GATHA, title of Guru Arjan`s composition comprising twenty-four verses included in the Guru Granth Sahib. In Sanskrit writings, gdthd stands for a religious verse of non Vedic origin, a stanza or a song. In Prakrit and Buddhist traditions, the term signifies averse, a line of poetry, song, stanza or aphorism. The language of the Buddhist Sanskrit texts has also been referred to by some scholars as gdthd. According to Sikh commentators, gdthd, in the context of the verses of Guru Arjan, denotes the language used in these verses which is a mixture of Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit.
GHADR MOVEMENT. Ghadr, commonly translated as "mutiny," was the name given to the newspaper edited and published for the Hindustani Association of the Pacific Goast which was founded at Portland, United States of America, in 1912. The movement this Association gave rise to for revolutionary activity in India also came to be known by the designation of Ghadr. As land holdings were becoming uneconomical in the Punjab, the farmers started, by the turn of the century, going abroad to seek new pastures. East Asian countries where new opportunities were opening up offered attractive prospects
GHAL KALAN, village 9 km west of Moga (30°48`N, 75°10`E) in Faridkot district, has a historical gurudwara dedicated...
GHANAULA, an old village 10 km north of Ropar (30°58`N, 76°3rE) in the Punjab, used to be the headquarters of a parganuh in Mughal times. It claims a historical shrine which commemorates the visit of Guru Gobind Singh in 1688 while he was returning from Paonta to Anandpur. He again passed through Ghanaula on 6 December 1705 while proceeding to Kotia Niharig Khan en route to Chamkaur. The Gurdwara, a modestlooking singleroom structure on the top of a mound near an old fortress, is looked after by the village sangat.
GHANI KHAN and his brother Nabi Khan, Pathan horse dealers of Machhivara in present day Ludhiana district of the Punjab, were admirers of Guru Gobind Singh whom they had visited at Anandpur and to whom they had sold many good animals. When they learnt that, travelling in a lonely state after the battle of Chamkaur (1705), the Guru had come to Machhivara, they at once turned out to meet him and offered their services. They provided him with a blue coloured dress and carried him out of Machhivara in a palanquin disguised as a Muslim divine. They declared him to be Uchch da Pir, the holy man of Uchch, an old seat of Muslim saints in south-west Punjab.
GHARIBDAS IAS, followers of` Sant Gharibdas (1717-78), also known as Satsahibias for their peculiar form of greeting which is `Sat Sahib,` i.e. eternally existent (satya) is the Lord (sahib). The founder of the sect, Gharib Das was born in 1717 in the small village Chhudani, in Rohtak district. He got married, had six children four sons and two daughters, and lived a normal worldly life until he came under the influence of Dadupanthis. His sincere and persistent devotion won him many followers who sought initiation from him.
GHARUAN, a village 8 km east of Morinda (30°47`N, 76°29`E), is sacred to Guru Har Rai. He visited the place during his travels in these parts. Several people accepted" his teachings. They established a dharamsald in the village. This was replaced by a doublestoreyed building with a high gateway during the nineteenth century. A part of this building is being used for residential purposes. The other portion has been demolished and a new hall, with prakdsh aslhdn in the centre, has been built. The Gurdwara is managed by a village committee.
GHAUS KHAN (d. 1814) was an artillery officer under Mahari Singh Sukkarchakkia, and after his death, under his son, Ranjit Singh. He knew something about casting guns, was skilful in his profession, and was rewarded with jdgirs at Van and Bharoval in Amritsar district, with a large house in Lahore which was later occupied by the Mission School. When, in 1812, the Maharaja reorganized the artillery wing of his army into Topkhanai Khas and Topkhanai Mubarak, Ghaus Khan was put in charge of both, with the designation of Daroghai Topkhana. Ghaus Khan distinguished himself in several of the Maharaja`s early campaigns.