Life Stories

He was a Sikh army general and a well-known jagirdar in Phulkian riyasat. He was a close associate of Maharaja Ala Singh who founded the Patiala state in 1753 AD.
He gained this jagir from Maharaja Ala Singh as a recognition and reward for having liberated him from the Sunam prison in 1747 where he had been incarcerated by Ali Muhammad Khan for over two years. Ala Singh was liberated by Nanu Singh Saini with the help of Karam Singh Semeka in 1747 AD. Thereafter, he went on to found Patiala princely state in 1753 and took the title of Maharaja. Nanu Singh Saini became among his most trusted lieutenants and army generals. As a reward of Nanu Singh Saini's help in his liberation from the prison and his contributions in military campaigns as a general, his family was granted a large jagir which was spread in Patiala, Jind and Ambala regions. Along with Chahal Sardars of Patiala, this Saini family's estates in Patiala were the largest territories that any noble family owned in Phulkian riyasat. Nanu Singh Saini's family was also known as 'Wade Ghar Wale' in the Phulkian court because they had been granted a sprawling 1-acre (4,000 m2) bungalow at Der Sodhian by the ruling family.

Peer Ali Khan (born: 1812; death: July 7, 1857) was an Indian revolutionary and rebel, who participated in the Indian independence movement. He was given capital punishment for participating in the freedom struggle of 1857.
Khan was a bookbinder by profession and he used to secretly distribute important leaflets, pamphlets and coded messages to freedom fighters. He conducted regular campaigns against the British government.
He was arrested along with his 33 followers on July 4, 1857.
On July 7, 1857, Khan was hanged in full public view by William Tayler, the then commissioner of Patna, along with 14 other rebellions, include Ghasita Khalifa, Ghulam Abbas, Nandu Lal alias Sipahi, Jumman, Maduwa, Kajil Khan, Ramzani, Peer Bakhsh, Peer Ali, Wahid Ali, Ghulam Ali, Mahmood Akbar and Asrar Ali Khan.
A road adjacent to the Patna Airport is named after him by Nitish Kumar's government in 2008. Also, Saheed Peer Ali Khan Park, a children's park in front of the District Magistrate's residence near the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, was named after him by the State Government of Bihar.

Pir Bhikham Shah lived in village Thaska in District Karnal, now in Haryana. A Sayyid, on the day that Guru Gobind Rai was born at Patna, Bhikan Shah did something that shocked the Muslims around him. That morning when everyone else was doing Namaaz in the direction of Meccah, the Pir made a deep and respectful bow towards East in the direction of Patna. His Muslim disciples and village people were surprised and agitated because the Muslims of India always bow towards the West, in the direction of Mecca.
They asked the Pir, the purpose of his strange act. Then Sayyid replied, "On this day, a beloved of God has been born who will be both a saint and a hero. He has taken birth to destroy evil, sin and falsehood. He will fight for the cause of virtue, and truth. I will go to that sacred place to be blessed by seeing this holy child."
Pir Bhikham Shah then left for Patna with his disciples and some servants. Arriving at Patna, the Pir went to the house where Gobind Rai was born where after a respectful bow, he sat down near the door of the house. When asked what he wanted and why he was sitting there, the Pir said, "I have come from a far off place to be blessed by having look at the holy child." Mata Gujri when informed of the arrival of the Faqir and his intention, hesitatingly made some excuses but the Pir was adamant and implored that his wish to see the child be granted. He told that having traveled for many days covering hundreds of miles, he would not go away, neither eat nor drink till his wish was granted. The Pir was at last permitted to see the child.
On seeing the child, the Faqir respectfully made a deep bow after which he offered two earthen pots containing sweetmeats. The Pir had purchased one pot from a Muslim and the second pot of sweets from a Hindu. After placing both the pots containing sweets before Gobind Rai, the Pir sat down with folded hands and looking at the child, Gobind Rai placed his left hand on one of the pots and at the same time placed his right hand on the other pot. The child then smiled and looked at the pir who made a long and deeper bow to the holy child.
The followers of the Pir had watched as the child touched both bowls at the same moment, but why had their Pir offered two bowls instead of one? They kindly asked their Pir why he had placed two bowls before the child. The Pir explained that he had wanted to know whether this holy child would favour the Hindus or the Musalmen; he explained, “I had placed the pots of sweets before the child, thinking that if he put his hand on the pot of Sweets from the Hindu shop, he would favour the Hindus, but if he placed his hand on the pot of sweets from the Muslim shop he would favor the Muslims. But the holy child wisely touched both pots showing me that both the Hindus and Muslims are equally dear to him. As he grows older he will help Hindus whenever they need his help and he will help Muslims whenever they are in need of his help.
The Pir further said that he was immensely impressed and pleased with this act of the Holy child. The Pir, his disciples and servants then returned to his home and remained a steadfast supporter of the Guru for his entire life.

