title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1716 Farrukh Siyar, the Mughal Emperor, issued all Sikhs to be converted to Islam or die, an attempt to destroy the power of the Sikhs and to exterminate the community as a whole. A reward was offered for the head of every Sikh. For a time it appeared as if the boast of Farrukh Siyar to wipe out the name of Sikhs from the land was going to be fulfilled. Hundreds of Sikhs were brought in from their villages and executed, and thousands who had joined merely for the sake of booty cut off their hair and went back to the Hindu fold again. Besides these there were some Sikhs who had not yet received the baptism of Guru Gobind Singh, nor did they feel encouraged to do so, as the adoption of the outward symbols meant courting death.


title: History of Sikhism

text: After a few years Adbus Samad Khan, the Governor of Lahore, Punjab and other Mughal officers began to pursue Sikhs less and thus the Sikhs came back to the villages and started going to the Gurdwaras again, which were managed by Udasis when the Sikhs were in hiding. The Sikhs celebrated Bandhi Chorh Diwas and Vaisakhi at Harmandir Sahib.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Khalsa had been split into two major factions Bandia Khalsa and Tat Khalsa and tensions were spewing between the two.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Under the authority of Mata Sundari Bhai Mani Singh become the Jathedar of the Harminder Sahib and a leader of the Sikhs and the Bandia Khalsa and Tat Khalsa joined by Bhai Mani Singh into the Tat Khalsa and after the event from that day the Bandeis assumed a quieter role and practically disappeared from the pages of history. A police post was established at Amritsar to keep a check on the Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Abdus Samad Khan, was transferred to Multan in 1726, and his more energetic Son, Zakaria Khan, also known as Khan Bahadur, was appointed to take his place as the governor of Lahore. In 1726, Tarra Singh of Wan, a renowned Sikh leader, and his 26 men was killed after Governor Zakaria Khan, sent 2200 horses, 40 zamburaks, 5 elephants and 4 cannons, under the command of his deputy, Momin Khan. The murder of Tarra Singh spread across the Sikhs in Punjab and the Sikhs. Finding no Sikhs around, the government falsely announced in each village with the beat of a drum, that all Sikhs had been eliminated but the common people knew the truth that this was not the case. The Sikhs did not face the army directly, because of their small numbers, but adopted "dhai phut" guerrilla warfare (hit and run) tactics.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Under the leadership of Nawab Kapoor Singh and Jathedar Darbara Singh, in attempt to weaken their enemy looted many of the Mughals caravans and supplies and for some years no money from revenue could reach the government treasury. When the forces of government tried to punish the outlaws, they were unable to contact them, as the Sikhs did not live in houses or forts, but ran away to their rendezvous in forests or other places difficult to access.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Nawab Kapur Singh was born in 1697 in a village near Sheikhupura in what is today Punjab, Pakistan. He was a volunteer at Darbar Sahib Amritsar. His was cleaning shoes of Sangat that come to pay their respect to Darbar Sahib, work in the kitchen to feed the Sangat. He was given a jagir in 1733 when the Governor of Punjab offered the Sikhs the Nawabship (ownership of an estate) and a valuable royal robe, the Khalsa accepted it all in the name of Kapur Singh. Henceforth, he became known as Nawab Kapur Singh. In 1748 he would organise the early Sikh Misls into the Dal Khalsa (Budda Dal and Tarna Dal).


title: History of Sikhism

text: Nawab Kapur Singh’s father was Chaudhri Daleep Singh as a boy he memorised Gurbani Nitnem and was taught the arts of war. Kapur Singh was attracted to the Khalsa Panth after the execution of Bhai Tara Singh, of the village of Van, in 1726.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Khalsa held a meeting to make plans to respond to the state repression against the people of the region and they decided to take possession of government money and weapons in order to weaken the administration, and to equip themselves to face the everyday attacks. Kapur Singh was assigned to plan and execute these projects.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Information was obtained that money was being transported from Multan to the Lahore treasure; the Khalsa looted the money and took over the arms and horses of the guards. They then took over one lakh rupees from the Kasoor estate treasury going from Kasur to Lahore. Next they captured a caravan from Afghanistan region which resulted in capturing numerous arms and horses.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Khalsa seized a number of "vilayati" (Superior Central Asian) horses from Murtaza Khan was going to Delhi in the jungle of Kahna Kachha. Some additional war supplies were being taken from Afghanistan to Delhi and Kapur Singh organised an attack to capture them. In another attack, the Khalsa recovered gold and silver which was intended to be carried from Peshawar to Delhi by Jaffar Khan, a royal official.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Mughal rulers and the commanders alongside the Delhi government lost all hope of defeating the Sikhs through repression and decided to develop another strategy, Zakaria Khan, the Governor of Lahore, went to Delhi where it was decided to befriend the Sikhs and rule in cooperation with them and in 1733 the Delhi rulers withdrew all orders against the Khalsa. The Sikhs were now permitted to own land and to move freely without any state violence against them. To co-operate with the Khalsa Panth, and win the goodwill of the people, the government sent an offer of an estate and Nawabship through a famous Lahore Sikh, Subeg Singh. The Khalsa did not wanted to rule freely and not to be under the rule of a subordinate position. However this offer was eventually accepted and this title was bestowed on Kapur Singh after it was sanctified by the touch of Five Khalsas feet. Thus Kapur Singh became Nawab Kapur Singh. Kapur Singh guided the Sikhs in strengthening themselves and preaching Gurmat to the people. He knew that peace would be short-lived. He encouraged people to freely visit their Gurdwaras and meet their relatives in the villages.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Khalsa reorganised themselves into two divisions, the younger generation would be part of the Taruna Dal, which provided the main fighting force, while the Sikhs above the age of forty years would be a part of the Budha Dal, which provided the responsibility of the management of Gurdwaras and Gurmat preaching. The Budha Dal would be responsible to keep track of the movements of government forces, plan their defense strategies, and they provide a reserve fighting force for the Taruna Dal.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Taruna Dal quickly increased to more than 12,000 recruits and it soon became difficult to manage the house and feeding of such a large number of people at one place.


title: History of Sikhism

text: It was then decided to have five divisions of the Dal, each to draw rations from the central stocks and cook its own langar. These five divisions were stationed around the five "sarovars" (sacred pools) around Amritsar they were Ramsar, Bibeksar, Lachmansar, Kaulsar and Santokhsar. The divisions later became known as Misls and their number increased to eleven. Each took over and ruled a different region of the Punjab. Collectively they called themselves the Sarbat Khalsa.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Being the leader of the Khalsa Nawab Kapur Singh was given an additional responsibility by Mata Sundari, the wife of Guru Gobind Singh sent Kapur Singh the young Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and told him that Ahluwalia was like a son to her and that the Nawab should raise him like an ideal Sikh. Ahluwalia under the guidance of Kapur Singh, was given a good education in Gurbani and thorough training in managing the Sikh affairs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1735, the rulers of Lahore attacked and repossessed the jagir (estate) given to the Sikhs only two years before however Nawab Kapur Singh in reaction decided the whole Punjab should be taken over by the Sikhs. This decision was taken against heavy odds but was endorsed by the Khalsa and all the Sikhs assured him of their full cooperation in his endeavor for self-rule. Zakariya Khan Bahadur sent roaming squads to hunt and kill the Sikhs. Orders were issued to all administrators down to the village level officials to seek Sikhs, murder them, get them arrested, or report their whereabouts to the governments. One year's wages were offered to anyone who would murder a Sikh and deliver his head to the police station.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Rewards were also promised to those who helped arrest Sikhs. Persons providing food or shelter to Sikhs or helping them in any way were severely punished.


title: History of Sikhism

text: This was the period when the Sikhs were sawed into pieces, burnt alive, their heads crushed with hammers


title: History of Sikhism

text: and young children were pierced with spears before their mother’s eyes. To keep their morale high, the Sikhs developed their own high-sounding terminologies and slogans: For example. Tree leaves boiled for food were called ‘green dish’; the parched chickpeas were called ‘almonds’; the Babul tree was a ‘rose’; a blind man was a ‘brave man’, getting on the back of a buffalo was ‘riding an elephant’.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The army pursued the Sikhs hiding near the hills and forced them to cross the rivers and seek safety in the Malwa tract. When Kapur Singh reached Patiala he met Maharaja Baba Ala Singh who then took Amrit and Kapur Singh helped him increase the boundaries of his state. In 1736 the Khalsa attacked Sirhind, where the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh were killed. The Khalsa took over the city, the took over the treasury and they established the Gurdwaras at the historical places and withdrew.


