Alphabetical Index

KAHN SINGH ROSA (d. 1864), son of Sukkha Singh, was appointed Jamadar in the Dragoons corps of the Sikh army in 1822 and was placed under General Allard. The following year he was made a Risaldar in the same regiment. In 1829, he was, on General Ventura`s recommendation, appointed commandant in the Khas Paltan, or Life Guards. He served with his regiment in Kullu and Mandi in the hills. He was severely wounded in the chest by a musket shot in the attack on Raja Suchet Singh in March 1844.

The (Kairaus) Kauravas who had brothers like Durjodhana and uttered "everything is ours"; their canopy was spread over twelve yojanas (over 48 miles) but (in the battlefield) their bodies were eaten by vultures. (Dhanasari Namdev, pp. 692-93) The Kairaus or Kauravas were the sons of the king Dhritarashtra and his wife Gandhari. They are said to be one hundred in number. Duryodhana was the eldest, then there was Duhsasana. They became jealous of their cousins known as Pandava and wanted to exterminate s them. 

KAIRON (31°19`N, 74°52`E), village in Amritsar district of the Punjab, has a historical shrine, Gurdwara Jhar Sahib, sacred to Guru Arjan (1563-1606). Located half a kilometre west of the village, it marks the site where the Guru, during one of his journeys through the Majha country, stayed for a short time. The karir tree {Capparis aphylla) to which, according to local tradition, the Guru`s horse was tethered was still standing until 1976 when it got uprooted in the construction work undertaken to renovate the building originally raised in 1925.

KAITHAL (29°47`n, 76°23`E), district town of Haryana, is an old historic place. Bhai Desu Singh, a descendant of Bhai Bhagatu, a Siddhu jatt of Barar clan, occupied it in 1767 and made it the capital of the principality he had established. The state came under British protection in 1809 and lapsed to the British on the death of its third ruler, Bhai Udai Singh, who died on 15 March 1843 without an heir. It was in Kaithal that, under the patronage of the last ruler, Bhai Santokh Singh wrote his monumental Sn Gur Pratdp Suraj Granth, popularly known as Suraj Prakdsh.

Discover Kal Jhirani's Gurdwaras, sacred sites of Guru Gobind Singh's 1706 visit, rich in history and spirituality, located near Bathinda.

KALA SINGH, a Mazhabi Sikh, was of pilchblack colour as his name (kdid = dark) indicated. He was converted to Sikhism by Jhanda Singh (d. 1774), a Bharigi chieftain. A bold and desperate man, Kala Singh joined the band of Gujjar Singh Bharigi (d. 1788) who appointed him the neddr or administrator at Hasan Abdal, midway between Rawalpindi and Attock, where tlie famous Sikh shrine of Parija Sahib is located. Kala Singh settled down amidst the fanatic and warlike Muslim chiefs of Gandgarh and its neighbourhood. He set up his headquarters at Sarai Kali which was at that time the Sikhs` last frontier outpost on the northwest. Kala Singh firmly established his authority in the area.

The Lord destroyed Jarasandha and Kalayavana; The Lord also killed Raktavija and Kala-Nem (Kala-Nemi). (Gaurt M. l, p. 224) Kalanemi was the uncle of the demon-king Ravana of Lanka. When Hanuman proceeded towards Himalayas in search of the medicinal herb for reviving Lakshmana, Ravana wanted him to be killed. For this purpose, he deputed Kalanemi with the promise of giving him half of his kingdom. Kalanemi assumed the form of a hermit-devotee and went to Gandhamadana, where Hanuman had gone.

KALA, BHAI, and his fellow hills men, Bhai Mehra and Bhai Nihalu, all devout Sikhs, once went to Amritsar to see Guru Arjan. They asked a question: "0 support of the supportless! Amritsar is a holy place no doubt, but if some habitual sinners come and settle here, how shall they be liberated?" "A spot which leads to virtuous living must do good to the sinners as well," said the Guru. See Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI.23

Jarasandha and Kalajamuna (Kalayavana) were killed. (Gauri M. l, p. 224) Kalayavana was the king of \'Faaras\' and a great friend of Jarasandha. He \'wanted to conquer Mathura, for which he performed penance and received a boon from Shiva that none of the Yadavas would be able to kili him. Coming to know about the protection given by Shiva to Kalayavana, Sri Kristina, somewhat dejected, shifted to Dwarka from Mathura. Another incident also occurred at this juncture.

