<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>ARJAN SI&#7748GH BH&#256YEE (1875-1946)</TITLE>
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<p class="C1">&#65279ARJAN SI&#7748GH, BH&#256YEE (1875-1946), of B&#257ga&#7771&#299&#257&#7749, titled chief much honoured in Sikh piety, was a descendant of Bh&#257&#299 R&#363p Chand, a devoted disciple of Gur&#363 Hargobind, who had bestowed on him the title ' Bh&#257&#299 ' (also written as Bh&#257yee) or holy brother. R&#363p Chand belonged to the village of Va&#7693&#7693&#257 Ghar, in Amritsar district, but upon receiving Gur&#363 Hargobind's blessing he founded (1631) a village in the M&#257lv&#257 region of the Punjab which he named Bh&#257&#299 R&#363p&#257. R&#363p Chand's sons, Bh&#257&#299 Param Si&#7749gh and Bh&#257&#299 Dharam Si&#7749gh, received the rites of <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 baptism at the hands of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh. They accompanied the Gur&#363 to N&#257nde&#7693 in the South. Param Si&#7749gh is said to have died there while Dharam Si&#7749gh was sent back to the Punjab by the Gur&#363 with many gifts, including a <i>gu&#7789k&#257</i> or breviary and a sword which are still preserved by the descendants as sacred relics.</p>
<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Born in 1875 the son of Bh&#257&#299 Kishan Si&#7749gh at B&#257ga&#7771&#299&#257&#7749, a village now in Sa&#7749gr&#363r district, to which the family had shifted, Arjan Si&#7749gh had his early education under his uncle Bh&#257&#299 Nar&#257i&#7751 Si&#7749gh who was a reputed man of letters and who taught him several modern Indian and classical languages. Arjan Si&#7749gh succeeded to his estate when he was very young. Besides his position as a landed aristocrat, he was acknowledged by the Sikh ruling chiefs of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, N&#257bh&#257, J&#299nd, Far&#299dko&#7789, Kap&#363rthal&#257 and Kals&#299&#257 as a religious mentor - a status the Bh&#257&#299s of B&#257ga&#7771&#299&#257&#7749 had always enjoyed in view of the family having been blessed by the Gur&#363s themselves. They presided over the religious and social ceremonies in the Sikh princely families. Bh&#257&#299 Arjan Si&#7749gh himself administered the rites of initiation to Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Bh&#363pinder Si&#7749gh of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 and Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ripudaman Si&#7749gh of N&#257bh&#257, and installed the latter on the throne after the death in 1911 of his father, Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Sir H&#299r&#257 Si&#7749gh.</p>
<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;	Bh&#257&#299 Arjan Si&#7749gh was widely respected in the Sikh community. He was chosen to be the first president of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n established on 30 October 1902, serving in that capacity for nearly 15 years. In 1934, he presided over the Sarab Hind Sikh Samparad&#257i Conference at Bhai&#7751&#299 S&#257hib and in 1938 over the 27th Sikh Educational Conference at Amritsar. He was awarded by the British government the title of Sard&#257r Bah&#257dur in 1916, and, in June 1919, the Order of the British Empire was conferred upon him. He also served as president of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Pratinidh D&#299w&#257n, Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257, and as a member of the Amritsar <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College Managing Committee as well as of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee.</p>
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<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bh&#257&#299 Arjan Si&#7749gh died at B&#257ga&#7771&#299&#257&#7749 on 8 November 1946.</p>
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BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Itih&#257s Riy&#257sat B&#257ga&#7771&#299&#257&#7749</i>. Patiala, 1917<BR>
<li class="C1"> Caveeshar, Sardul Singh, <i>House of Bagrian</i>. Lahore, 1939<BR>
<li class="C1"> Griffin, Lepel and C. F. Massy, <i>Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab</i>. Lahore, 1940<BR>
</ol><p class="CONT">Shamsher Si&#7749gh Ashok<br></p><BR>
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