title: History of Sikhism

text: While near Amritsar the government of Lahore sent troops to attack the Sikhs. Kapur Singh entrusted the treasury to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, while having sufficient amount of Sikhs with him to keep the army engaged. When Jassa Singh was reached a considerable distance the Khalsa safely retreated to Tarn Taran Sahib. Kapur Singh sent messages to the Tauna Dal asking them to help them in the fight. After a day of fighting Kapur Singh from the trenches dug by the Khalsa surprisingly attacked the commanding posts killing three generals alongside many Mughal officers. The Mughal army thus retreated to Lahore.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Zakaria Khan called his advisers to plan another strategy to deal with the Sikhs. It was suggested that the Sikhs should not be allowed to visit the Amrit Sarovar, which was believed to be the fountain of their lives and source of their strength. Strong contingents were posted around the city and all entries to Harmandir Sahib were checked. The Sikhs, however, risking their lives, continued to pay their respects to the holy place and take a dip in the Sarovar (sacred pool) in the dark of the night. When Kapur Singh went to Amritsar he had a fight with Qadi Abdul Rehman. He had declared that Sikhs the so-called lions, would not dare to come to Amritsar and face him. In the ensuing fight Abdul Rehman was killed. When his son tried to save him, he too died. In 1738 Bhai Mani Singh was executed.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1739 Nader Shah of the Turkic Afsharid dynasty invaded and looted the treasury of the Indian subcontinent. Nader Shah killed more than 100,000 people in Delhi and carried off all of the gold and valuables. He added to his caravan hundreds of elephants and horses, along with thousands of young women and Indian artisans. When Kapur Singh learned of this, he decided to warn Nader Shah that if not the local rulers, then the Sikhs would protect the innocent women of Muslims and Hindus from being sold as slaves. While crossing The river Chenab, the Sikhs attacked the rear end of the caravan, freed many of the women, freed the artisans, and recovered part of the treasure.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Massa Ranghar, the Mughal official, had siezed Amritsar. While smoking and drinking in the Harmandir Sahib, he watched the dances of nautch girls. The Sikhs who had moved to Bikaner, a desert region, for safety, were outraged to hear of this desecration. In 1740 Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh, went to Amritsar disguised as revenue collectors. They tied their horses outside, walked straight into the Harmandir Sahib, cut off his head, and took it with them. It was a lesson for the ruler that no tyrant would go unpunished.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Abdus Samad Khan, a senior Mughal royal commander, was sent from Delhi to subdue the Sikhs. Kapur Singh learned of this scheme and planned his own strategy accordingly. As soon as the army was sent out to hunt for the Sikhs, a Jatha of commandos disguised as messengers of Khan went to the armory. The commander there was told that Abdus Samad Khan was holding the Sikhs under siege and wanted him with all his force to go and arrest them. The few guards left behind were then overpowered by the Sikhs, and all the arms and ammunition were looted and brought to the Sikh camp.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Abdus Samad Khan sent many roaming squads to search for and kill Sikhs. He was responsible for the torture and murder of Bhai Mani Singh, the head Granthi of Harmandir Sahib. Samad Khan was afraid that Sikhs would kill him so he remained far behind the fighting lines. Kapur Singh had a plan to get him. During the battle Kapur Singh ordered his men to retreat drawing the fighting army with them. He then wheeled around and fell upon the rear of the army. Samad Khan and his guards were lying dead on the field within hours. The Punjab governor also took extra precautions for safety against the Sikhs. He started to live in the fort. He would not even dare to visit the mosque outside the fort for prayers.


title: History of Sikhism

text: On the request of the Budha Dal members, Kapur Singh visited Patiala. The sons of Sardar Ala Singh, the founder and Maharajah of the Patiala state, gave him a royal welcome. Kapur Singh subdued all local administrators around Delhi who were not behaving well towards their people.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Zakaria Khan died in 1745. His successor tightened the security around Amritsar. Kapur Singh planned to break the siege of Amritsar. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was made the commander of the attacking Sikh forces. In 1748, the Sikhs attacked. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, with his commandos behind him, dashed to the army commander and cut him into two with his sword. The commander's nephew was also killed.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Sikhs built their first fort Ram Rauni at Amritsar in 1748. In December 1748, Governor Mir Mannu had to take his forces outside of Lahore to stop the advance of Ahmad Shah Abdali. The Sikhs quickly overpowered the police defending the station in Lahore and confiscated all of their weapons and released all the prisoners. Nawab Kapur Singh told the sheriff to inform the Governor that, the sheriff of God, the True Emperor, came and did what he was commanded to do. Before the policemen could report the matter to the authorities, or the army could be called in, the Khalsa were already riding their horses back to the forest.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was born in 1718. His father, Badar Singh, died when Ahluwalia was only four years old. His mother took him to Mata Sundari, the wife of Guru Gobind Singh when Ahluwalia was young. Mata Sundri was impressed by his melodious singing of hymns and kept the Ahluwalia near her. Later Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was adopted by Nawab Kapoor Singh, then the leader of the Sikh nation. Ahluwalia followed all Sikh qualities required for a leader Ahluwalia would sing Asa di Var in the morning and it was appreciated by all the Dal Khalsa and Ahluwalia kept busy doing seva (selfless service). He became very popular with the Sikhs. He used to tie his turban in the Mughal fashion as he grew up in Delhi. Ahluwalia learned horseback riding and swordsmanship from expert teachers.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1748 Jassa Singh Ahluwalia became the supreme commander of all the Misls. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was honored with the title of Sultanul Kaum (King of the Nation). Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was the head of the Ahluwalia Misl and then after Nawab Kapoor Singh become the leader of all the Misls jointly called Dal Khalsa. He played a major role In leading the Khalsa to self-rule in Punjab. In 1761 The Dal Khalsa under the leadership of Ahluwalia, would take over Lahore, the capital of Punjab, for the first time. They were the masters of Lahore for a few months and minted their own Nanakshahi rupee coin in the name of 'Guru Nanak – Guru Gobind Singh'.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1746 about seven thousand Sikhs were killed and three thousand to fifteen thousand Sikhs were taken prisoners during by the order of the Mughal Empire when Zakaria Khan, The Governor of Lahore, and Lakhpat Rai, the Divan (Revenue Minister) of Zakaria Khan, sent military squads to kill the Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Jaspat Rai, a jagirdar (landlord) of the Eminabad area and also the brother of Lakhpat Rai, faced the Sikhs in a battle one of the Sikhs held the tail of his elephant and got on his back from behind and with a quick move, he chopped off his head. Seeing their master killed, the troops fled. Lakhpat Rai, after this incident, committed himself to destroying the Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Through March–May 1746, a new wave of violence was started against the Sikhs with all of the resources available to the Mughal government, village officials were ordered to co-operate in the expedition. Zakaria Khan issued the order that no one was to give any help or shelter to Sikhs and warned that severe consequences would be taken against anyone disobeying these orders. Local people were forcibly employed to search for the Sikhs to be killed by the army. Lakhpat Rai ordered Sikh places of worship to be destroyed and their holy books burnt. Information about including Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and a large body of Sikhs were camping in riverbeds in the Gurdaspur district (Kahnuwan tract). Zakaria Khan managed to have 3,000 Sikhs of these Sikhs captured and later got them beheaded in batches at Nakhas (site of the horse market outside the Delhi gate). Sikhs raised a memorial shrine known as the Shahidganj (the treasure house of martyrs) at that place latter.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1747, Shah Nawaz took over as Governor of Lahore. To please the Sikhs, Lakhpat Rai was put in prison by the new Governor. Lakhpat Rai received severe punishment and was eventually killed by the Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1747 Salabat Khan, a newly appointed Mughal commander, placed police around Amritsar and built observation posts to spot and kill Sikhs coming to the Amrit Sarovar for a holy dip. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Nawab Kapoor Singh led the Sikhs to Amritsar, and Salabat Khan was killed by Ahluwalia, and his nephew was killed by the arrow of Kapur Singh.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1748 all the Misls joined themselves under one command and on the advice of the aging Jathedar Nawab Kapoor Singh Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was made the supreme leader. They also decided to declare that the Punjab belonged to them and they would be the sovereign rulers of their state. The Sikhs also built their first fort, called Ram Rauni, at Amritsar.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Adina Beg, the Faujdar (garrison commander) of Jalandhar, sent a message to the Dal Khalsa chief to cooperate with him in the civil administration, and he wanted a meeting to discuss the matter. This was seen as a trick to disarm the Sikhs and keep them under government control. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia replied that their meeting place would be the battleground and the discussion would be carried out by their swords. Beg attacked the Ram Rauni fort at Amritsar and besieged the Sikhs there. Dewan Kaura Mal advised the Governor to lift the siege and prepare the army to protect the state from the Durrani invader, Ahmed Shah Abdali. Kaura Mal had a part of the revenue of Patti area given to the Sikhs for the improvement and management of Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Kaura Mal had to go to Multan to quell a rebellion there. He asked the Sikhs for help and they agreed to join him. After the victory at Multan, Kaura came to pay his respects to the Darbar Sahib, and offered 11,000 rupees and built Gurdwara Bal-Leela; He also spent 3,000,000 rupees to build a Sarover (holy water) at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev. In 1752, Kaura Mall was killed in a battle with Ahmed Shah Abdali and state policy towards the Sikhs quickly changed. Mir Mannu, the Governor, started hunting Sikhs again. He arrested many men and women, put them in prison and tortured them. In November 1753, when he went to kill the Sikhs hiding in the fields, they showered him with a hail of bullets and Mannu fell from the horse and the animal dragged him to death. The Sikhs immediately proceeded to Lahore, attacked the prison, and got all the prisoners released and led them to safety in the forests.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In May 1757, the Afghan Durrani general of Ahmad Shah Abdali, Jahan Khan attacked Amritsar with a huge army and the Sikhs because of their small numbers decided to withdraw to the forests. Their fort, Ram Rauni, was demolished, Harmandir Sahib was also demolished, and the army desecrated the Sarovar (Holy water) by filling it with debris and dead animals. Baba Deep Singh made history when he cut through 20,000 Durrani soldiers and reached Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Adina Beg did not pay revenues to the government so the Governor dismissed him and appointed a new Faujdar (garrison commander) in his place. The army was sent to arrest him and this prompted Adina Beg to request Sikh help. The Sikhs took advantage of the situation and to weaken the government, they fought against the army. One of the commanders was killed by the Sikhs and the other deserted. Later, the Sikhs attacked Jalandhar and thus became the rulers of all the tracts between Sutlej and Beas rivers, called Doaba.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Sikhs started bringing more areas under their control and realising revenue from them. In 1758, joined by the Mahrattas, they conquered Lahore and arrested many Afghan soldiers who were responsible for filling the Amrit Sarovar with debris a few months earlier. They were brought to Amritsar and made to clean the Sarovar (holy water). After the cleaning of the Sarovar, the soldiers were allowed to go home with a warning that they should not do that again.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Ahmed Shah Abdali came again in October 1759 to loot Delhi. The Sikhs gave him a good fight and killed more than 2,000 of his soldiers. Instead of getting involved with the Sikhs, he made a rapid advance to Delhi. The Khalsa decided to collect revenues from Lahore to prove to the people that the Sikhs were the rulers of the state. The Governor of Lahore closed the gates of the city and did not come out to fight against them. The Sikhs laid siege to the city. After a week, the Governor agreed to pay 30,000 rupees to the Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Ahmed Shah Abdali returned from Delhi in March 1761 with much gold and more than 2,000 girls as prisoners who were to be sold to the Afghans in Kabul. When Abdali was crossing the river Beas, the Sikhs swiftly fell upon them. They freed the women prisoners and escorted them back to their homes. The Sikhs seized Lahore in September 1761, after Abdali returned to Kabul.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Khalsa minted their coins in the name of Guru Nanak Dev. Sikhs, as rulers of the city, received full cooperation from the people. After becoming the Governor of Lahore, Punjab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was given the title of Sultan-ul-Kaum (King of the Nation).


