KHALSA NAMAH, by Bakht Mall, a Persian manuscript prepared during 1810-14, is a history of the Sikhs from the time of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Copies of the script, unpublished so far, are preserved in British Library; Royal Asiatic Society, London; Panjab University, Lahore; Khalsa College, Amritsar; and in Dr Ganda Singh`s personal collection at Punjabi University, Paliala. The author came of a Kashmiri Brahman family some of whose members had served at the Mughal court during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahah (1628-58).
for
KRODH (Ski. krodh(i) or wrath is an emotion recognised in the Sikh system as a spring of co-nation and is as such counted as one of the Five Evils. It expresses itself in several forms from silent sullenness to hysterical tantrums and violence. In Sikli Scripture krodh usually appears in combination with ham as ham krodh. The coalescence is not simply for tlie sake of alliterative effect. Krodh (ire) is the direct progeny of kdm (desire). The latter when thwarted or jilted produces the former.
LANGAH, BHAI, a well known figure in early Sikh history, was originally a follower of Sultan Sakhi Sarwar. Son of Abu ulKhair, a Dhillon Jatt with a Muslim name, belonging to the village of Jhabal, in the present Amritsar district of the Punjab, he was one of the three chaudharis or revenue officials of the parganah of Palli, who between them were responsible for collecting, on behalf of tlie governor of Lahore, a revenue of Rs 900,000 from villages under their jurisdiction. Langah alone had 84 villages under him. It is said that once Langah was afflicted with a serious illness.
for
MALDA (25°7\'N, 88-11\'E), a district town of West Bengal situated on the banks of the River Mahananda, is sacred to both Guru Nanak and Guru Tegh Bahadur, who vistited it in the course of their travels through the eastern region. A Sikh shrine once existed here in Sarbari area of Old Malda, but with the development of new Malda town across the river, Old Malda declined in importance and population, and all that was left of the Sikh shrine was a site with an old well and two platforms, one dedicated to the First Guru and the second to the Ninth Guru.
MAZHABI SIKHS, commonly pronounced as Mazhbi Sikhs, is the name given to Sikh converts from the Chuhra community, among the lowest in the Hindu caste order. Chuhras in medieval Punjab, corresponding to Bharigis of the Hindi speaking regions, were the village menials who received customary payment in kind at harvest time for such services as sweeping and scavenging. They lived in separate quarters, sequestered from the main village population, and were allowed neither instruction nor entry into places of worship.
for
MUKTSAR (30°29`N, 74°31`E), a district town in the Punjab, commemorating the martyrdom of Forty Muktas, i.e. the Liberated Ones, is a famous pilgrimage centre for the Sikhs. The sacred pool which lends its name to the town was formerly known as Khidrana Dhab, a natural depression which fed by rain water, used to be the only reservoir for miles around. When Guru Gobind Singh, with only three other survivors of the battle of Chamkaur (7, December 1705), set out towards the Malva country, he was pursued by a strong Mughal force.
NANAKPANTHI, lit. the follower of the panth or way of Guru Nanak. The term Ndnakpantht was perhaps used for the first time for Sikhs in Mobid Zulfiqar Ardistani`s Dabistdni Mazdhib, a seventeenth century work on comparative religion, which has a chapter entitled Nanak Panthidn describing the Sikhs, their Gurus and their beliefs. It has also been used by some eighteenth and nineteenth century writers in a more restricted sense to indicate that special group among the Sikhs which follows the teachings of Guru Nanak and his successors but does not strictly adhere to the injunctions of Guru Gobind Singh, especially about keeping the hair unshorn.
NIRANKARIS, a sect of the Sikhs born of a reform movement which arose in northwest Punjab in the middle of the nineteenth century aiming to restore the purity of Sikh belief and custom. Its founder, Baba Dayal (1783-1855), was a contemporary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. A man of humble origin, he cavilled at the shortcomings of the mighty and assailed the rites and observances which had perverted the Sikh way of life. His main target was the worship of images against which he preached vigorously.
for
PANDHER, village 25 km south of Barnala (30° 22`N, 75° 32`E) in Sangrur district of the Punjab, has a historical shrine commemorating the visit of Guru Tegh Bahadur. It is said that as Guru Tegh Bahadur arrived here late in the afternoon and asked for a site for his camp, one of the villagers pointed in jest to the potter`s house saying, "That is the place where travellers stay." The Guru`s followers remarked, These are thick headed people." The Guru immediately turned his horse and proceeded towards `All Sher village. Khumari, the headman of Pandher, said, "This is a very proud man." Later, when they learnt who he was, they repented their impudence.
for
PATIALA (30°20`N, 76° 26`E), a district town of the Punjab, was formerly the capital of a princely Sikh state until it lapsed in 1948. Though only the fourth largest town of the Punjab with a modest population, 268, 521 (1991), Patiala boasts a wellmarked cultural tradition. Historically, the city is not very old. It was founded only in 1752 by Baba Ala Singh (1691-1765), the founder of the Phulkian house of Patiala. The site was the ruined mound, PatanvalaTheh, of an earlier habitation, from which the name `Patiala` is said to be derived.
