Alphabetical Index

JATAULI, a village 5 km south of Nurpur Bedi in Ropar District of Punjab, is sacred to Guru...

JATHA, from Sanskrit yutha meaning a herd, flock, multitude, troop, band or host, signifies in the Sikh tradition a band of volunteers coming forth to carry out a specific task, be it armed combat or a peaceful and nonviolent agitation. It is not clear when the term jathd first gained currency, but it was in common use by the first half of the eighteenth century. After the arrest and execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716, the terror let loose by the Mughal government upon the Sikhs forced them to leave their homes and hearths and move about in small bands or jathds, each grouped around ajatheddror leader who came to occupy this position on account of his daring spirit and capacity to win the confidence of his comrades.

JATI MALL (d. 1642), also referred to as Jati Malik or Malak JatI, was the son of Bhai Singha who laid down his life for Guru Hargobind in the battle of Amritsar (1629). Brahman by birth, Singha was the family priest of the Sodhis. He converted to Sikhism and became a skilled warrior. Likewise, his son, JatT Mall, practised the manly arts and took part in all the battles fought by Guru Hargobind. Among his troop commanders, he ranked next only to Bhai Bidhi Chand and Rai Jodh.

JATPURA, village adjacent to Lammari, 14 km from Raikot (30°39`N, 75°37`E) in Ludhiana district on the Guru Gobind Singh Marg, is believed to have been visitct. by Guru Hargobind during his sojourn in the Malva country in 1631-32. Gurdwara Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Band! Chhor commemorates that visit. It consists of a rectangular hall witli a verandah on three sides and a domed room on the first floor. A residential room and the Guru ka Larigar arc at the back. The Gurdwara is managed by Sant Ajaib Singh of Boparai, who also controls Gurdwara Guru Sar Panjauana at Lamman.

JATTU BHANDART, BHAI, a Khatri of Shahdara near Lahore, was a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan. His name is included among the Guru`s devotees in Mani Singh, Sikhdn di Bhagat Maid.

JATTU BHIVA, BHAI, a Khatri Sikh of Guru Arjan`s time. He once visited the Guru at Amritsar and received instruction from him. His name figures in Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI.20.

JATTU CHADDHA, BHAI, a Khatri of Chaddha clan, was initiated a Sikh by Guru Arjan. The Guru taught him always to remember God and to dedicate himself to the service of others. His name appears in Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI.20.

JATTU, BHAI, a learned Tivan Brahman, who accepted Sikh faith at the hands of Guru Arjan. The Guru taught him to have belief in Guru Nanak, who had revealed the Divine Truth to mankind. See Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI.19 JATTU, BHAI (d. 1621), a devoted Sikh of the time of Guru Hargobind known for his fighting skill. In the battle of Ruhela he was despatched at the head of two hundred warriors to meet the attacking Mughal force from Jalandhar. Towards the end of the action that ensued, Bhai Jattu challenged the commander of the enemy vanguard, Muhammad Khan, to a duel.

JAUNPUR (25°47`N, 82°40`E), a district town in Uttar Pradesh, situated on the bank of the River Gomati, claims a historical gurudwara known as Gurdwara Tap Asthan Sri Guru Tegh BahadurJi (Bari Sarigat) or simply Gurdwara Ban Sarigat. A Sikh sangal was in existence inJaunpur when Guru Tegh Bahadur passed by travelling from the Punjab to the eastern parts in 1665. Bhai Gurbakhsh, a melodious singer of the divine hymns, called on the Guru, along with theJaunpur sangat, atVaranasi.

JAVALA SINGH PADHANIA alias LAKHDATA (d. 1835), a SandhuJatt of the village of Padhana, in Lahore district, was a military commander in Sikh times. His father, Mit Singh (d. 1814), had joined service under Mahari Singh Sukkarchakkia and continued to serve under his son Maharaja Ranjit Singh, taking part in several of his military campaigns. Sohan Lal Sun, the official Lahore diarisi, lists Javala Singh, among the principal sarddrs of the Maharaja. Javala Sihgh following in his father`s footsteps, took part in the Maharaja`s Malva campaign of 1807 and in expeditions of Multan (1818), Kashmir (1819) and Mankcra (1821). He was put in charge of the fortress of Attock which he, with a handful of troops, successfully guarded against Afghan onslaughts.

JAVALA SINGH, son of Desa Singh of Raja Sarisi, in Amritsar district, accompanied Thakur Singh Sandharivalia to England in 1884 to call on the deposed sovereign of the Punjab, Dulccp Singh, and stayed there for nine months as the Maharaja`s guest. In February 1887,Javala Singh joined Thakur Singh in Pondicherry, a French colony near Madras, where the latter had set up an emigre government on behalf of the Maharaja. The same year, Thakur Singh died and Javala Singh was charged with bringing his ashes to his ancestral village, Raja Sarisi. In the Punjab, he remained under police surveillance for some time and was once arrested for interrogation.

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 to the accompaniment of sarandd, a stringed instrument.Javala Singh excelled at tdus, another stringed instrument, and at harmonium. He had at his command such an abundance of traditional and classical tunes, composition of some of which was traced back to the times of the Gurus themselves, that he did not have to repeat a tune even when singing for weeks on end.

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 of an Udasi priest, GianT Prem Das, and continued further religious study under different scholars and theologians, including Sant Khalsan Singh Virakt of Sukkho in Rawalpindi district (now in Pakistan). The death register of the Municipal Committee of Patiala where he died shows him, in the parentage column, as chela or disciple of Sant Gulab Singh. Such was Sant Javala Singh`s reputation as a scholar that he was in 1905 appointed to instruct Maharaja Bhupindcr Singh of Patiala (1891-1938), then a young prince of 14, in Sikh texts and doctrine.

JAVAND SINGH, one of the five Siklis who administered pdhulov the vows of Khalsa to Maharaja Dulcep Singh at Aden, belonged to the village of Barki, in Lahore district. After serving for a while as a police constable, he had retired to his village to take to farming. When the news came that the Maharaja had been detained at Aden and refused permission to come to India, Javand Singh and Thakur Singh of Wagah proceeded to Aden to meet him. At Aden, Dulcep Singh decided formally to return to the faith of his forefathers and receive the rites of initiation. Javand Singh was included among the five Sikhs chosen to conduct the ceremony.

JAVAND SINGH MOKAL (d. 1840), soldier and courtier of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. His father, Thakur Singh, held a minor command. Javand Singh joined the Sikh army as a trooper. He was placed under Diwan Muhkam Chand and took pan in the battle fought near Attock, in July 1813. The same year lie fought in the battle of Haidru in which the Sikhs worsted the Wazir of Kabul, Fatch Khan. For his gallantry in the battle he was assigned djagir worth Rs 30,000 annually in Gujrat district. He also took part in the expeditions of Multan (1818) and Kashmir (1819).

JAVAND SINGH, BHAI (1887-1921), one of the martyrs of Nankana Sahib, was born on 22 September 1887, the second of the three sons of Bhal Ala Singh and MaT Bisso of Nijampur village in Amritsar district. His elder brother Gujjar Singh had registered himself as a volunteer for the liberation of holy shrines at Nankana Sahib, but when the call came on 19 February 1920,Javand Singh insisted that he lake his brother`s place in the jathd led by BhaT Lachhman Singh DharovalT which was allowed. The jathd was killed in the firing on their entry into Gurdwara Janam Aslhan the following morning.