title: History of Sikhism

text: In the winter of 1762, after losing his loot from Delhi to the Sikhs, The Durrani emperor, Ahmad Shah Abdali brought a big, well equipped army to finish the Sikhs forever. Sikhs were near Ludhiana on their way to the forests and dry areas of the south and Abdali moved from Lahore very quickly and caught the Sikhs totally unprepared. They had their women, children and old people with them. As many as 30,000 Sikhs are said to have been murdered by the army. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia himself received about two dozen wounds. Fifty chariots were necessary to transport the heads of the victims to Lahore. The Sikhs call this Wadda Ghalughara (The Great Massacre).


title: History of Sikhism

text: Ahmad Shah Abdali, fearing Sikh retaliation, sent messages that he was willing to assign some areas to the Sikhs to be ruled by them. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia rejected his offers and told him that Sikhs own Punjab and they do not recognise his authority at all. Abdali went to Amritsar and destroyed the Harmandir Sahib again by filling it up with gunpowder hoping to eliminate the source of "life" of the Sikhs. While Abdali was demolishing the Harminder Sahib a he was hit on the nose with a brick; later in 1772 Abdali died of cancer from the 'gangrenous ulcer' that consumed his nose. Within a few months the Sikhs attacked Sirhind and moved to Amritsar.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1764 the Sikhs shot dead Zain Khan Sirhindi Durrani Governor of Sirhind, and the regions around Sirhind were divided among the Sikh Misldars and money recovered from the treasury were used to rebuild the Harmandir Sahib. Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib was built in Sirhind, at the location the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh were killed. The Sikhs started striking Govind Shahi coins and in 1765 they took over Lahore again.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1767 when Ahmed Shah Abdali came again he sent messages to the Sikhs for their cooperation. He offered them the governorship of Punjab but was rejected. The Sikhs using repeated guerrilla attacks took away his caravan of 1,000 camels loaded with fruits from Kabul. The Sikhs were again in control of the areas between Sutlej and Ravi. After Abdali’s departure to Kabul, Sikhs crossed the Sutlej and brought Sirhind and other areas right up to Delhi, entire Punjab under their control.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor of Delhi was staying away in Allahabad, ordered his commander Zabita Khan to fight the Sikhs. Zabita made a truce with them instead and then was dismissed from Alam’s service. Zabita Khan then became a Sikh and was given a new name, Dharam Singh.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Qadi Nur Mohammed, who came to Punjab with Ahmad Shah Abdali and was present during many Sikh battles writes about the Sikhs:


title: History of Sikhism

text: Ahmad Shah Abdali, fearing the Sikhs, did not follow his normal route through Punjab while he returned to Kabul. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia did not add more areas to his Misl. Instead, whenever any wealth or villages came into the hands of the Sikhs he distributed them among the Jathedars of all the Misls. Ahluwalia passed his last years in Amritsar. With the resources available to him, he repaired all the buildings, improved the management of the Gurdwaras, and provided better civic facilities to the residents of Amritsar. He wanted every Sikh to take Amrit before joining the Dal Khalsa.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Ahluwalia died in 1783 and was cremated near Amritsar. There is a city block, Katra Ahluwalia, in Amritsar named after him. This block was assigned to his Misl in honor of his having stayed there and protected the city of Amritsar.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Jassa Singh Ramgarhia played an active role in Jassa Singh Alhuwalia’s army. He founded the Ramgarhia Misl and played a major role in the battles of the Khalsa Panth. He suffered about two dozen wounds during the Wadda Ghalughara. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was the son of Giani Bhagwan Singh and was born in 1723. They lived in the village of Ichogil, near Lahore. His grandfather took Amrit during the lifetime of Guru Gobind Singh, and joined him in many battles; he joined the forces of Banda Singh Bahadur. Ramgarhia was the oldest of five brothers. When Ramgarhia was young he had memorised Nitnem hymns and took Amrit.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1733, Zakaria Khan, the Governor of Punjab, needed help to protect himself from the Iranian invader, Nader Shah. He offered the Sikhs an estate and a royal robe. The Sikhs in the name of Kapur Singh accepted it. After the battle Zakaria Khan gave five villages to the Sikhs in reward for the bravery of Giani Bhagwan Singh, father of Ramgarhia, who died in the battle. Village Vallah was awarded to Ramgarhia, where Ramgarhia gained the administrative experience required to become a Jathedar (leader) of the Sikhs. During this period of peace with the government, the Sikhs built their fort, Ram Rauni, in Amritsar. Zakaria died in 1745 and Mir Mannu became the Governor of Lahore.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Mir Mannu (Mu'in ul-Mulk), the Governor of Lahore, was worried about the increasing power of the Sikhs so he broke the peace. Mir Mannu also ordered Adina Beg, the Faujdar (garrison commander) of the Jalandhar region, to begin killing the Sikhs. Adina Beg was a very smart politician and wanted the Sikhs to remain involved helping them. In order to develop good relations with the Sikhs, he sent secret messages to them who were living in different places. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia responded and agreed to cooperate with the Faujdar and was made a Commander. This position helped him develop good relations with Divan Kaura Mal at Lahore and assign important posts to the Sikhs in the Jalandhar division.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Governor of Lahore ordered an attack on Ram Rauni to kill the Sikhs staying in that fort. Adina Beg was required to send his army as well and Jassa Singh, being the commander of the Jalandhar forces, had to join the army to kill the Sikhs in the fort. After about four months of siege, Sikhs ran short of food and supplies in the fort. He contacted the Sikhs inside the fort and joined them. Jassa Singh used the offices of Divan Kaura Mal and had the siege lifted. The fort was strengthened and named Ramgarh; Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, having been designated the Jathedar of the fort, became popular as Ramgarhia.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Mir Mannu intensified his violence and oppression against the Sikhs. There were only 900 Sikhs when he surrounded the Ramgarh fort again. The Sikhs fought their way out bravely through thousands of army soldiers. The army demolished the fort. The hunt for and torture of the Sikhs continued until Mannu died in 1753. Mannu's death left Punjab without any effective Governor. It was again an opportune period for the Sikhs to organise themselves and gain strength. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia rebuilt the fort and took possession of some areas around Amritsar. The Sikhs took upon themselves the task of protecting the people in the villages from the invaders. The money they obtained from the people was called Rakhi (protection charges). The new Governor, Taimur, son of Ahmed Shah Abdali, despised the Sikhs. In 1757, he again forced the Sikhs to vacate the fort and move to their hiding places. The fort was demolished, Harmandir Sahib was blown up, and Amrit Sarovar was filled with debris. The Governor decided to replace Adina Beg. Beg asked the Sikhs for help and they both got a chance to weaken their common enemy. Adina Beg won the battle and became the Governor of Punjab. Sikhs rebuilt their fort Ramgarh and repaired the Harmandir Sahib. Beg was well acquainted with the strength of the Sikhs and he feared they would oust him if he allowed them to grow stronger, so he led a strong army to demolish the fort. After fighting valiantly, the Sikhs decided to leave the fort. Adina Beg died in 1758.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Jassa Singh Ramgarhia occupied the area to the north of Amritsar between the Ravi and the Beas rivers. He also added the Jalandhar region and Kangra hill areas to his estate. He had his capital in Sri Hargobindpur, a town founded by the sixth Guru. The large size of Ramgarhia's territory aroused the jealousy of the other Sikh Misls.


title: History of Sikhism

text: A conflict between Jai Singh Kanhaiya and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia developed and the Bhangi Misl sardars also developed differences with Jai Singh Kanhaiya. A big battle was fought between Jai Singh, Charat Singh, and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia on one side and Bhangis, Ramgarhias and their associates on the other side. The Bhangi side lost the battle.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Later, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, one day while hunting, happened to enter Ramgarhia territory where Jassa Singh Ramgarhia's brother arrested him. Ramgarhia apologised for the misbehaviour of his brother, and returned Ahluwalia with gifts.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Due to mutual jealousies, fights continued among the Sikh Sardars. In 1776, the Bhangis changed sides and joined Jai Singh Kanhaiya to defeat Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. His capital at Sri Hargobindpur was taken over and he was followed from village to village, and finally forced to vacate all his territory. He had to cross the river Sutlej and go to Amar Singh, the ruler of Patiala. Maharaja Amar Singh welcomed Ramgarhia and who then occupied the areas of Hansi and Hissar which eventually Ramgarhia handed over to his son, Jodh Singh Ramgarhia.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Maharaja Amar Singh and Ramgarhia took control of the villages on the west and north of Delhi, now forming parts of Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. The Sikhs disciplined and brought to justice all the Hindu Nawabs who were harassing their Muslim population. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia entered Delhi in 1783. Shah Alam II, the Mughal emperor, extended the Sikhs a warm welcome. Ramgarhia left Delhi after receiving gifts from him. Because of the differences arising out of the issue of dividing the Jammu state revenues, longtime friends and neighbors Maha Singh, Jathedar of Sukerchakia Misl and Jai Singh, Jathedar of the Kanheya Misl, became enemies. This resulted in a war which changed the course of Sikh history. Maha Singh requested Ramgarhia to help him. In the battle, Jai Singh lost his son, Gurbaksh Singh, while fighting with Ramgarhias.


title: History of Sikhism

text: After continuous raids, Sikhs under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Baba Baghel Singh, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia defeated the Mughals on 11 March 1783, captured Delhi and hoisted the Sikh flag (Nishan Sahib) in Red Fort and Ahluwalia became king but they gave it back to the Mughals after signing peace treaties.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Jai Singh Kanheya’s widowed daughter-in-law, Sada Kaur, though very young, was a great statesperson. Sada Kaur saw the end of the Khalsa power through such mutual battles but she was able to convince Maha Singh to adopt the path of friendship. For this she offered the hand of her daughter, then only a child, to his son, Ranjit Singh (later the Maharaja of the Punjab), who was then just a boy. The balance of power shifted in favour of this united Misl. This made Ranjit Singh the leader of the most powerful union of the Misls.


