja`s troops and the splendour of his court. In his several meetings with the British commander-in-chief, Ranjit Singh questioned him on the strength and composition of the British army, on the extent of Russian influence in Persia, and on the ability of the Shah of Persia to give effective aid to the Russians.
GULABDASIAS, a sect subscribing to epicurean ethics, were the followers of one Pritam Das, originally an Udasi sddhu. Pritam Das`s principal disciple was Gulab Das after whom the members of the sect came to be known as Gulabdasias. Gulab Das, son of Hamira, was born in 1809 at the village of Rataul, near Tarn Taran, in Amritsar district. He had served as a trooper in the army of Maharaja Sher Singh. On the abrogation of the Sikh rule, he became a follower of Pritam Das, succeeding him on his death as the head of the sect.
NIDHAN SINGH, a Varaich Jatt of Patti in present day Amritsar district of the Punjab, was, according to Sarup Singh Kaushish, Guru kian Sakhian, the husband of the celebrated Sikh heroine, Mai Bhago. He was one of the warriors who fell fighting in the battle of Muktsar fought on 29 December 1705 and who were blessed by Guru Gobind Singh as mukte, the Liberated Ones. NIDHAN SINGH (d. 1850) or Nidhan Singh Hathu, i.e. Nidhan Singh the Inflexible, son of Jassa Singh, was a bold warrior in Sikh times who, inheriting Daska in Sialkot district from his father, had acquired considerable territory.
