Alphabetical Index

JAGATJIT SINGH, MAHARAJA (1872-1949), son of Raja Kharak Singh, was born on 23 November 1872 and ascended the throne of Kapurthala state on 16 October 1877. He assumed full ruling powers in November 1890 and then commenced his unusual career as a world traveller and a Francophile. He received the title of Maharaja in 1911. He was a man of high aesthetic taste and turned Kapurthala into a city of beautiful palaces and gardens. His main palace at Kapurthala was modelled on the Versailles Palace.

JAGGA, BHAI, a Khatrl of Dharni clan, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arigad. As he first waited upon the Guru, he said, "Show me the light, True Master. I have been to a yogi for guidance, but he would not instruct me until I renounce my home and family which I am unable to do. How shall I be saved?" The Guru, according to Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhdn di Bhagat Maid, spoke, "If you renounce the world to practise meditation and yet go to a householder begging for food, the reward for your endeavour must go to him who sustains you.

JAGHERA, also called Nanakpur Jaghera, a village about 4 km south of Ahmadgarh (30°42`N, 75"51`E) in Ludhiana district of the Punjab, is sacred to Guru Hargobind, who halted here during one of his journeys through these parts. Gurdwara Sahib Patshahi VI, also called Gurdwara MarijT Sahib, on the LudhianaMalcrkolla road, commemorates the Guru`s visit. Local tradition enshrines memories of Guru Nanak`s visit as well and tlie village pond near the present shrine has of old been known as Nanaksar. After Guru Nanak, the village is called Nanakpur Jaghera.

JAGIASI, also Jagiasu orJijnasu is a religious sect cognate with the UdasT section of the NanakpanthTs of Sindh. The word jagidsd is derived from Sanskrit jijndsd (desire to know), jagidsi denoting one desirous of knowledge, of spiritual insight. T`.ic members of the Jagiasi sect are mostly sahajdhdns i.e. gradualists, believing in the Gurus and following generally the Sikh tenets but not yet sworn as full members of the community. There arc however some who accept the rites of Khalsa initiation and wear long hair while some others add the suffix `Singh` to their names. Following the example of the founder of the sect, Baba Sri Chand, the elder son of Guru Nanak, the Udasts do not marry.

JAGIRDARI, a feudal system of political and revenue administration based on jagir, lit. fief or grant of land received from the sovereign or a vassal owing fealty and obedience to him. Sikhs who, after the fall of Sirhind in early 1764, started occupying territory, did not automatically take to the jdgirdari system in vogue since the Sultanate and Mughal periods. Heads of various Sikh misis and lesser sarddrs or commanders had under them vast tracts of land, but their holdings were not jdgirs in the sense that they were owed to no sovereign above them.

JAGSI, BHAI, a resident of Fatchpur, was a devoted Sikh of Guru Arjan`s time. He, as says Bhai Man! Singh, Sikhdn di Bhagat Maid, once proposed to the Guru the names of a few living saints whose compositions, he submitted, might be considered for inclusion in the Holy Book he was preparing. See Bhai Gurdas, Varan,XI. 26

JAHANDAD KHAN, one of the many sons of Painda Khan and a half brother of Fatch Khan Wazir, was appointed governor of Attock by Shah Shuja`, the king of Afghanistan. In 1809, Fatch Khan dethroned Shah Shuja`, placed Shah Mahmud on the throne and himself became prime minister. Shah Shuja` was taken prisoner at Attock by Jaharidad Khan who had him delivered to his brother `Ata Muhammad Khan, the governor of Kashmir. Fateh Khan turned towards Kashmir and defeated and expelled `Ata Muhammad.

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 made viceroy of southern and western India and allowed to live in Agra as heir apparent. Jahangir, crowned king on 24 October 1605, was possessed of many natural abilities and was a lover of art and literature, but he turned out to be a capricious ruler who gradually allowed his Persian wife, NurJahan, to take the reins of government into her hands. Jahangir was not liberal like his father, Akbar.

