JALLA. PANDIT (d. 1844), a Brahman priest of Jammu, who, assigned tutor to Hira Singh Dogra when he was a small boy, remained his lifelong companion and became his adviser and deputy as he assumed the office of prime minister of the Sikh kingdom in September 1843. Jalla completely

JHANDA, BHAI, of the village of Dalla, now in Kapurthala district of the Punjab, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Amar Das. He was among those who waited on the Guru when he visited Dalla. Among the visitors was also a learned Pandit. He undertook to serve

KAHN SINGH, of Nabha (1861-1938), celebrated scholar and encyclopaedist, was born on Bhadori vadi 10, 1918 Bk/30 August 1861, in a Dhillon Jatt family at the village of Sabaz Banera, in what then used to be the territory of the princely ruler of Patiala. His father, Narain Singh (mother:

KARSEVA, voluntary contribution of physical labour towards cleaning and construction operations at sacred tanks and temples, holds a special significance in the Sikh tradition. Sevd, altruistic service, was preached by the Gurus as a means to God realization. "One who renders selfless service attains to the Lord`s presence," says

KHALSA DEFENCE OF INDIA LEAGUE was formed on 19 January 1941 at Lahore with the object of launching a movement among the Sikh masses for increased military enlistment for the defence of the country during the critical years of World War II and for maintaining and strengthening the special position

KIRPAL SINGH, SINGH SAHIB GIANI (1918-1993), theologian and writer, was born on 10 June 1918, the son of Bhai Mall Singh and Bibi Rani Kaur, a Brar Jatt family of the village of Vairoke in Moga tufis`il of Firozpur district (now in district Faridkot). He passed his middle school

LAKSHMlPUR, in Katihar district of Bihar, is predominantly a Sikh village and has a historical shrine dedicated to Guru Tegh Bahadur. The ancestors of the inhabitants of this village lived in Kantnagar, a flourishing port on the left bank of the River Ganga, and it was in fact this latter

MAHESHA, BHAI, or Bhai Mahesa, a rich and influential Dhir Khatri of Sultanpur Lodhi, in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab, once waited upon Guru Amar Das and begged to be initiated a Sikh, The Guru, says Sarup Das Bhalla, Mahima Prakash, pointed out to him that to

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

MISLDARI OR MISALDARI, a system of political relationship as well as of land tenure which came into being with the rise of Sikh power in the eighteenth century Punjab. The Sikh warriors who, since the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716, had lived precariously as small guerilla bands, had

Meharban, Sodhi, original name Manohardas, son of Prithichand, the elder brother of Guru Arjan Dev (the fifth Guru of the Sikhs), wrote poetry as well as prose, but his prominent work is Janam sakhi Guru Nanak Dev (Story of the nativity of Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the

NAYYA, BHAI, a Khullar Khatri, was a prominent Sikh of the time of Guru Ram Das. Bhai Gurdas describes him, in his Varan, XI. 17, as "Nayya Khullar, beloved of the Guru himself."