Source- https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Pir_Bhikan_Shah_and_the_Two_Pots_of_Sweets

Peer Buddhu Shah (13 June 1647 - 21 March 1704), was a Muslim divine whose real name was Badr ud Din, who was an admirer and ally of Guru Gobind Singh. He visited the Guru regularly and at one point introduced 500 shias Muslims Pathan soldiers who had been expelled by Aurangzeb to the Guru who employed them. However, when these soldiers faced battle against the Hill chiefs, they deserted the Guru's army.
The Peer was very upset by this action and brought many hundreds of his own followers and his family members to assist the Guru's force. The Guru was most impressed by this dedication shown by the Peer in this urgently needed support. However, in supporting the Guru, this action made him an enemy of the Mughals, who in 1704 executed him.
When Banda Singh Bahadur came to know that the Peer had been executed because he helped Guru Gobind Singh in the battle of Bhangani, he avenged the Pir's death by storming Sadhaura and killing Usman Khan, who had been responsible of the Peer's death. Pir Buddhu Shah's descendants migrated to Pakistan in 1947. Their ancestral house in Sadhaura has since been converted into a Gurdwara named after Pir Buddhu Shah.
He was born on 13 June 1647 in a prosperous Sayyid family of Sadhaura, in the present-day Ambala district of Haryana. Because of his simplicity and silent nature during his early childhood he was given the nickname of Buddhu (literally meaning "simpleton") which stuck to him permanently. He was married at the age of 18 to a pious lady, Nasirari who is better known as Bibi Naseera. She was the sister of Said Khan a high ranking officer in the Mughal army. Peer Buddhu Shah had four sons Sayyed Ashraf, Sayyed Muhomad Shah, Sayyed Muhomad Baksh and Sayyed Shah Hussain.
It is not certain how Buddhu Shah first became acquainted with Guru Gobind Singh, but it is recorded that he called on him in 1685 at Paonta, on the bank of the Yamuna. While Guru Gobind Rai was staying at Paonta, the Pir was touring the hilly areas. The Pir came to know that Guru Gobind Rai, the tenth embodiment in the line of Guru Nanak, was staying at Paonta.
He went to see the Guru, in a palanquin, as it was the fashion among kings and emperors of those times to move with royal pomp and show, in palanquins, with numerous attendants and servants. After the first meeting it became routine for Pir Budhu Shah to regularly visit the Guru. He no more needed a palanquin to visit the Guru.
After meeting Guru Gobind Singh, Peer Buddhu Shah felt that he wanted to stay with the Guru sahib but his worldly commitments did not allow him to stay.
The audience with the Guru gave him the peace of mind which the study of religious books, prayers and meditation had not given. His mind was cleared of all doubts after exchange of views with the Guru. The difference of 'That is yours and this is mine' had disappeared from his mind; the Pir could clearly see that everything belonged to the one God, by the time he left for Sadhaura.

In a country (India) notorious for female infanticide, Prakash Kaur runs a house in Jalandhar, Punjab for 60 abandoned girls. She was abandoned herself as a child- found a few hours old in a drain. Since 1993, she has rescued and raised unwanted and unclaimed new born girls. She represents the many Sikh women fighting for women and girls against abandonment, domestic violence, sexual assault and forced marriage.