title: History of Sikhism

text: When the Afghan invader, Zaman Shah Durrani, came in 1788 the Sikhs, however, were still divided. Ramgarhia and Bhangi Misls were not willing to help Ranjit Singh to fight the invader, so the Afghans took over Lahore and looted it. Ranjit Singh occupied Lahore in 1799 but still the Ramgarhias and Bhangis did not accept him as the leader of all the Sikhs. They got the support of their friends and marched to Lahore to challenge Ranjit Singh. When the Bhangi leader died Jassa Singh Ramgarhia returned to his territory.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Ramgarhia was eighty years old when he died in 1803. His son, Jodh Singh Ramgarhia, developed good relations with Ranjit Singh and they never fought again.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Ranjit Singh was crowned on 12 April 1801 (to coincide with Baisakhi). Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak Dev, conducted the coronation. Gujranwala served as his capital from 1799. In 1802 he shifted his capital to Lahore and Amritsar. Ranjit Singh rose to power in a very short period, from a leader of a single Sikh misl to finally becoming the Maharaja (Emperor) of Punjab.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Sikh Empire (from 1801 to 1849) was formed on the foundations of the Punjabi Army by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Empire extended from Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, to Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east. The main geographical footprint of the empire was the Punjab. The religious demography of the Sikh Empire was Muslim (80%), Sikh (10%), Hindu (10%).


title: History of Sikhism

text: The foundations of the Sikh Empire, during the Punjab Army, could be defined as early as 1707, starting from the death of Aurangzeb and the downfall of the Mughal Empire. After fighting off local Mughal remnants and allied Rajput leaders, Afghans, and occasionally hostile Punjabi Muslims who sided with other Muslim forces the fall of the Mughal Empire provided opportunities for the army, known as the Dal Khalsa, to lead expeditions against the Mughals and Afghans. This led to the growth of the army, which was split into different Punjabi Armies and then semi-independent misls. Each of these component armies was known as a misl, each controlling different areas and cities. However, in the period from 1762 to 1799 Sikh rulers of their misls appeared to be coming into their own. The formal start of the Sikh Empire began with the disbandment of the Punjab Army by the time of Coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1801, creating the one unified political Empire. All the misldars who were affiliated with the Army were nobility with usually long and prestigious family histories in Punjab's history.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Sikh rulers were very tolerant of other religions; and arts, painting and writings flourished in Punjab. In Lahore alone there were 18 formal schools for girls besides specialist schools for technical training, languages, mathematics and logic, let alone specialised schools for the three major religions, they being Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism. There were craft schools specialising in miniature painting, sketching, drafting, architecture, and calligraphy. There wasn't a mosque, a temple, a dharmsala that had not a school attached to it. All the sciences in Arabic and Sanskrit schools and colleges, as well as Oriental literature, Oriental law, Logic, Philosophy, and Medicine were taught to the highest standard. In Lahore, Schools opened from 7am and closed at midday. In no case was a class allowed to exceed 50 pupils.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Sikh Fauj-i-Ain (regular army) consisted of roughly 71,000 men and consisted of infantry, cavalry, and artillery units. Ranjit Singh employed generals and soldiers from many countries including Russia, Italy, France, and America.


title: History of Sikhism

text: There was strong collaboration in defense against foreign incursions such as those initiated by Shah Zaman and Timur Shah Durrani. The city of Amritsar was attacked numerous times. Yet the time is remembered by Sikh historians as the "Heroic Century". This is mainly to describe the rise of Sikhs to political power against large odds. The circumstances were hostile religious environment against Sikhs, a tiny Sikh population compared to other religious and political powers, which were much larger in the region than the Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1834 the Khalsa under Hari Singh Nalwa and Jean-Baptiste Ventura conquered Peshawar and extended the Sikh Raj up to Jamrud, Afghanistan. And Jawahar Singh and Zorawar Singh extended it to West Tibet.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Later the Sikhs under Hari Singh Nalwa Campaigned against the Afghans in the third phase of the Afghan Sikh wars and they took the Winter capital of the Afghans, Peshawar. Hari Singh Nalwa is considered one of the best commanders in history and is compared to Napoleon and Genghis Khan and for conquering and controlling the Khyber Pass, the United States of America wanted to build a statue in his praise. Mothers used to say his name to scare children to sleep in Afghanistan saying 'Sleep fast Nalwa is coming'. They also brought the queen's jewel, the Koh-i-noor diamond from Afghanistan and the gates to the Somnath temple.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Maharaja Employed many Prussian, French and Italian generals to train Sikhs in a more modern manner. He divided the army into three, the mordern, elite soldiers the Fauj-i-Khas, the regular army including cavalry the Fauj-i-Ain and the irregular Gharcharas and Nihangs the Fauj i be Quawaid.


title: History of Sikhism

text: After Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. This opportunity was used by the East India Company to launch the First Anglo-Sikh War. The Battle of Ferozeshah in 1845 marked many turning points, the British encountered the Punjabi Army, opening with a gun-duel in which the Sikhs "had the better of the British artillery". But as the British made advancements, Europeans in the British army were especially targeted, as the Sikhs believed if the army "became demoralised, the backbone of the enemy's position would be broken". The fighting continued throughout the night earning the nickname "night of terrors". The British position "grew graver as the night wore on", and "suffered terrible casualties with every single member of the Governor General's staff either killed or wounded".


title: History of Sikhism

text: British General Sir James Hope Grant recorded: "Truly the night was one of gloom and forbidding and perhaps never in the annals of warfare has a British Army on such a large scale been nearer to a defeat which would have involved annihilation". The Punjabi ended up recovering their camp, and the British were exhausted. Lord Hardinge sent his son to Mudki with a sword from his Napoleonic campaigns. A note in Robert Needham Cust's diary revealed that the "British generals decided to lay down arms: News came from the Governor General that our attack of yesterday had failed, that affairs were disparate, all state papers were to be destroyed, and that if the morning attack failed all would be over, this was kept secret by Mr. Currie and we were considering measures to make an unconditional surrender to save the wounded...".


title: History of Sikhism

text: However, a series of events of the Sikhs being betrayed by some prominent leaders in the army led to its downfall. Maharaja Gulab Singh and Dhian Singh, were Hindu Dogras from Jammu, and top Generals of the army. Tej Singh and Lal Singh were secretly allied to the British. They supplied important war plans of the Army, and provided the British with updated vital intelligence on the Army dealings, which ended up changing the scope of the war and benefiting the British positions.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Punjab Empire was finally dissolved after a series of wars with the British at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 into separate princely states, and the British province of Punjab that were granted a statehood, and eventually a lieutenant governorship stationed in Lahore as a direct representative of the Royal Crown in London.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Every village in the Punjab, through the Tehsildar (taxman), had an ample supply of the Punjabi "qaida" (beginners book), which was compulsory for females and thus, almost every Punjabi woman was literate in the sense that she could read and write the "lundee" form of Gurmukhi.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The British made Punjab flourish in education and almost everyone was literate. After the State of Bombay and Madras Punjab was the third most literate state and many Books and compositions were written. The Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth were both translated by a British Sikh convert Max Arthur Metcalfe later Max Singh Macaulfe.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Under the East India Company and then British colonial rule from 1858 Sikhs were feared and respected for their martial ability. After they played a key role in the suppression of the Indian Rebellion of 1857-8. Sikhs were increasingly incorporated into the Indian army because they were not only seen as 'loyal', but because the colonial government believed that they were a 'martial race' whose religious traditions and popular customs made them skilled fighters.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Sikhs again were honoured in the Battle of Saragarhi where twenty-one Sikhs of the 4th Battalion (then 36th Sikhs) of the Sikh Regiment of British India, died defending an army post from 10,000 Afghan and Orakzai tribesmen in 1897. In the end of Partition Sikhs were 20 percent of the British army despite they 1 percent population.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In the late 1800s and early 1900s Punjabi and Sikhs began to immigrate to East Africa, the Far East, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In two world wars 83,005 Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. Sikh soldiers died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world and during shell fire.


title: History of Sikhism

text: At offset of World War I, Sikh military personnel numbered around 35,000 men of the 161,000 troops, which is around 22% of the British Armed Forces, yet the Sikhs only made up less than 2% of the total population in India. Sikhs were known as 'Black Lions' by the German and Chinese forces for their ferocity