Giani Kartar Singh famous for having selected Sikh history as his subject matter for presenting in narrative poetry, was born in the village Kalaswalia, district Sialkot (now in Pakistan). He was popularly known as Kalaswalia, after the name of his native place. His father, Jagat Singh, who was a pensioner, passed away in 1892 when Kartar Singh was hardly a lad of ten. He was brought up by one Dasondha Singh, who imparted to him the knowledge of Gurmat and Gurmat philosophy. Kartar Singh Kalaswalia had to start working for his livelihood at a very tender age.

KALAU, BHAI, a Kakka Sunar or goldsmith and a Sikh of the time of Guru Arjan, was known for his martial skill. He once waited on the Guru and enquired how a warrior might be saved. The Guru, according to Bhai Mani Singh, Sikhdn di Bhagat Maid, said, "He who lays down his life in a dharam yuddh, i.e. fighting for a righteous cause, and remembers God in his last moments will attain liberation." See Bhai Gurdas, Varan, XI.23 honour his memory was set up in the village in 1976.

KALAUR, 9 km east of Bassi Pathanari (30°42`N, ^^`E) in Fatehgarh Sahib district, claims a historical shrine dedicated to Guru Tegh Bahadur. A raised platform was constructed on the top of the ruined mound in the village to commemorate the visit of Guru Tegh Bahadur who made a brief halt here on his way from Kiratpur into the plains of the Malva. This was later replaced by a Mariji Sahib. The present building was constructed only in 1968.

KALE KHAN, one of the Pathan officers who had joined service under Guru Gobind Singh at Paonta Sahib after their dismissal from the Mughal army. He is said to have remained steadfast in his devotion to the Guru and his troops fought on his side in the battle of Bharigani (1688), whereas most of his other companions had deserted him and crossed over to the hill rajas. Unlike some other participants in the battle of Bharigani, Kale Khan is not mentioned in Guru Gobind Singh`s Bachitra Ndiak.

Kalepani, Diwan Singh passed his Matriculation in 1916 and in 1921 he got the diploma in Medical Service from Agra and joined the Medical Corps of the Indian Army. The most important period of life began when he was transferred to Rangoon, from where he was transferred to the Andamans in 1927 to a school where students were taught Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi. In the Gurudwara, Diwan Singh used to recite his poems and discuss with Indian people the problems of slavery and freedom. During the Second World War when Japan occupied the Andamans in 1942, Diwan Singh could not get reconciled to it.

KALGIDHAR DlWAN MALAYA, a socioreligious body of the Sikhs in Malaya (Malaysia), and an offshoot of Khalsa Diwan Malaya, was first formed in January 1918 as Khalsa Diwan, Sclangor (3"20`N, 101°15`E), by those elements of the Khalsa Diwan Malaya who were dissatisfied with the parent body`s affiliation witli the Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar, and its indifferent attitude to the Komagala Maw`s sufferers. During the annual Sikh conference at Penang (5t`24`N, 100°19`E) in 1919, differences between the two groups became more pronounced on the question of disposal of surplus funds of the Khalsa Diwan Malaya.

KALHA, RAI, feudatory chief of Raikot in Ludhiana district of the Punjab, was a contemporary of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708). Converted from Hinduism to Islam, the Rai`s family were still among the admirers of the Gurus. When Guru Gobind Singh, after his escape from Chamkaur, was passing through his territory, Rai Kalha received him warmly and served him with devotion. He sent one of his own men to Sirhind to bring news of the Guru`s mother and his two younger sons, while he himself attended upon the Guru who was then putting up at LammariJatpura. As the messenger returned and narrated how the Guru`s sons had been executed under the orders of the Sirhind official, Rai Kalha was overwhelmed with grief.