Pran Krishan Sikand (12 February 1920 – 12 July 2013), better known by his mononym, Pran, was an Indian actor, known as the greatest villain ever in the history of Indian cinema and character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to the 1990s.[1] He played hero roles from 1940–47, a villain from 1942–1991, and played supporting and character roles from 1967–2007. The decades of late 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s were the peak periods of Pran's villainy, especially 1950s & 1960s. Pran was the first true personifiation of "evil" on the Indian screen. He is the original badman of Indian cinema. The intensity of his portrayal of negative/villainous characters on the screen was effective enough to desist the Indian people from naming their children "Pran" in the 1950s & 60s & subsequently thereafter (when Pran was at the peak of his villainy). He has been one among the most highly successful & respected veteran actors in the history of Indian cinema. He was also one among the highest paid actors of his time.
In a long and prolific career Pran appeared in over 350 films. He played the leading man in works such as Khandaan (1942), Pilpili Saheb (1954) and Halaku (1956). He is known for his roles in Madhumati (1958), Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Upkar (1967), Shaheed (1965), Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969), Johny Mera Naam (1970), Victoria No. 203 (1972), Be-Imaan (1972), Zanjeer (1973), Don (1978), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Duniya (1984).
Pran has received many awards and honours in his career. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award in 1967, 1969 and 1972 and was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. He was awarded as the "Villain of the Millennium" by Stardust in 2000. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contributions to the arts. He was honoured in 2013 with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artistes, by the Government of India. In 2010, he was named on the list of CNN's Top 25 Asian actors of all time.
Pran died on 12 July 2013 at the age of 93 of old age after suffering from a prolonged illness in Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital.

Prem Kishan Khanna (2 January 1894 – 3 August 1993) was an active member of the Hindustan Republican Association from Shahjahanpur U.P. Khanna was a contractor for Indian Railways. He was a close associate of noted revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil.
Khanna had a licence to own a Mauser pistol, which was occasionally used by Bismil for his various revolutionary actions. He was arrested in the Kakori conspiracy case against the British Empire, and was prosecuted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for giving his arms licence to Bismil who used it to purchase 150 cartridges on his behalf, which was a criminal offense. He was released from jail in 1932. Later in life, he remained a bachelor and worked for Indian Independence.
He was elected as Member of Parliament from Shahjahanpur (Lok Sabha constituency) in 1962 and 1967.
He died on 3 August 1993 in the district hospital of Shahjahanpur.

Prem Kishan Khanna was born to Raibahadur[9] Ram Kishan Khanna on 2 February 1894 in Lahore now in Pakistan. His grandfather, Dr. Har Narayan Khanna, was a Civil Surgeon in Western Punjab of British India. Khanna's father was a Chief Divisional Engineer for British Indian Railways, then-headquartered in Shahjahanpur, a historic city in what was then called United Province of Agra and Audh, now Uttar Pradesh. When Khanna was born, his father was posted in Lahore and looking after extensions of railways in the state of Punjab, Pakistan. Khanna's father was honored with the Crown of Raibahadur by the British government for his honesty in his work and diligent discharge of his duty.

Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor, film producer, writer, and film director, who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema.[1] He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and established the Prithvi Theatres in 1944 as a travelling theatre company based in Mumbai.
He was the patriarch of the Kapoor family of Hindi films, four generations of which, beginning with him, have played active roles in the Hindi film industry, with the youngest generation still active in Bollywood. His father, Basheshwar Nath Kapoor, also played a short role in his movie Awara. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1969 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1971 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.
Kapoor was born on November 3, 1906 into a Khatri Punjabi Hindu family of Samundri, Samundri Tehsil, Lyallpur District, Punjab, British India. His father, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, served as a police officer in the Indian Imperial Police in the city of Peshawar, while his grandfather, Keshavmal Kapoor, was a Tehsildar in Samundri. Kapoor's childhood was largely spent in Lyallpur, where his grandparents and extended family lived. Later, his father was transferred to Peshawar, and after some years, the family moved there, while retaining house and property in Lyallpur. Kapoor studied initially at Khalsa college Lyallpur, now known as Government Municipal Degree College, Faisalabad,[6] and later at Edwardes College Peshawar.
Surinder Kapoor, the famous Bollywood producer and father of actors and producers Anil, Boney and Sanjay Kapoor, was a cousin of Prithviraj Kapoor.
Kapoor began his acting career in the theatres of Lyallpur and Peshawar. In 1928, he moved to Bombay with a loan from an aunt. There he joined the Imperial Films Company and started acting in minor roles in movies. In 1928, he made his acting debut as an extra in his first film, Be Dhari Talwar. He went on to earn a lead role in his third film, titled Cinema Girl, which released in 1929.
After featuring in nine silent films, including Be Dhari Talwar, Cinema Girl, Sher-e-Arab and Prince Vijaykumar, Kapoor did a supporting role in India's first film talkie, Alam Ara (1931). His performance in Vidyapati (1937) was much appreciated. His best-known performance is perhaps as Alexander the Great in Sohrab Modi's Sikandar (1941). He also joined the Grant Anderson Theater Company, an English theatrical company that remained in Bombay for a year. Through all these years, Kapoor remained devoted to the theatre and performed on stage regularly. He developed a reputation as a very fine and versatile actor on both stage and screen.

