sikh

LAKKHU, BHAI, a pious Sikh of Lahore, lived in very poor circumstances. Because of his appearance, he was once denied entry to the feast Bhai Buddhu, the brick manufacturer, had laid out for the Sikhs, seeking their blessing for the success of his venture. Bhai Lakkhu thereupon pronounced a curse. Bhai Buddhu begged Guru Arjan to cancel it. But the Guru said he was unable to do so.

MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH JIBAN VRITTANTA, by Brahmamohan Mallick, is a monograph in Bengali on the life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). Published in 1862, within a quarter of a century of the Maharaja\'s death, it is one of the earliest biographies of the Maharaja written in any language. The book is divided into eight chapters, the first one dealing with the social and political milieu in which Guru Nanak (1469-1539), founder of the Sikh faith, preached his message, and second with the ancestry and birth of Ranjit Singh.

MANOHAR DAS. BHAI, a great grandson of Guru Amar Das and a distant cousin of Guru Hargobind, was a devoted Sikh, known for his piety and humility. He had been brought up by Guru Arjan himself. As he grew up, he started performing kirtan at Gurdwara Chaubara Sahib and Gurdwara Baoli Sahib at Goindval. Guru Hargobind was at Kiratpur when news reached him of the death of Manohar Das at Goindval. The Guru was much grieved and observed formal mourning. Bhai Kamala, a Kashmir! Sikh in the Guru`s retinue, spoke of the virtuous character and devotion of Bhai Manohar Das.

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.

NEHRU COMMITTEE REPORT AND THE SIKHS. Constitutional reforms introduced under the Government of India Act, 1919, did not satisfy the Indian public opinion which continued to press for a fully responsible government in India. The Act itself contained a provision that after ten years a statutory commission would be appointed to review its working. A commission consisting of seven members of British Parliament, with SirJohn Simon as chairman, was constituted in November 1927 to survey the political situation in India.

ORIGIN OF THE SIKH POWER IN THE PUNJAB AND POIJTICAL LIFE OF MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH, with an Account of the Religion, Laws and Customs of the Sikhs, was compiled by Henry Thoby Prinsep (1793-1878), a civil servant of the British East India Company, who later rose to be a member of the Legislative Council of India (1858-74). The book was published at Calcutta in 1834. A reprint was issued by the Languages Department, Punjab, in 1970. Prinsep commences his account with Yahiya Khan`s vice royalty of Lahore (1745-48) and carries his account down to the Ropar meeting between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the British Governor General, Lord William Bentinck, in October 1831, and the British treaties with the Amirs of Sindh in April 1832.

PARCHI BHAI SEVA RAM is a biographical sketch, in Punjabi verse, of Bhai Seva Ram who led the Sevapanthi sect after the death of its founder Bhai Kanhaiya, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). Written by Bhai Sahaj Ram, himself a renowned Sevapanthi saint, the book was edited by Bhai Hira Singh and published by the Sevapanthi Addanshahi Sabha, Patiala. Although the manuscripts of the work extant today bear no date, the work is surmised to have been written towards the close of the eighteenth century.

PHUMMAN SINGH, BHAI, famous as a ragi or musician reciting Sikh hymns, was born in a Jatt Sikh family of Daudhar in present day Moga district of the Punjab in the sixties of the nineteenth century. He learnt to read Scripture and recite kirtan at the Dera or seminary established at Daudhar in 1859 by Sant Suddh Singh. Having acquired notable proficiency in vocal as well as in instrumental music, he went to Amritsar where, accompanied at the tabla or pair of drums by Bhai Harsa Singh of Sathiala village in Amritsar district, he performed kirtan at Sri Darbar Sahib (the Golden Temple) for some time.

PUNJAUB, THE, which according to its subtitle, is a brief account of the country of the Sikhs, its extent, history, commerce, productions, government, manufactures, laws, religion, etc., was written by Lieut Colonel Henry Steinbach, a European officer in the Khalsa army, and was first published by Smith, Edder, & Co., Cornhill, London, in 1845. It was reprinted by the Languages Department, Punjab, in 1970. The author was an eyewitness, during his seven year stay among the Sikhs (1838-45), to the cataclys mic events which overtook the Punjab following the death of Ranjit Singh