sikh

JANGNAMA, by Qazi Nur Muhammad, is an eyewitness account in Persian verse of Ahmad Shah Durrani`s seventh invasion of India, 1764-65, for which it is the only major source of information. A copy of the manuscript in the hand of one Khair Muhammad of Gunjaba was preserved at the District Gazetteer Office at Quetta in Baluchistan from where Karam Singh, state historian of Patiala, made a transcript which was utilized by Dr Ganda Singh in producing an edited version of the Persian text, with a preface and a brief summary in English. The work was published by the Sikh Historical Research Department, Khalsa College, Amritsar, in 1939.

KAHN SINGH MAJITHIA (d. 1853), son of Amar Singh Majithia, served as a general in the Sikh army in the second AngloSikh war. During Maharaja Ranjil Singh`s reign, Kahn Singh was a minor military officer when he is said to have killed a lion with his sword while out hunting with the Maharaja in 1831. In 1838 he was an officer in the Ghorchara Khas. He was commandant of the Sikh force at Peshawar in 1848 when his troops marched out of Peshawar to join Chatar Singh and Sher Singh; Kahn Singh fought the British both at Cheliarivala and Gujrat.

KARTAR SINGH, GIANT (1902-1974), Akali leader who was known for his political astuteness and for his single mindedncss of purpose and who dominated Sikh politics during the 40`s and 50`s of the 20th century, was born the son of Bhagat Singh and MaT Jio on 22 February 1902 at Chakk No. 40 Jharig Branch in Lyallpur district (now in Pakistan). The family, Jatts of Khaihra clan, originally belonged to Nagoke village in Amritsar district and had migrated to Lyallpur district when that area, formerly a wasteland known as Sandal Bar, was opened up as a canal colony towards the close of the nineteenth century. Kartar Singh received his early education in the village gurudwara and later joined Khalsa School in the neighbouring Chakk No. 41 from where he matriculated in 1921.

KHALSA DHARAM SHASTAR, the Sikh manual of conduct enunciating Sikhs` social and religious duties was prepared under the patronage of Sodhi Ram Narain Singh, a scion of the Sodhi family of Sri Anandpur Sahib and was published at Sri Gurmat Press, Amritsar, in the year Nanakshahl 445 (AD 1914). The name of the author given in abbreviation may be deciphered as Aviar Singh Vahiria. The book contains 430 pages, excluding the introduction, the table of contents, the Anandpur genealogical table and a corrigendum. It is a manual of Sikh ceremonial and tenets; hence the name Plirab Mimarisa (after Purva Mnnarisa describing the Vcdic ritual).

KIRPAN MORCHA, campaign started by the Sikhs to assert their right to keep and carry kirpan, i.e. sword, religiously obligatory for them, which was denied to them under the Indian Arms Act (XI) of 1878. Under this Act, no person could go armed or carry arms, except under special exemption or by virtue of a licence. Whatever could be used as an instrument of attack or defence fell under the term "Arms." Thus the term included firearms, bayonets, swords, dagger heads and bows and arrows. Under the Act, a kirpan could be bracketed with a sword.

LALA, a Pannu Jatt, was, according to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, a devoted Sikh contemporary of Guru Angad. He is said to have accompanied Bhai Bala sent out by Guru Angad in search of the horoscope of Guru Nanak so that he might have a life story of him written. The two travelled to Talvandl Rai Bhoi and obtained from Guru Nanak`s uncle, Lalu, what they had come in search of. Bhai Bale vali Janam Sakhi mentions the event, but docs not name the Sikh who accompanied Bhai Bala.

MAHIMASHAHIAS, followers of Mohar Singh (AD 1758-1815), a holy Sikh who earned the honoured nickname of Mahima Shah for his constant muttering of a phrase (\'infinite is Thy praise\') in God\'s mahima or adoration. Mahima Shah claimed spiritual descent from Bhai Daya Singh, one of the Panj Piare or Five Beloved who had offered their heads at the call of Guru Gobind Singh at the time of inauguration of the Khalsa in 1699. Bhai Daya Singh was succeeded by Sant Gurbakhsh Singh who was the mentor of Mahima Shah.

MARATHASIKH RELATIONS spanning a period of half a century from 1758 to 1806 alternated between friendly cooperation and mistrust born out of rivalry of political and military ambition. Although Shivaji (1627-80), the founder of Maratha power, and Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the creator of the Khalsa, both rose against the tyiannical rule of Aurarigzib, and although the Sikhs` real crusade in the Punjab took its birth on the banks of the River Godavari in Maharashtra, the two forces did not come in direct contact with each other until the Marathas, in a bid to fill the power vacuum caused by the fall of the Mughal empire, expanded their influence as far as Delhi.

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 to trace the etymology of the term have usually based their interpretation on the Arabic/Persian word misi. According to Stcingass, Persian English Dictionary, the word means "similitude, alike or equal", and "a file" or collection of papers bearing on a particular topic.

NADAR (Arabic nazar: glance, favourable regard, favour), implying Divine grace, is a concept central to Sikh religious tradition affirming its faith in a Transcendental Being responsive to human prayer and appeal for forgiveness and mercy. It reiterates at the same time a belief in the sovereignty of Divine Will (razd) overriding the law of karma which itself is a constituent of hukam, the all pervading and all regulating Divine Law. From His Will flows grace which as the divine initiative leads the seeker to his ultimate destiny. It is postulated as the critical determinant in this process.