Rajkumari Gupta, a name not many have heard. She belongs to that clan of a freedom fighter who barely found a name in the Indian history of a freedom fighter.
She was born in Banda Zilla of Kanpur in 1902 to a father who was a grocer. At an early age of 13, she got married to Madan Mohan Gupta who was a revolutionary but was also an active participant in the activities of Congress. Both she and her husband joined Gandhi’s march for freedom.
However, she got influenced by the revolutionaries who believed in armed rebellion against Britishers. Being closely associated with Chandrashekhar Azad, she began supporting him by secretly carrying messages and materials to other revolutionaries, without the knowledge of her husband and her in-laws.
She got closely connected with Azad’s group in Allahabad, which was later led by Bhagat Singh.
Not many are aware of her role in delivering firearms to revolutionaries during the famous Kakori train robbery. It was deemed to be a conspiracy.
She served jail terms in 1930, 1932 and 1942. Revealing that she had close connections with Chandra Shekhar Azad’s group in Allahabad, she had once said: “Hum upar se Gandhivaadi the, neeche se krantivaadi.” (We were Gandhians from above; underneath we were revolutionaries).
Walking in afield hiding firearms under her garment, she got arrested. Her in-laws disowned her upon hearing the news. They even went onto claim in the local newspaper Vir Bhagat, that they didn’t have any relationship with her. She led a secluded life after that.

She was the queen of the princely state Kittur in Karnataka but yet to gain recognition across the country for her efforts during the Independence struggle. Against the British policy of “Doctrine of Lapse”, she bravely led an Army rebellion at the age of 33 in 1824. The resistance ended in her giving up her life for the nation. Her valour proves to be an inspiration to women even today. She was the queen of the princely state Kittur in Karnataka but yet to gain recognition across the country for her efforts during the Independence struggle. Against the British policy of “Doctrine of Lapse”, she bravely led an Army rebellion at the age of 33 in 1824. The resistance ended in her giving up her life for the nation. Her valour proves to be an inspiration to women even today.

The first of three female warriors’ list, Sada Kaur was responsible for the rise of the Sikh Empire through her battlefield bravery and strategic foresight.

After the Afghan ruler, Ahmed Shah Abdali's invasions of India had receeded, the Sikhs not having an external enemy began fighting with each other. The era of the Sikh Confederacy, or Misls was characterised by a number of competing Sikh kingdoms that would come together when presented with an external enemy, but would go back to intra Sikh fighting once any danger receeded. Sada Kaur took the leadership of the Kanheya Misl following the death of her husband in a battle against the Sukerchakia Misl and the death of her father-in-law the famous Jai Singh Kanheya. At her disposal, Sada Kaur had over 10,000 cavalry and other sizeable resources. In what is widely regarded as one of the most farsighted decisions supporting Sikh growth, she arranged for the marriage of her daughter, Mahitab Kaur Kanheya with the son of the Sukherchakia Misl, Ranjit Singh. Sada Kaur then pushed her troops to support Ranjit Singh in his quest to become the premier Sikh chief, She also realised that anyone that wanted to control Panjab first had to control the capital Lahore and pushed Ranjit Singh to enter the city.

Sada Kaur and Ranjit Singh entered Lahore together as joint rulers, however Sada had Ranjit Singh crowned Maharaja of Panjab. Sada Kaur joined Ranjit Singh in a number of battles against rival Sikh chiefs until he was unquestionably the dominant leader of the Sikh nation.

Reshma was a Pakistani folk singer. Awarded with Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Distinction), the third highest honour and civilian award in Pakistan among other honours, she is remembered for folk songs and her powerful singing voice.
Born in Rajasthan, India in a nomadic Banjara household in 1947, her family rehabilitated to Karachi after the Partition of India. Discovered by a local producer at the age of twelve while singing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Sindh, Reshma went on to record various folk songs for such labels as the Pakistan Radio. Her first project with the company "Laal Meri" was an instant hit and she was catapulted to fame with several television appearances in the 1960s.
Reshma went on to record songs for both the Pakistani and Indian film industry. Some of her most memorable songs include "Laal Meri", "Hai O Rabba Nahion Lagda Dil Mera", "Ankhiyan Nu Rehen De" and "Lambi Judai" among others. She died on 3 November 2013 in Lahore, Pakistan, after suffering from throat cancer for several years.