OMS (d. 1828), a Spaniard, also known as Amise, Musa Sahib, Urns and Hommus, served in Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army. As a young man, he had enlisted in Napoleon`s artillery. After France`s defeat in 1815, he set out on his travels and reached Persia where he obtained employment declaring himself

ALLARD, BENJAMIN (1796-1877), step-brother of General Allard, born at Saint Tropez in 1796, was sent to Lahore in 1829 in order to replace his brother as the military adviser of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but the two brothers failed to win the confidence of the Maharaja, who would not release General

ARGOUD, BENOIT, a Frenchman, who joined Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s infantry in November 1836 as an instructor. He was of a quarrelsome nature and readily picked rows with his colleagues and subordinates. Dismissed from service in April 1837, he proceeded to Afghanistan, but failed to get any employment there. Returning

BASAVA SINGH, a resident of the village of Sujoval in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab, was a close associate of Bhai Maharaj Singh, who led a revolt against the British in 1848-49. Basava Singh was included in the delegation sent with letters to Bhai Kishan Singh, Bhai Nihal Singh

BHIVA, BHAI, and his brother, Rup Chand, businessmen of Sirhind, were devout Sikhs of the time of Guru Arjan. They lived honestly, celebrated the Sikh festivals, and entertained their brethren faith on such occasions. Once a Mughal came to deposit with them gold mohars hid in a hollow piece

BHUPAL SINGH, a son of the Gurkha general, Amar Singh Thapa, came to Lahore and took up service under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). He became an officer in a battalion in the Sikh army under General Ventura. In 1838, Bhupal Singh returned to Nepal and was appointed to command

BROWN, JOHN, alias RICHARD POTTER, an Englishman, who, deserting the East Indian Company`s service in the Bengal artillery, came to Lahore and joined the Sikh artillery in 1826. He was later promoted colonel and placed in charge of the artillery depot at Lahore. During the first Anglo Sikh war, he

DE LA FONT, CAPTAIN AUGUSTE, a Frenchman, who entered Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s service in 1838. He was appointed an aide decamp to General Ventura. Later, he acted as a staff officer to Colonel C.M. Wade during his journey to Kabul. He took active part in the action at Fort

FATEH SINGH AHLUVALIA (d. 1836), son of Bhag Singh, and a grandnephew of Jassa Singh Ahluvalia, leader of the Ahluvalia misi and of the Dal Khalsa, who in 1758 proclaimed the sovereignty of the Sikhs in the Punjab. Fateh Singh succeeded to the Ahluvalia chiefship in 1801. He was

GUJJARVAL, village in Ludhiana district, 30 km from the city (30°44`N, 75°43`E), has an historical shrine called Gurdwara Guru Sar Mariji Sahib Chheviri Patshahi. Guru Hargobind, during his tour of the Malva country in 1631, halted here and put up camp near a pool. Chaudhari Phatuhi of Gujjarval served

HIRA SINGH KALAL, of Pasrur in Sialkot district, went in company with Thakur Singh Sandharivalia travelling to England in 1884 to meet Maharaja Dulccp Singh. On his return to India, he is said to have acted as an intermediary between the Raja of Kashmir, Baba Khem Singh Bedi and

JAGAT SINGH alias Jai Singh (1883-1915), a leading Ghadr revolutionary, was born about 1883, the son of Arur Singh, at Sursirigh, a village in Lahore (now Amritsar) district. He was a hefty, sturdy man and joined the Indian army when twenty. Leaving the army, he migrated to Shanghai and