CHET SINGH, BHAI (1891-1921), son of Bhai Javala Singh and Mai Ram Kaur, was born on 28 May 1891 at Bundala, in Amritsar district. In 1899 the family migrated westward to Chakk No. 64 Nihaleana, in the newly colonized Lyallpur district. Chet Singh studied up to the 5th standard

DELHI SIKH GURDWARAS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE was a byproduct of the Akali campaign for the reformation of the management of gurdwaras in the Punjab. To wrest control of the holy shrines from the hands of a corrupt and effete priestly order, the Sikhs had set up on 15 November 1920 a

DIVALI, festival of lights (from Sanskrit dipamala or dipavali meaning row of lamps or nocturnal illumination), is observed all over India on amavasya, the last day of the dark half of the lunar month of Kartika (October-November). Like other seasonal festivals, Divali has been celebrated since time immemorial. In its

GAHIR GAMBHIRIE MAT KE SVAMI BISHAN DAS YATI JI KA JIVAN CHARITRA, by Bhagvan Das, is a biographical portrayal (jivan charitra) of Svami Bishan Das, founder of the Gahir Gambhirie sect. The author who was a disciple of Bishan Das compiled this account during 1886-1902 at Phillaur, near Ludhiana.

GURBILASBABA SAHIB SINGH BEDI, by Bhai Sobha Ram belonging to the Sevapanthi order, is a versified account of the life of Baba Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak. The voluminous work, four manuscript copies of which one each at the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Punjabi University, Patiala;

HARAMBAY (MAGHAR) If the hard-hearted sinner dies at Banarasa, he cannot save himself from hell. If the saint of the Lord dies at Harambay, he ferries across many people besides himself. (Asa Kabir, p. 484) Harambay seems to be another narne for Maghar, where, according to tradition, if anyone

JAND SAHIB, GURDWARA, 5 km west of Chamkaur Sahib (SOS`N. 76°25`E) in Ropar district of the Punjab, stands at the fringe of a vast expanse of marshy grassland. It is sacred to Guru Gobind Singh, who after leaving Chamkaur on the night of 78 December 1705, took a westerly direction

KAITHAL (29°47`n, 76°23`E), district town of Haryana, is an old historic place. Bhai Desu Singh, a descendant of Bhai Bhagatu, a Siddhu jatt of Barar clan, occupied it in 1767 and made it the capital of the principality he had established. The state came under British protection in 1809

KAUR SINGH NIHANG, AKALI (1886-1953), scholar and religious preacher, was the eldest son of Bhai Mahari Singh and Mal Karam Kaur of Paddhar, a small village near Chakar in that part of Jammu and Kashmir which is now under Pakistan`s occupation. Tlic family traced its descent from one TrilokT

KHUSHAL SINGH, BHAI (1889-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was born on 5 Chet 1945 Bk/17 March 1889, the son of Bhai Buddh Singh. He learnt to read Gurmukhi in the village Gurudwara and received the rites of Khalsa initiation. He was one of the 15 Akali volunteers

LACHHMAN SINGH (1885-1921), one of the Nankana Sahib martyrs, was the leader of the jatha of more than one hundred Sikhs who were attacked in Gurdwara Janam Asthan (birthplace of Guru Nanak) by the custodian of the shrine, Mahant Narain Das, and his accomplices, and killed to a man. Lachhman