GURMAT (gurmat, mat, Sanskrit mati, i.e. counsel or tenets of the Guru, more specifically the religious principles laid down by the Guru) is a term which may in its essential sense be taken to be synonymous with Sikhism itself. It covers doctrinal, prescriptive and directional aspects of Sikh faith and

GURU NANAK SARBSAMPRADAI CONFERENCE, 1934, convened at Bhaini Sahib, centre of the Namdhari Sikhs, on 13 and 14 October 1934 at the instance of Baba Partap Singh, the Namdhari chief, with the primary object of forging unity among various Sikh sects following the teachings of Guru Nanak. Almost all the

HARSUKH RAI, GENERAL (d. 1867), son of Gurdit Singh served in Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army and was in the first instance attached to a cavalry unit under Prince Kharak Singh. His next appointment was as Adalatt or judge at Multan under the Sikh governor of the province, Diwan Savan

HUKAM, Arabic hukm for command, order, decree, law, has acquired in Sikh usage a metaphysical shade connoting the Divine Law or Order, regulating the entire universe. Its importance in Sikh theology is indicated by its occurrence at the very beginning of the Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh

JAHANGIR, NUR LJDDIN MUHAMMAD (1569-1627), fourth Mughal emperor of Delhi. Born SalTm, he assumed at his accession the title of Jahangir, Conqueror of the World. During his father`s Dcc^an campaign of 1598-99, he had planned a rebellion, but in 1604 the father and son were reconciled, and the latter was

JAVALA SINGH, SANT (1878-1938), a pious and learned Sikh who also worked as a royal tutor for a time, was born at the village of Dham Tari Kalari, in Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab, on 26 October 1878. He learnt to read GurmukhT and the Sikh Scripture at the hands

Shah Mohmmad is rightly acclaimed as the national poet of the Punjab in the nineteenth century at least. Though he is said to have composed a kissa, i.e. a narrative poem of love as well, he is best known for his celebrated composition: Jangnama Singhan te Frangian. With the

KHALSA BAHADUR, by Chuhar Singh, is a 55 page long poetic composition in the Malvai dialect of the Punjabi language, describing the unique chivalry and sacrifice of the twenty-one Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment at Saragarhi in AD 1897. Written in the baint verseform, the poem was completed

KHUDA SINGH, BABA, alias JASVANT SINGH (1777-1861), a policeman turned saint, son of Bhai Nattha Singh, who cultivated a small piece of land in the village of Syamgarh, near Kurukshetra, was born in August 1777. The child was barely four days old when the village was attacked by dacoits,

LAHORE (31°35`N, 74°20`E), pronounced Lahaur, provincial capital of West Punjab in Pakistan, lies on the left bank of the River Ravi. Hindu tradition attributes its founding to Lava, son of Lord Rama, but it is neither mentioned in the Greek accounts of Alexander`s invasion (326 BC) nor described by

MAGGHAR SINGH, SANT (1890-1924). Sikh divine who attracted a local following, came of a Bhullar Jatt family of Ramgarh village, near Jagraon, in Ludhiana district of the Punjab. His grandfather had died fighting against the British in the battle of \'Alival (28 January 1846) during the first Anglo-Sikh war.

MANJH BHAI, a well to do Rajput of Doaba country, converted a Sikh and earned repute for his piety, selfless service and complete surrender to the Guru`s will. His real name was Tiratha and Manjh was his clan name. He had been a follower of Sultan Sakhi Sarwar, a