DHINGAR, BHAI, a carpenter, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind (1595-1644). According to Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, Bhai Dhirigar, along with Bhai Maddu, a fellow worker in the craft, came to serve at the Guru`s feet. During the day they hewed wood

DIPA, BHAI, resident of the village of Dalla in present day Kapurthala district of the Punjab, has been listed by Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI. 16, amongst the leading Sikhs of the time of Guru Amar Das. He had received instruction at the hands of the Guru himself. See RAMU,

DUNI CHAND is described in Puratan Janam Sakhi as a Dhuppar Khatri of Lahore who held in the parganah the revenue rank of karori (lit. the holder of a karor or ten million). He was performing sraddha or anniversary feast for his deceased father when he learnt that the

DAYAKAUR, RANI (d. 1843), widow of Sahib Singh Bhangi of Gujrat, was married, in 1811, to Maharaja Ranjit Singh by the rite of chadar andazi, a rite having sanction under customary law to facilitate marriage with a widow who is accepted into nuptials by unfurling a chadar or sheet

FANE, SIR HENRY (1778-1840), commander-in-chief of the British Indian army, who visited the Punjab in 1837 on the occasion of the marriage of Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s grandson. Sir Henry Fane`s visit to Ranjit Singh was an event of considerable interest. He was highly impressed by the

FATEH SINGH MAN (d. 1845). son of Sham Singh Man, soldier, diplomat and commander in Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s army. He entered the service of the Maharaja as a trooper, and took part in several campaigns, including those of Multan (1818) and Kashmir (1819). He rose to be a kumeddn.

GANDA SINGH (d. 1845), of Butala, in Gujranwala district of undivided Punjab, was a soldier in the Sikh army. Early in his career, he was assigned by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to Prince Sher Singh`s troops. Ganda Singh`s father, Dharam Singh, had also served in the army and taken part

GAUHAR SINGH (d. 1763), a Siddhu Jatt, was founder of the famous village of Atari in Amritsar district. Dhira, son of Jagmal, an ancestor of Gauhar Singh, was the first of the family to migrate to Mehraj Phul area, in present day Bathinda district, from Jaisalmer about the year

GIAN SINGH, GIANI (1824-1884), scholar and theologian, was the elder son of Giani Bishan Singh, a collateral of the well known Giani house of Amritsar, headed by Giani Sant Singh and his son, Giani Gurmukh Singh. Gian Singh was born at Amritsar about 1824. He received his education from

GONDA, CHAUDHARI, one of the headmen of the village of Muloval, now in Sarigrur district of the Punjab, was converted to the Sikh faith by Guru Tegh Bahadur. According to local tradition supported by old chronicles, when Guru Tegh Bahadur visited Muloval, he stopped near the village well to

GUJJAR, BHAI, a blacksmith by profession, was a devoted Sikh of the time of GuruArigad. Once he came to see the Guru and said, "Lord, I am a workman, always busy with my trade. How shall I be liberated?" The Guru advised him to recite the Japu (fi) early

GURBACHAN SINGH KHALSA BHINDRANVALE, SANT GIANI (1903-1969), holy man, preacher and exponent of the Sikh sacred texts, was born on 12 February 1903, the son of Rur Singh of the village of Akhara, 6 km south of Jagraori, in Ludhiana district of the Punjab. He learnt to read and