JAHARNAVI (JAHNAVI) Jaharnavi (Jahnavi) was brought by the ascetic Bhagiratha..... (Malar M. 4, p. 1263) Jaharnavi or Jahnavi is another name for the river Ganga (Ganges). When, after the propitiation of Brahma and Shiva, Ganga was being brought from heaven, the sage Jahnu was disturbed in his devotions by the passage of the river. In great ire, he drank up its waters. Afterwards, when he relented he allowed the river to issue from his ear. Therefore Ganga is called Jahnavi i.e. the daughter of Jahnu. See : Ganga , Bhagiratha

JAI RAM (d. 1518), brother in law of Guru Nanak, was a trusted official at the court of Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhl at Sultanpur, in presentday Kapurthala district of the Punjab. He was married to Nanaki, daughter of Kalian Chand and sister of Guru Nanak, in 1475 at Talvandi Rai Bhoi. Guru Nanak stayed with them for several years at Sultanpur, where Jai Ram had secured for him appointment as the Nawab`s modi or storekeeper. Jai Ram, though much senior to Guru Nanak in age, respected the latter for his piety and considered himself blessed for being related to him. Guru Nanak was present at Sultanpur Lodhi in 1518 when Jai Ram died just three days after the death of his wife, Nanakl. The couple had been childless.

JAI SINGH (d. 1784), a Jatt Sikh of Majha living near the village of Atari in Amritsar district, joined hands with the Nishanavali misi in its invasion of the cis Sutlej tracts, fighting in the battle of Sirhind (1764) and assisting in the seizure of Ambaia, Shahabad, Lidhrari, Amioh and Sarai Lashkar Khan. He obtained 34 villages as his share around Lidhrari and Kharar. Shortly afterwards Jai Singh suffered defeat with his associates at the hands of Ahmad Shah Dunam and had to take refuge in the hilly country north of Ambala. Raja Amar Singh of Patiala annexed his seven villages around Kharar.

JAI SINGH ATARIVALA (d. 1838), son of Wazir Singh, was a soldier and jdgirddr during Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s reign. About 1820, he was sent on a mission to Peshawar where, much to the chagrin of the Maharaja, he cultivated treacherously friendly relations with Dost Muhammad Khan, the Barak/ai chief of Kabul. Jai Singh was soon recalled to Lahore. Fearing chastisement, he hatched a plot to assassinate the Maharaja in collusion with his cousin, Jagat Singh, and Buddh Singh SandharivalTa, a collateral of the Maharaja.

JAI SINGH KAMLA (d. 1827) served, like his father Uttam Singh, under the Bharigi chief, Gulab Singh, on whose death in 1800 he joined Ranjit Singh, who had occupied Lahore barely a year earlier. Jai Singh was a good soldier and took part in many of the Maharaja`s campaigns. As a reward, he was granted jdgzrs in Sheikhupura district. In 1817, when he was too old for active service, he was appointed a judge at Amritsar. Jai Singh died in 1827. Of his sons, Marigal Singh had been killed fighting against the Nawab of Mankera in October 1821. His second son,Jaimal Singh, rose to be a commandant in the Charyari Horse.

JAI SINGH MAN (d. 1812), son of Sarja Singh (d. 1763) of Mughal Chakk settled in the village of Man, near Gujrariwala. His family was related to the Sukkarchakkia family by matrimony as Ranjit Singh`s father, Mahari Singh, was married to his daughter. Jai Singh was a constant companion of Mahari Singh in his military expeditions of Tsa Khel, Pindi Bhattiari, Gujrat, Sialkot, and Rasulnagar. He also marched to Jammu with a small contingent of troops with Mahari Singh when in 1780 the Sukkarchakkia forces defeated Raja Brij Raj Deo and plundered the town. Jai Singh died in 1812.

JAI SINGH, DOCTOR (1856-1898), a prominent figure in the Singh Sabha renaissance, was born tlie son of`Sant Singh on 11 February 1856 at Find Dadan Khan, in Jehlum district, now in Pakistan. While still at school, he became an avid student of Sikh literature. In 1874, he joined Medical College at Lahore, from where he passed his Licentiate examination. He was married on 25 November 1876 before he had completed his medical studies.

JAI SINGH, MIRZA RAJA (1605-1667), Kachhvaha Rajput prince and one of the senior generals under the Mughal emperors ShahJahari (1628-58) and Aurangzib (1658-1707), succeeded to the feudal chieftainship of Amber (Jaipur) in 1617 when he also got his first appointment in the Mughal army. "Since then," writes Sir Jadunath Sarkar, History of Aurangzib, vol. IV, "he had fought under the imperial banner in every part of the empire from Baikh in Central Asia to Bijapur in the Deccan, from Qandahar in the west to Mungir in the east." When he was fighting for the throne in 1858, Aurangzib had solicited and secured Jai Singh`s assistance as a reward for which he was made governor of Delhi city with the grant of Sambhar, a rich province flourishing on its salt trade.