SAMMAN BURJ, also called Musamman Burj, an octagonal tower commanding a wide range of buildings within the Lahore Fort, was built by Emperor Akbar, who made the city his capital for some time. Within the Fort was situated the royal palace which was enlarged by Jahangir and,

JAVALA SINGH, BHAI SAHIB (1872-1952), a renowned exponent of the Sikh devotional music, was born in 1872 at the village of  Saidpur in Kapurthala district of the Punjab. His father, Bhai Deva Singh and grandfather, Parijab Singh were in their day celebrated rdgis or musicians who recited Sikh kirtan

KIRPA RAM, DIWAN (d. 1843), civil administrator, soldier and statesman in Sikh times, was the youngest son of Diwan Moti Ram. In 1819, Kirpa Ram was sent by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to Hazara to settle that turbulent country. The same year he was transferred to the Jalandhar Doab as governor

LAKKHI MALL, DIWAN (d. 1844), an official of the Lahore Government in the Indus territories, which included Dera Ismail Khan, annexed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1836. Lakkhi Mall`s charge also included Bannu which the Sikhs had occupied in 1825. In January 1844 Diwan Lakkhi Mall led an expedition

MULTANA SINGH, KANVAR (1819-1846), son of Ranjit Singh, was born in 1819 to Ratan Kaur whom the Maharaja had married in 1811 after the conquest of Gujrat. He was given a small jagir in Amritsar district. He was married to Chand Kaur from whom he had three sons, Kishan

NAUNIDH, Bhandari Khatri of Agra, waited upon Guru Gobind Singh during his visit to the city in AD 1707. According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratdp Suraj Granth, he enquired about the reason for prescribing unshorn hair for the Sikhs. The Guru explained that keeping long hair was no

BUDDHA SINGH (d. 1718), great great grand father of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was the founder of the Sukkarchakkia family. One of his ancestors, Bhara Mall, who lived in the village of Sukkarchakk, in Gujranwala district, now in Pakistan, had been initiated into the Sikh faith by the Seventh Guru,

CHANDURA (CHANURA) Kansa, Kesi and Chandur were not equalled by anyone. They did not comprehend the Lord, therefore they were dishonoured. (Gauri M. l, p. 225) The Beloved Lord creates a child-like Krishna and through him kills Chandura, Kansa and Kesi. (Sorath M. 4, p. 606) He was a

DASAM GRANTH (lit. the Tenth Book, generally signifying the Book of the Tenth Guru) is how the collection of compositions attributed to the Tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, is named to distinguish it from the earlier work, the Adi Granth, the First or Primary Book, compiled by Guru Arjan, the

HEMA KAPAHI, BHAI, was a resident of Sultanpur Lodhi in the present Kapurthala district of the Punjab. He was in cotton (kapdh) trade for which reason he was known as Kapahi. He embraced the Sikh faith in the time of Guru Amar Das and also received instruction from Guru