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1920 The Akali Party is established to free gurdwaras from corrupt masands (treasurers), and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SPGC) is founded. In 1925 The Punjab Sikh Gurdwaras Act is passed, which transfers control of the Punjab's historic gurdwaras to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Singh Sabha Movement was a Sikh movement that began in Punjab in the 1870s in reaction to the proselytising activities of Christians, Hindu reform movements (Brahmo Samajis, Arya Samaj) and Muslims (Aligarh movement and Ahmadiyah). The movement was founded in an era when the Sikh Empire had been dissolved and annexed by the East India Company, the Khalsa had lost its prestige, and mainstream Sikhs were rapidly converting to other religions. The movement's aims were to "propagate the true Sikh religion and restore Sikhism to its pristine glory; to write and distribute historical and religious books of Sikhs; and to propagate Gurmukhi Punjabi through magazines and media." The movement sought to reform Sikhism and bring back into the Sikh fold the apostates who had converted to other religions; as well as to interest the influential British officials in furthering the Sikh community. At the time of its founding, the Singh Sabha policy was to avoid criticism of other religions and political matters unlike Hindu, Christian and Muslim protelisers.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The East India Company annexed the Sikh Empire in 1849 after the Second Anglo-Sikh War. Thereafter, Christian missionaries increased proselytising activities central Punjab. In 1853, Maharajah Dalip Singh, the last Sikh ruler, was controversially converted to Christianity. In parallel, Brahmo Samaji and Arya Samaji reform movements of Hinduism began active pursuit of Sikhs into their "suddhi" ceremonies. Muslim proselytizers formed the Anjuman-i-Islamia midst the Sikhs in Lahore, while the Ahmadiyah movement sought converts to their faith. The British colonial government, after annexing the Sikh empire in mid-19th-century, continue to patronize and gift land grants to these mahants, thereby increasing their strength and helped sustain the idolatry in Sikh shrines.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The annexation of the Punjab to the East India Company in the mid-19th century saw severe deterioration of Gurdwara management.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In this way the Ranjit Singh's army was disbanded and the Punjab demilitarized, and Sikh armies were required to publicly surrender their arms and return to agriculture or other pursuits. Certain groups, however, like those who held revenue-free lands (jagirdars) were allowed to decline, particularly if they were seen as “rebels,” The British were wary of giving the Sikhs unmitigated control of their own gurdwaras, and drew from Sikh factions seen as loyal to the British, like the Sikh aristocracy and Sikhs with noted family lineages, who were given patronage and pensions, and Udasis, who had gained control of historical gurdwaras in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, were allowed to retain proprietary control over lands and gurdwara buildings. The colonial administration went to considerable lengths to insert such loyalists into the Golden Temple in order to exert as much control over the Sikh body-politic as possible. One reason for this was the emergence of Sikh revivalist groups, like the Nirankaris, the Namdharis, and the Singh Sabha movement, shortly after annexation; this revivalism was spurred by a growing disaffection within the ranks of ordinary Sikhs about the perceived decline of proper Sikh practices.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Sikh institutions deteriorated further under the administration of the mahants, supported by the colonial government, who in addition to being considered as ignoring the needs of the Sikh community of the time, allowed the gurdwaras to turn into spaces for societal undesirables like petty thieves, drunks, pimps, and peddlers of unsavory and licentious music and literature, with which they themselves took part in such activities. In addition, they also allowed non-Sikh, Brahmanical practices to take root in the gurdwaras, including idol worship, caste discrimination, and allowing non-Sikh pandits and astrologers to frequent them, and began to simply ignore the needs of the general Sikh community, as they used gurdwara offerings and other donations as their personal revenue, and their positions became increasingly corrupt and hereditary. Some local congregations marshalled popular pressure against them and to relinquish control, but the large revenue derived from gurdwara estates empowered them to resist such pressure.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1919 the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar during the festival of Vaisakhi when 4000 peaceful protesters including women, children and the elderly were shot at under the orders of Reginald Dyer.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Sohan Singh Bhakna, Kartar Singh Sarabha, alongside many other Punjabi's founded the Ghadar party to overthrow British colonial authority in India by means of an armed revolution. The Ghadar party is closely associated with the Babbar Akali Movement, a 1921 splinter group of "militant" Sikhs who broke away from the mainstream non-violent Akali movement.In 1914 Baba Gurdit Singh led the Komagata Maru ship to the port of Vancouver with 346 Sikhs on board; forced to leave port on 23 July. Bela Singh Jain an informer and agent of Inspector William Hopkinson, pulled out two guns and started shooting at the Khalsa Diwan Society Gurdwara Sahib on West 2nd Avenue. He murdered Bhai Bhag Singh, President of the Society and Battan Singh and Bela Singh was charged with murder, but Hopkinson decided to appear as a witness in his case and made up much of his testimony at his trail and subsequently Bela Singh was acquitted. On 21 October 1914, Bhai Mewa Singh, Granthi of Khalsa Diwan Society shot William Hopkinson in the Assize court corridor with two revolvers because he believed him to be unscrupulous and corrupt, using informers to spy on Indian immigrants. Canadian policeman William Hopkinson shot and killed by Mewa Singh who is later sentenced to death.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1931 Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev are convicted of murder of police inspector J.P. Saunders and executed; Bhagat Singh is popularly known as Shaheedey Azam (supreme martyr)


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1940 Udham Singh, an Indian revolutionary socialist, assassinated Michael O'Dwyer to avenge justice for the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre when 15,000 to 20,000 people including women, children were shot at after a peaceful protest in Amritsar


title: History of Sikhism

text: Bhagat Puran Singh Pingalwara dedicated his life to the 'selfless service of humanity'. He founded Pingalwara in 1947 with only a few patients, the neglected and rejected of the streets of Amritsar. An early advocate of what we today refer to as the 'Green Revolution', Bhagat Puran Singh was spreading awareness about environmental pollution, and increasing soil erosion long before such ideas became popular.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The Sikhs played a pioneering role in the Indian independence movement. They made sacrifices wholly out of proportion to their demographic strength (the Sikhs make up less than 2% of the Indian population).


title: History of Sikhism

text: Out of 2646 Indians deported for life to the Andaman Islands (where the colonial government exiled political and hardened criminals) 2147 (80%) were Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Sikh organizations, including the Chief Khalsa Dewan and Shiromani Akali Dal led by Master Tara Singh, condemned the Lahore Resolution and the movement to create Pakistan, viewing it as inviting possible persecution; the Sikhs largely thus strongly opposed the partition of India.


title: History of Sikhism

text: The months leading up to the partition of India in 1947, saw heavy conflict in the Punjab between Sikh and Muslims, which saw the effective religious migration of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus from West Punjab which mirrored a similar religious migration of Punjabi Muslims in East Punjab. The 1960s saw growing animosity and rioting between Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus in India, as the Punjabi Sikhs agitated for the creation of a Punjabi Sikh majority state, an undertaking which was promised to the Sikh leader Master Tara Singh by Nehru in return for Sikh political support during the negotiations for Indian Independence. Sikhs obtained the Sikh majority state of Punjab on 1 November 1966.


title: History of Sikhism

text: After the Partition of India Sikhs had been disrespected in many ways. Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi had stated that -


title: History of Sikhism

text: ""The brave Sikhs of Panjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area and a set up in the North wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom." (Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress meeting: Calcutta - July, 1944)


title: History of Sikhism

text: But after the partition of India he did not give Sikhs even a state to themselves and this led to further grievances. Many Hindus refused to keep Punjabi as their language and only Sikhs viewed their language as Punjabi. The Punjab was further Partitioned due to the Hindus betrayal.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Sikhs composed 18 percent of the Indian army and are the most decorated regiment in India. Sikhs composed majority of the Sikh Regiment, Sikh Light Infantry, Jat Regiment and Rajput Regiment. They fought in all Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts and the Sino-Indian War and got many titles and gallantry awards.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1978 Nirankari Baba Gurbachan Singh had led a parade across Amritsar where he was chanting anti-Sikh slogans and saying that the Gurus were his slaves. He used Amrit to clean his feet and pages from the Guru Granth Sahib to wipe them. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale sent peaceful protesters against him but Nirankaris started shotgunning the innocent Sikhs.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Sikh missionary Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale heard that in 1982 the government had created a model of the Darbar Sahib in Dehra Dun and were planning an attack. Historians argue that Gandhi's assumption of emergency powers in 1975 resulted in the weakening of the "legitimate and impartial machinery of government" and her increasing "paranoia" of opposing political groups led her to instigate a "despotic policy of playing castes, religions and political groups against each other for political advantage." As a reaction against these actions came the emergence of the Sikh leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who vocalised Sikh sentiment for justice. This accelerated Punjab into a state of peaceful protests.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Sikhs did not get an autonomous region or even a state so following India's independence in 1947, the Punjabi Suba movement led by the Sikh political party Akali Dal trifurcated the Punjab state. Afterwards the government assured the Sikhs that only excess water would go to other states, after 5 years Chandigarh would be the capital and Sikhism would be considered a separate religion as it had been for the past centuries. Those promises were not fulfilled as 83.5% of Punjab's waters were and still are going to other states leading to desertification, Sikhs are still apart of the Hindu Marriage Act and Chandigarh is still a union territory. Subsequently, a section of the Sikh leaders started demanding more autonomy for the states, alleging that the central government was discriminating against Punjab. The early stages of the Sikh agitation for equal rights were peaceful, leading one commentator to note:"...over 100,000 [Sikh] volunteers have been arrested. This high number of arrests is undoubtedly, a national record and so has been the peaceful nature in which the Satyagrahas [protests] of this magnitude have been handled by the Sikhs, with extreme tolerance."On September 1981, Bhindranwale voluntarily offered his arrest in Amritsar, where he was detained and interrogated for twenty-five days, but was released because of lack of evidence. "For all I know, he [Bhindranwale] is completely innocent and is genuinely and exclusively dedicated to the teachings of the Gurus.” In December 1983, a senior officer in Chandigarh confessed: “It’s really shocking that we have so little against him [Bhindranwale] while we keep blaming him for all sorts of things.”


title: History of Sikhism

text: Bhindranwale and his followers were armed with traditional swords, shields and muskets. Few also had Dragunov Rifles, Kashganovs, Ak-74s and Ak-47s. These were licensed and supplied by the Indian Government. It was the peak of the Cold War and India was leaning towards Russia and Pakistan had allied with The United States of America. This is why Bhindranwale was carrying Russian made guns. The Indian Government started alleging that Bhindranwale was killing Hindus and allied with Pakistan to create Khalistan. The first time that the phrase Khalistan came was in the Hind Samachar newspaper group. The Indian secret operation called Black Cats was made by Indira Gandhi to disguise the Punjab Police as terrorists and kill Hindus in the countryside. Bhindranwale condemned these but it was not outlined on any newspapers as they were government controlled. He also made a speech that he did not hate Hindus and he had donated 5 lakhs to restore ald Hindu and Sikh architecture and Mandirs. He even adopted a Hindu women as his daughter.


