MISLS. Misi is a term which originated in the eighteenth century history of the Sikhs to describe a unit or brigade of Sikh warriors and the territory acquired by it in the course of its campaign of conquest following the weakening of the Mughal authority in the country. Scholars trying

PANJAB SINGH NALVA (d. 1854), son of the famous Sikh general, Hari Singh Nalva, served in the army under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors. He received a sum of Rs 5,400 towards his patrimony after the death of his father. He also served under Maharaja Kharak Singh, and

RAM CHAND, DIWAN (1819-1888), son of Ratan Chand and grandson of Nanak Chand, the brother of Diwan Savan Mall, Governor of Multan under Ranjit Singh, was only twelve when he succeeded, in 1831, his grandfather as revenue collector of Multan and Kashmir. Soon Maharaja Ranjit Singh appointed him chancellor,

SANSAR CHAND (1765-1823), Katoch Rajput Raja of Kangra who ascended the throne in 1775. He was an ambitious ruler and began extending his influence over the neighbouring hill states as well as over the plains lying at the foot of the Sivalik ranges. He came as far as Hoshiarpur

TITLES AND ORDERS OF MERIT, instituted at his court by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, broadly followed the Mughal pattern, though there did not exist among the Sikh nobility a specific classification or hierarchy which marked the mansabdan system of the Mughals. Tides and awards were granted to princes of the royal

AMIR ULIMLA, also known as MUNTAKHAB ULHAQA`IQ, a collection of miscellaneous letters, in Persian script, mostly of Sikh chiefs of the Punjab addressed to one another on subjects relating to private and public affairs. Compiled by Amir Chand in A.H. 1209 (ADi 794-95), the manuscript comprises 127 folios and 247

BHANGlAN Dl TOP or the gun belonging to the Bhangi misl, known as Zamzama, is a massive, heavyweight gun, 80 pounder, 14 ft. 41/2 inches in length, with bore aperture 91/2 inches, cast in Lahore in copper and brass by Shah Nazir at the orders of Shah Wall Khan, the

CHIRAGH DIN, FAQlR (d. 1851). son of Faqir Aziz udDin, foreign minister to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was governor of Jasrota. a small principality in the Sivalik hills, and was shortly afterwards placed in attendance on Prince Kharak Singh. In 1842, he succeeded his brother, Shah Din, as the Sikh

FATEH KHAN (d. 1818), son of Painda Khan, the Barakzai chief, who overthrew Shah Zaman, the king of Afghanistan (1793-1800), and placed his half-brother Shah Mahmud on the throne of Afghanistan, himself becoming prime minister. Shah Mahmud was dethroned in 1803 and was succeeded by Shah Shuja`. Fateh Khan expelled

HAKIM RAI, DIWAN (1803-1868), whose forebears had served the Kanhaiya chiefs, was born the son of Kashi Ram in 1803. In 1824, he joined the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but soon rose to the high civilian office of diwan. He became tutor to Karivar Nau Nihal Singh, the Maharaja`s

LAHORE (31°35`N, 74°20`E), pronounced Lahaur, provincial capital of West Punjab in Pakistan, lies on the left bank of the River Ravi. Hindu tradition attributes its founding to Lava, son of Lord Rama, but it is neither mentioned in the Greek accounts of Alexander`s invasion (326 BC) nor described by