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

RAM SINGH (1744-1839), son of a Khatri belonging to Hasanvala in Gujrariwala district, was taken into the household of Charhat Singh Sukkarchakkia at a very young age. When he grew up, he rode in the chief`s troops. He considered Mahan Singh, son of Charhat Singh, his putreld

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,

ZAFARNAMAH-I-RANJlT SINGH, subtitled Ranjhnamah, by Kanhaiya Lal is an account in Persian verse of the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors, covering the period 1799-1849. The manuscript copies of the work are preserved in Panjab University Library, Lahore ; Panjab Public Library, Lahore ; Khalsa College, Amritsar

AMAR SINGH MAJITHIA (d. 1848). known as Amar Singh Khurd (junior) to distinguish him from his namesake Amar Singh Kalan (senior) who was also from the village of Majitha, son of Mahna Singh (d. 1802), was aJagmfar and military commander under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was placed in the

BENTINCK, LORD WILLIAM CAVENDISH (1774-1839), Governor General of India, son of William Henry, third duke of Portland, was born on 14 September 1774. In 1803, he was appointed governor of Madras, but recalled in 1807 in consequence of the sepoy mutiny at Vellore. In 1827, Bentinck succeeded Lord Amherst as

CHATAR SINGH ATARlVALA (d. 1855), commander and provincial governor under minor Maharaja Duleep Singh, was the son of Jodh Singh Atarivala. Jodh Singh had joined the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1805 when he received large jagirs in the Pothohar country. On the death of his father in

EUROPEAN ADVENTURERS OF NORTHERN INDIA, 1785 to 1849, by G. Grey, first published in 1929 and reprinted by the Languages Department, Punjab, Patiala, in 1970, contains biographical sketches of over one hundred Europeans who came to or served in the Punjab during Sikh times. The book, which is the result

GULAB SINGH (d. 1759), founder of the Dallevalia clan, was born the son of Shardha Ram at the village of Dalleval, near Dera Baba Nanak on the left bank of the River Ravi, 50 km northeast of Amritsar. In his younger days, he ran a grocery shop in his

IMAM UDDIN, FAQIR (d. 1847), second son of Ghulam Mohly udDTn and younger brother of Faqir `Azi/ udDin, foreign minister to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was Qiladar or garrison commander of the Gobindgarh Fort at Amritsar, where the bulk of the Sikh crown jewels was kept in deposit. Capable and scholarly.

KIRPA RAM, DIWAN (d. 1843), civil administrator, soldier and statesman in Sikh times, was the youngest son of Diwan Moti Ram. In 1819, Kirpa Ram was sent by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to Hazara to settle that turbulent country. The same year he was transferred to the Jalandhar Doab as governor

MEVIUS, also recorded as Frank Ernest Mevins, was a Prussian who came to the Punjab in March 1827 and was employed in the Sikh army in the rank of a colonel. According to the Khalsa Darbar records, Mevius had to sign a pledge that he would, "during his period