title: History of Sikhism

text: In June 1984, the Indian Government ordered a military operation, Operation Blue Star to clear Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar and thirty other Gurdwaras of innocent Sikhs led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who were with many other pilgrims in Gurdwaras. During this operation, the Indian army had around 3000 casualties with 700 injuries, and 200–250 Sikh militants were killed. The handling of the operation, damage to the holy shrine and loss of life on both sides, led to widespread criticism of the Indian Government. The Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in retaliation. Following her death 17,000 of Sikhs were killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The subsequent Punjab insurgency saw several secessionist militant groups becoming active in Punjab, supported by a section of the Sikh diaspora. Indian security forces suppressed the insurgency in the early 1990s by doing genocide upon the innocent Sikhs; over 2,500,000 Sikhs died, according to Jaswant Sikh Khalra, who was also killed by the police in a fake encounter for being against the Government.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Gandhi's 1984 action to remove Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale led to desecration of the Golden Temple in Operation Blue Star and ultimately led to Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. Many sources state that as much as 5 hundred thousand innocent Sikhs died by Indian police and rioters after June 1984 and Sikh population started decreasing after 1986."Any knowledge of the "Amritdharis" who are dangerous people and pledged to committing murder, arson and acts of terrorism should be immediately brought to the notice of the authorities. These people may appear harmless from outside but they are basically committed to terrorism. In the interest of us all, their identity and whereabouts must always be disclosed.- Indira Gandhi during Operation Woodrose


title: History of Sikhism

text: In the wake of the Indian government's repression of Sikhs, some Sikhs formed guerrilla bands to take on the marauding police. At the height of the Sikh resistance movement, hundreds of men fought the so-called security forces in Punjab. Some also engaged in targeted assassinations elsewhere in India, the best known being the killing of General Vaidya, who had led the Indian army in the attack on the Golden Temple.  The main groups were the Babbar Khalsa, the Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan, Khalistan Commando Force, the Khalistan Liberation Force and the All India Sikh Students Federation.


title: History of Sikhism

text: Many members joined the resistance after being radicalized by the army dragnet of the summer of 1984, designated Operation Woodrose, in which youths aged 15–24 were taken away from their homes in large numbers. Most had lost relatives or friends to army or police. Others had witnessed womenfolk being picked up by the police for torture and abuse. Many had been personally tortured before taking up arms against the state


title: History of Sikhism

text: In 1996 the Special Rapporteur for the Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief, Abdelfattah Amor (Tunisia, 1993–2004), visited India in order to compose a report on religious discrimination. In 1997, Amor concluded, "it appears that the situation of the Sikhs in the religious field is satisfactory, but that difficulties are arising in the political (foreign interference, terrorism, etc.), economic (in particular with regard to sharing of water supplies) and even occupational fields. Information received from nongovernment sources indicates that discrimination does exist in certain sectors of the public administration; examples include the decline in the number of Sikhs in the police force and the absence of Sikhs in personal bodyguard units since the murder of Indira Gandhi." The reduced intake of the Sikhs in the Indian armed forces also attributes to following certain orders issued in the Indian Emergency of 1975/1977.


title: Daith piercing

text: A daith (pronounced ) piercing is an ear piercing that passes through the ear's innermost cartilage fold, the crus of the helix.


title: Daith piercing

text: The piercing is usually performed with a straight hollow needle. Captive bead rings are the most common jewellery type used. It can take from six to nine months for a daith piercing to heal.


title: Daith piercing

text: A client of Erik Dakota, who is said to have been studying Hebrew in college, first named this piercing "da'at", meaning "knowledge" ( ). Her reasoning was that the piercer must have been very "smart" to figure out how to do the piercing. This piercing was first brought into the public eye in the early 1990s in Fakir Musafar's "Body Play", in the same issue that also showcased the Industrial Piercing, the Apadydoe, and a large gauge conch piercing.


title: Daith piercing

text: Fakir Musafar noted: "The Daith piercing was co-created in 1992 by Erik Dakota and a Jewish woman piercing client with a metaphysical bent. ... A true Daith must be done in such a way that the bottom part of the ring appears to come directly out of the ear canal. If one can see both the entrance and exit hole of the ring, it is not a true Daith. The technique for this piercing is quite advanced, requires a specifically curved needle and was devised by Erik Dakota."


title: Daith piercing

text: The daith piercing has, in the past 20 years, become a popular form of alternative medicine for the pain management associated with migraine. The belief has its roots in the Eastern medical practice of acupuncture. While some patients report a positive outcome from the piercing, there is no scientific evidence that it is a valid pain treatment, and any perceived efficacy could be ascribed to a placebo effect.


title: Lauren James

text: Lauren James (born 29 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the England women's national team.


title: Lauren James

text: James was scouted by Arsenal as a 13-year-old and trained with the boys' team, but within two years she began training with the first team. On 29 September 2017, James made her debut for Arsenal, coming on in the 67th minute, replacing Lisa Evans in a 2–0 win over Everton in the 2017–18 season. In doing so, she became the second-youngest player in Arsenal's history to make their debut.


title: Lauren James

text: On 13 July 2018, it was announced that James would be part of the first professional Manchester United squad due to compete in the newly restructured 2018–19 FA Women's Championship. She made her competitive debut for Manchester United in a 1–0 League Cup victory against Liverpool, on 19 August. She scored the opening two goals in United's first game of the 2018–19 Championship season, a 12–0 win away to Aston Villa. James was voted FA Women's Championship player of the month for September following her three goals across Manchester United's unbeaten opening month. On 20 April 2019, James scored four goals in a 7–0 league win against Crystal Palace.


title: Lauren James

text: James scored United's first ever WSL goal, netting in the 71st minute in a 2–0 win against Liverpool on 28 September 2019. Two weeks later, James was sent off in United's 3–0 league win away to Tottenham Hotspur after receiving two yellow cards. James signed her first professional contract with the club on 16 December. At the end of the 2019–20 season, James finished as United's top scorer and was named to the four player shortlist for PFA Women's Young Player of the Year.


title: Lauren James

text: On 27 March 2021, James opened the scoring in a 2–0 league victory over West Ham United. The match was the first FA WSL match to be played at Old Trafford.


title: Lauren James

text: On 23 July 2021, James signed a four-year contract with Chelsea. She scored her first goal for the club in a 9-0 away win against Leicester City on 27 March 2022.


title: Lauren James

text: In April 2017, James made her under-17 debut in a 2–0 friendly defeat to USA. On 14 October 2017, she captained England during a 10–0 win over Latvia as part of 2018 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification, scoring four goals.


title: Lauren James

text: In January 2019, James received her first call-up to the under-19 squad for the Algarve Tournament. In July 2019, James was named in the England squad for the 2019 UEFA Under-19 Championship in Scotland.


title: Lauren James

text: In November 2020, James received her first senior national team call-up as part of a 29-player training camp at St George's Park.


title: Lauren James

text: James made her senior debut on 3 September 2022, coming on as a 79th minute substitute during England's 2023 World Cup qualification match against Austria.


title: Lauren James

text: James is the younger sister of Chelsea and England defender Reece James. She has cited her father Nigel, a UEFA licensed football coach, as inspiration: "[He] has helped me every step of the way. I grew up playing football with my brothers and wanted to play like them; I have always loved the game. I am grateful to my Dad for all the time, effort and love that he has put into my football by coaching me in order that I reach the very best level." She is of Jamaican descent through her father.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: Miquita Billie Alexandra Oliver (born 25 April 1984) is a British television presenter and radio personality. With Simon Amstell, she co-hosted Channel 4's "Popworld" from 2001 to 2006. Miquita then went on to present on T4 from 2006 to 2010, as well as having her own show, "The Month With Miquita", on 4Music. She has also worked in radio, hosting shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. In April/May 2015 she took part in a four-part series "24 Hours in the Past" as herself.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: Miquita was born in Paddington, London. Her mother is former Rip Rig + Panic singer and television presenter Andi Oliver, her father is Scottish and teaches art history. Miquita Oliver attended Holland Park School. In 2001, aged 16, she became presenter of the Channel 4 music show "Popworld", co-presenting with Simon Amstell. The pair were known for employing a great deal of humour in interviews. They left the show in 2006, but Oliver continued to present the "T4" strand.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: Oliver and Amstell survived the 2004 Indian Ocean Tidal Wave while on holiday together in Thailand. She has since participated in disaster relief charity events.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: After an incident in mid-2010 in which Oliver was overheard insulting singer Kesha behind her back by Kesha's management, Oliver was suspended from "T4" for six weeks and subsequently her contract was not renewed. She recorded her last "T4" in December 2010.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: She has hosted shows on both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra, notably covering for Sara Cox and Spoony. She left her early morning show "Oneclick" to focus on TV projects. In an interview with "Heat" magazine, Oliver said that she was sacked from BBC Radio 1 following a comment she made in an interview with "NME" magazine about Fearne Cotton, calling her a "Devil Woman".


title: Miquita Oliver

text: Oliver made a brief appearance in May 2007 on the BBC programme "Neneh & Andi Dish It Up" – presented by her mother Andi and "Auntie" Neneh Cherry – and has also made appearances on political talk show "This Week", on 25 June 2009 and 17 December 2009. In March 2010 Oliver made a programme for Channel 4's "T4" called "Miquita's Oliver". She was set the challenge of starting a one-off urban production of the classic musical "Oliver!" from scratch. She had to cast it, script it and then direct it. The finished product was performed at the Hackney Empire to surprising critical acclaim.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: She then went on to have her own television show, called "The Month With Miquita", which she hosted on the 4Music channel. She continued to present programmes for "T4", such as "T4 Movie Special" in August 2011.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: In November 2011, Oliver filed for bankruptcy after non-payment of a tax bill. In December 2013 she presented the programme " Young, British and Broke: The Truth about Payday Loans" on BBC Three. She said that her own experiences of bankruptcy made her passionate about making the show.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: Oliver was a part of the four-part BBC TV series "24 Hours in the Past", along with Colin Jackson, Alistair McGowan, Ann Widdecombe, Tyger Drew-Honey and Zoe Lucker which went out between 28 April and 19 May 2015 on BBC One.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: Starting on 23 January 2022, BBC television begun broadcasting the series "The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita". Miquita and her mother started the series by visiting Antigua. Here they met members of their extended family, reconnected with their Antiguan heritage, and illuminated the island's history and culture.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: In 2008 Miquita Oliver, along with vinspired, helped launch Fashion Favours, a collection of reworked fashion items, customised by volunteers from around the UK. On 25 September 2008, to promote Fashion Favours, Miquita modelled Prime Minister Gordon Brown's shirt.


title: Miquita Oliver

text: On 25 June 2009, Oliver appeared on political talk show "This Week" to discuss issues relating to fashion and also Speaker John Bercow's decision not to wear the traditional robes, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to ban the burqa in France.


title: Playground Games

text: Playground Games Limited is a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa, England. It is known for developing the "Forza Horizon" series, which is part of the larger "Forza" franchise. In 2018, Playground Games became part of Microsoft Studios (now known as Xbox Game Studios). They are also developing the next game in the "Fable" series.


