Famous in early Sikh history

  • Baba Praga–Baba Praga was a Chhibber belonging to the village of Karyala. He was a notable figure in Sikh history, and participated in many battles. Chowk Paraga Das of Amritsar is named after him. His loyalty and spiritual devotion to different Gurus particularly Guru Arjan Dev finds a mention in the book Suraj Prakash.
  • Dwarka Das–He was the son of Baba Praga, was Dewan to Guru Har Gobind and successive Gurus until Guru Har Rai.
  • Bhai Lakhiya–Also known as Bhai Lakhi Das, he was the son of Dwarka Das. He was appointed Dewan after the death of his father, but did not live long after that himself. He was the first Chhibber of Karyala to be bestowed the title of "Bhai" by a Guru.
  • Bhai Dargah Mal–Was the Dewan after Bhai Lakhiya, up to the reign of Guru Har Kishen.
  • Bhai Mati Das–He was a descendant of the same family as Baba Praga and was a disciple of Guru Tegh Bahadur. He preferred a barbaric death instead of a forced conversion to Islam. Bhai Mati Das was sawed in half on 9 November 1675 under the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb for his refusal to convert, and his only last wish was that he be allowed to face his Guru while the execution was being carried out.
  • Bhai Sati Das–He was the younger brother of Bhai Mati Das, and a scholar of Persian who translated hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur for the understanding of some of his Muslim followers. He too was executed in a barbaric fashion on 10 November 1675 by being subjected to cuts and later burned alive, for his refusal to convert to Islam.
  • Bhai Chaupa Singh Chhibber–He was a descendant of the same family as Bhai Mati Das, and was tutor and care-taker of Guru Govind Singh.
  • Bhai Sahib Singh–He was a nephew of Bhai Mati Das, was appointed Dewan by Guru Govind Singh. He is often mistakenly referred to as one of the Panj Pyare, as he shared his name with Bhai Sahib Singh of Bidar.
  • Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh–He was a son of Bhai Sahib Singh. Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh died defending the Harmandir Sahib during a raid by Ahmad Shah Durrani.
  • Bhai Kesar Singh Chhibber–Bhai Kesar Singh Chhibber was author of 'Bansavalinama Dasan Patshahian Da'. He was the son of Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh.
Many descendants of this extended Chhibber clan of Karyala (Bhai Charan Singh, Bhai Gaj Singh, Bhai Wazir Singh and Bhai Jai Bhan) were entrusted with senior posts during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and awarded jagirs and stipends. They were issued certificates of honour, exempted from paying salt-tax and severe punishments were provisioned for anyone disturbing the peace of their families

 Posted by :  Ch. Anil Dutta
                     (Member, Managing Committee, GMS-Delhi)
                     (Senior Vice President, Mohyal Sabha, Amritsar)

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