title: Playground Games

text: Playground Games was founded by Gavin Raeburn, Trevor Williams and Ralph Fulton; the studio was announced in November 2009, with its opening scheduled for early 2010. Playground Games announced their first project, "Forza Horizon", in 2012. The title was developed in collaboration with Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360 in October that year. The studio released "Forza Horizon 2" on Xbox 360 and Xbox One in September 2014, and "Forza Horizon 3" on Xbox One and Microsoft Windows in September 2016.


title: Playground Games

text: In February 2014, Playground Games announced that they were forming a new development team focused on mobile games. In February 2017, the studio detailed plans to open a second studio, focusing on a non-racing open-world video game project. In November, they announced they had leased St. Albans House in Leamington Spa, which would provide the new studio with more than 17,000 square feet of office space. Expected headcounts for both studios were in excess of 200 people.


title: Playground Games

text: At E3 2018, Microsoft announced they had acquired Playground Games, which became part of Microsoft Studios (now known as Xbox Game Studios). At the same time, Microsoft Studios also announced "Forza Horizon 4", which would be released on 2 October 2018, and that the studio was working on an unannounced AAA Open-World Action RPG project, later revealed to be in the "Fable" franchise.


title: Playground Games

text: In January 2022, it was reported that co-founder and studio director Gavin Raeburn left Playground Games, while GM Trevor Williams replaced him as studio head.


title: Ape Escape

text: Ape Escape is a series of video games developed primarily by Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, starting with "Ape Escape" for PlayStation in 1999. The series incorporates ape-related humour, unique gameplay, and a wide variety of pop culture references. The first game in the series is the first game to have made the DualShock or Dual Analog controller mandatory.


title: Ape Escape

text: In 1998, the game was developed under the name "Sarugetchu", and would be the first game to explicitly require the DualShock controller. The game was a success, going Platinum, entering the Greatest Hits series in the US, and entered the "Best Of" releases in Japan. It was reviewed positively, and was compared to games such as "Super Mario 64".


title: Ape Escape

text: "Ape Escape 2001" was released in 2001. It is the first game in the series to have been developed for PlayStation 2. The next year, "Ape Escape 2" was developed by Sony and published in Japan in 2002 and in Europe and North America in 2003.


title: Ape Escape

text: In 2003, SCEI worked on a multiplayer party game and the sequel to "Piposaru 2001". "" was released in Japan through Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and the US through Ubisoft in 2004. "", a remake of the original game was released globally as one of the launch games for the PlayStation Portable.


title: Ape Escape

text: In 2005, "Ape Academy" (also known as "Ape Escape Academy") was released for the PlayStation Portable. "" was a party game inspired by "Mario Party" which was only released in Europe and Japan. In mid-2005, "Ape Escape 3" was released to positive critical reception.


title: Ape Escape

text: After the release of "Ape Escape 3", Sony Computer Entertainment Europe showed interest in publishing "Ape Academy 2" and ""; however, Sony Computer Entertainment America showed more interest in developing its own game. "Ape Academy 2" was released in 2006 for the PlayStation Portable to mixed success and sold very well in Japan, entering the "Best of" category, but failed to perform well in Europe, due to Sony focusing on "Million Monkeys". "Million Monkeys" was released in Japan in July 2006, making it the last official PlayStation 2 game in the series. The game was planned to be released in the United Kingdom in late 2006, but the game was postponed and later canceled. Its impact in Japan led to the inclusion of its iteration of series protagonist Spike in "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale" in 2012. In late 2006, "PipoRacer" was released in Japan for PlayStation Portable. In 2008, Japan Studio and h.a.n.d. developed "". Both titles were never released outside Japan.


title: Ape Escape

text: In 2006, Sony placed an advertisement in a "Famitsu" magazine with interest in hiring staff for an upcoming game. It contains a picture with four monkeys, with the first holding up "Ape Escape", the second holding up "Ape Escape 2", the third holding up "Ape Escape 3" and the fourth holding a cover with "?". The fourth entry was in development, but is still unreleased. A tweet by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan on Twitter was posted on January 5, 2016, reading, "2016 Year of the Monkey. Today, SCE will begin working! #Monkey #YearofMonkey" alongside an image of a Pipo Monkey". In 2019, the 20th anniversary of the franchise, for the first time in more than 5 years, the official Japanese website for the "Ape Escape" series was updated and an official Japanese "Ape Escape" 20th anniversary account was made on Twitter.


title: Ape Escape

text: "Ape Quest", a role-playing game, was released in 2008 on the PSN store in North America and Europe and in March 2009 in Japan. It was co-developed by Shift and Alvion and published by Sony Computer Entertainment worldwide. It was the first game in the series to be a PSN-only game, excluding Asia, where it received a physical release. In 2009, a game titled "Ape Escape" was announced along with the PlayStation Move. Critics speculated that it was the fourth entry in the series, after Sony's 2006 advertisement. In Q3 2010, "PlayStation Move: Ape Escape" was officially announced under the party genre, and with a different name for every region. It was released in Japan in December 2010, Asia in January 2011, and the UK and Europe in mid-2012 as a GameStop exclusive. In the US, the game was only made available on the PSN store. After the release of "PlayStation Move: Ape Escape", no games were announced in 2012, making it the first year since 2002 that no "Ape Escape" game had been released and the first year that no game had been announced within each region.


title: Ape Escape

text: A white-haired monkey named Specter obtains a helmet known as the Peak Point Helmet (Pipo Helmet for short), which boosts his intelligence. After equipping an army of monkeys with Pipo Helmets, and using an enhanced helmet for himself, Specter sends his monkey army to take over the world, and Space. The protagonists, equipped with various gadgets, must capture the monkeys and restore order to the world.


title: Ape Escape

text: The alternate series, developed by SCEI, is the alternate main series. Specter and the Monkeys take over the world, or try to sabotage players in "Pumped and Primed". In both games, Specter does not end up being the main villain and there are usually darker forces behind Specter that the player must defeat. The villains change from game to game. It is up to the game's protagonists, equipped with various gadgets, to capture or defeat monkeys/characters, to save the day.


title: Ape Escape

text: The "Ape Escape" series is notable for its radical departure from the tried-and-true control method in many other games. It was the first PlayStation game to require the use of a DualShock or Dual Analog controller; the left stick moves the character while the right operates whatever gadget the character has its possession. Again, unlike many games which use to jump, both the R1 and R2 buttons are used, while the 'shape' buttons are used to cycle through the available items in the inventory.


title: Ape Escape

text: In the PSP spin-offs, a more conventional control scheme must be used, due to the lack of a right analog stick.


title: Ape Escape

text: The main objective through the majority of the games is to use the available array of gadgets to locate and capture monkeys. When a monkey has been found, it must be caught with the Time Net gadget. On the first playthrough, players will have a set number of monkeys to catch before progressing towards the next level. Once each level has been completed, they can be reentered with the gadgets necessary to catch the remaining monkeys.


title: Ape Escape

text: In the main series, there are three unlockable minigames that can be played at the hub. These can be accessed by clearing the necessary number of stages and/or having the necessary amount of coins. In "Ape Escape" and "Ape Escape: On the Loose", the player had to collect a certain amount of Specter Tokens to unlock a minigame.


title: Ape Escape

text: In "Ape Escape 2", the player could obtain these three minigames by betting ten coins in the Gotcha Box, but here the stage-clearing was more important, yet it did not mean it would be based on the percentage on the player's record.


title: Ape Escape

text: In "Ape Escape 3", because coins were far more abundant than "Ape Escape 2" and the fact that players could hold coins past 999, the prices went up for the mini-games as well. Also, in this game it was based on the player's percentage, so clearing stages, beating time attacks, or purchasing things from the shops would make the mini games available for purchase sooner. The minigame "Mesal Gear Solid" seems fuller and more of a game of its own rather than just a simple unlockable. This game has a plot and more traditional gameplay of the "AE" series, and could be the start of more fuller minigames based on a series already established, like "Metal Gear Solid".


title: Ape Escape

text: In "Ape Quest", the player randomly encounters mini-games in a very similar fashion to classic JRPG random enemy encounters.


title: Janis Paige

text: Janis Paige (born Donna Mae Tjaden; September 16, 1922) is an American retired actress and singer. Born in Tacoma, Washington, she began singing in local amateur shows at the age of five. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles, where she became a singer at the Hollywood Canteen during World War II, as well as posing as a pin-up model. This would lead to a film contract with Warner Bros., although she would later leave the studio to pursue live theatre work, appearing in a number of Broadway shows. She would continue to alternate between film and theatre work for much of her career. Beginning in the mid-fifties, she would also make numerous television appearances, as well as starring in her own sitcom "It's Always Jan". With a career spanning over 60 years, she is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige was born Donna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington, the only child of Hazel Leah ( Simmons) and George S. Tjaden on September 16, 1922, primarily of Norwegian, German, English, and Cornish descent. She began singing in public at age five in local amateur shows. She moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school and was hired as a singer at the Hollywood Canteen during World War II. During the war, United States Army Air Forces pilots flying the P-61 Black Widow chose her as their "Black Widow Girl". In appreciation, she posed as a pin-up model, dressed in an appropriate costume.


title: Janis Paige

text: The Hollywood Canteen was a studio-sponsored club for members of the military. A Warner Bros. agent saw her potential and signed her to a contract. She began co-starring in low-budget musicals, often paired with Dennis Morgan or Jack Carson. She co-starred in "Romance on the High Seas" (1948), the film in which Doris Day made her movie debut. Paige later co-starred in adventures and dramas, in which she felt out of place. Following her role in "Two Gals and a Guy" (1951), she decided to leave Hollywood.


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige appeared on Broadway and was a huge hit in a 1951 comedy-mystery play, "Remains to Be Seen", co-starring Jackie Cooper. She also toured successfully as a cabaret singer. In April 1947, she was crowned "Miss Damsite" and participated at the ground-breaking ceremony for the McNary Dam, on the Columbia River, alongside Cornelia Morton McNary, Senator Charles McNary's widow, and Oregon Governor Earl Snell.


title: Janis Paige

text: Stardom came in 1954 with her role as Babe in the Broadway musical "The Pajama Game". She was on the December 1954 cover of "Esquire", where she was featured in a seductive pose taken by American photographer Maxwell Frederic Coplan. For the screen version, the studio wanted one major movie star to guarantee the film's success, so John Raitt's role of Sid was offered to Frank Sinatra, who would have been paired with Paige. When Sinatra turned it down, the producers offered Paige's role of Babe to Doris Day, who accepted and was paired with Raitt.


title: Janis Paige

text: After six years away, Paige returned to Hollywood in "Silk Stockings" (1957), which starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, the Doris Day/David Niven comedy "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1960), and as a love-starved married neighbor in "Bachelor in Paradise" (1961) with Bob Hope. A rare dramatic role was as Marion, an institutionalized prostitute, in "The Caretakers" (1963).


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige returned to Broadway in 1963 in the short-lived "Here's Love". In 1968, when after nearly two years Angela Lansbury left the Broadway production of the musical "Mame" to take the show on a limited US tour, Paige was the star chosen to be the first Broadway replacement, and she admired the character, saying, "She's a free soul. She can be down, but never out. She's unbigoted. She says what she thinks with a kind of marvelous honesty, which is the only way to say anything."


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige appeared in touring productions of musicals such as "Annie Get Your Gun", "Applause", "Sweet Charity", "Ballroom", "", and "Guys and Dolls". In 1984, she was back on Broadway with Kevin McCarthy in a nonmusical play, "Alone Together". The tryout tour gave Paige her first experience of the eastern summer-stock circuit, where she said audiences "laughed so hard you just had to wait", and she enjoyed the role so much, she played it again in 1988 at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, this time with Robert Reed.


title: Janis Paige

text: During the 1955–1956 television season, Paige starred in her own CBS situation comedy, "It's Always Jan," co-starring Merry Anders, as Janis Stewart, a widowed mother, and her two female roommates played by Anders and Patricia Bright.


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige appeared as a waitress named Denise in both the seventh and ninth seasons of "All in the Family". In her first appearance, she has a flirtation with Archie Bunker that threatens to become more serious.


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige appeared on episodes of "87th Precinct"; "Trapper John, M.D.";"Columbo"; "Night Court"; "Caroline in the City"; and in the 1975 television movie "John O'Hara's Gibbsville" (also known as "The Turning Point of Jim Malloy"). In 1982, she appeared on "St. Elsewhere" as a female flasher who stalked the hallways of the hospital to "cheer up" the male patients. In the 1980s and 1990s, she was seen on the soap operas "Capitol" (1987, as Sam Clegg's first wife, Laureen), "General Hospital" (1989–1990, as Katharine Delafield's flashy Aunt Iona, a lady counterfeiter), and "Santa Barbara" (1990–1993, replacing the much older Dame Judith Anderson as matriarch Minx Lockridge).


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige was given a star in the Motion Picture section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6624 Hollywood Boulevard on February 9, 1960.


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige has been married three times. She married Frank Louis Martinelli Jr., a restaurateur, in 1947; they divorced in 1951. She married Arthur Stander, a television writer and creator of "It's Always Jan", in 1956 and divorced him the next year. Paige married composer and music publisher Ray Gilbert in 1962. They remained married until his death on March 3, 1976. All of Paige's marriages were childless.


title: Janis Paige

text: Paige is a Republican who supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.


title: Janis Paige

text: In 2001, Paige found that her voice was cracking with nearly irreparable vocal-cord damage. She went to a singing teacher a friend recommended. Paige's voice ended up worse with her not being able to talk at all. "He literally took my voice away," she said. "I lost all my top voice. I couldn't hold a pitch for a second. Finally, I couldn't make a sound. He said that this will all come back. It didn't." Another singing teacher told her to go to the voice clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "There were bits of skin hanging off my vocal cords", she said. "They told me to go home and not talk for three months." She finally was introduced by a doctor to another voice teacher, Bruce Eckstut. He helped her regain her speaking voice and singing voice.


title: Janis Paige

text: In 2017, Paige wrote a guest column for "The Hollywood Reporter" in which she stated that Alfred Bloomingdale had attempted to rape her when she was 22 years old. She was sexually assaulted after being lured into Bloomingdale’s apartment under false pretenses.


title: International Klein Blue

text: International Klein Blue (IKB) is a deep blue hue first mixed by the French artist Yves Klein. IKB's visual impact comes from its heavy reliance on ultramarine, as well as Klein's often thick and textured application of paint to canvas.


title: International Klein Blue

text: International Klein Blue (IKB) was developed by Yves Klein in collaboration with Edouard Adam, a Parisian art paint supplier whose shop is still in business on the Boulevard Edgar-Quinet in Montparnasse. IKB uses a matte, synthetic resin binder which suspends the color and allows the pigment to maintain as much of its original qualities and intensity of color as possible. The synthetic resin used in the binder is a polyvinyl acetate developed and marketed at the time under the name Rhodopas M or M60A by the French pharmaceutical company Rhône-Poulenc. Adam still sells the binder under the name "Médium Adam 25".


title: International Klein Blue

text: In May 1960, Klein deposited a Soleau envelope, registering the paint formula under the name International Klein Blue (IKB) at the Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI), but he never patented IKB. Only valid under French law, a Soleau envelope registers the date of invention, according to the depositor, prior to any legal patent application. The copy held by the INPI was destroyed in 1965. Klein's own copy, which the INPI returned to him duly stamped, still exists.


title: International Klein Blue

text: In March 1960, Klein patented a method by which he was able to distance himself from the physical creation of his paintings by remotely directing models covered in the color.


title: International Klein Blue

text: Although Klein had worked with blue extensively in his earlier career, it was not until 1958 that he used it as the central component of a piece (the color effectively becoming the art). Klein embarked on a series of monochromatic works using IKB as the central theme. These included performance art where Klein painted models' naked bodies and had them walk, roll and sprawl upon blank canvases as well as more conventional single-color canvases. Six sculptures by Klein in the Musiktheater im Revier, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, are executed in IKB.


title: Hughie Green

text: Hugh Hughes Green (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor.


title: Hughie Green

text: Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former British Army officer from Glasgow who made his fortune supplying canned fish to the Allied forces in the First World War, and an English mother, Violet Elenore (née Price), from Surrey, the daughter of an Irish gardener. The family had a home in Meopham, Kent, where the children lived with their mother, who took frequent lovers, while their father did business from the Savoy Hotel, and often stayed there. Green attended Arnold House School, a boys' prep school, in the St John's Wood district of Westminster, Greater London.


title: Hughie Green

text: After the family business went bankrupt, Green's father encouraged his stage-obsessed son into performance, and by the age of 14 Hughie Green had his own BBC Radio show and created and toured with his own all-children cast concert party called "Hughie Green and his Gang". After an extensive tour of Canada, in 1935 Green appeared in his first film, "Midshipman Easy", then went to Hollywood where he appeared in the film "Tom Brown's School Days" and at the Cocoanut Grove with his cabaret act.


title: Hughie Green

text: Having already fathered his first illegitimate child with Vera Hands, a Birmingham usherette, at the age of 17 and having been caught in North America on the declaration of war, during the Second World War Green served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic with RAF Ferry Command. In 1942, he married Montreal society beauty Claire Wilson, and went on to work in the aircraft industry as a ferry transport pilot and stunt pilot. From 1947, when he returned to London, he was involved in business activities that included selling aircraft.


title: Hughie Green

text: In 1949, Green devised a talent show called "Opportunity Knocks", which was commissioned by BBC Radio. The show lasted for only one series, and Green was apparently told it was "too American" for the British audience. After the show was cancelled, Green sued the BBC, Carroll Levis, and six friends and family of Levis, alleging a conspiracy to keep his "Opportunity Knocks" show off the air to preserve Levis's rival show, "Discoveries". The case came to trial at the High Court in May 1955, with Green represented by Viscount Hailsham. The trial lasted for twenty days, but on 27 May, after a retirement of only 20 minutes, the jury returned a verdict for the defendants. As a result of the costs in the case, Green's creditors filed a petition for his bankruptcy, and a receiving order was made on 8 May 1956. He was not discharged from bankruptcy until 18 June 1958.


title: Hughie Green

text: Green became a household name in 1955, with the ITV quiz show "Double Your Money, "which had actually originated some years earlier on Radio Luxembourg. Green brought his future co-host Monica Rose to the screen. Rose, a chirpy 15-year-old Cockney junior accounts clerk, had won £8 answering questions on famous women and was invited back by Green to be a hostess.


title: Hughie Green

text: On 8 November 1966, Hughie Green presented the show from "The House of Friendship" in Moscow. Along with Monica Rose, he also had Natasha Vasylyeva as assistant. Because the Communist Party would not allow money as a prize, the top prize was a television set.


title: Hughie Green

text: Green's most successful show format was his self-developed long-running talent show, "Opportunity Knocks." It started as a UK-wide touring show produced for the radio, and one of Green's early finds was singer Frankie Vaughan, who came second as part of a duet. When the show transferred to television on the ITV network, first in 1956 and then again from 1964, it began the show business careers of Les Dawson, Lena Zavaroni, Pam Ayres, and Mary Hopkin, among others. Green, who possessed a pilot's licence, would fly the panel of judges between audition venues all over Britain, in his small Cessna aircraft.


title: Hughie Green

text: His game show "The Sky's the Limit" was generally considered a failure and was dropped by most ITV regional companies after the first run, although it lasted until 1974 in the Yorkshire and Granada regions, eventually being cancelled due to low ratings, combined with a falling-out between Green and producer Jess Yates.


title: Hughie Green

text: Right up until its final shows, "Opportunity Knocks" was a ratings hit that attracted up to 18 million viewers weekly. But Green, known for his right-wing politics, had decided he was bigger than the show format he had devised and began politicising an apolitical family-friendly format. It has been suggested that Green believed that Harold Wilson and his Labour government were communists and that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, should replace Wilson as leader of the country and, to that end, he used "Opportunity Knocks" as an end-of-year soapbox, telling the country at the end of 1974 to 'wake up!'