ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>PARDUMAN SI&#7748GH GI&#256N&#298 BH&#256&#298 (d. 1877)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="PARDUMAN,SIDGH,GIN*,BH*"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279PARDUMAN SI&#7748GH GI&#256N&#298, BH&#256&#298 (d. 1877), principal <i>granth&#299</i> or priest and manager of Sr&#299 Darb&#257r S&#257hib at Amritsar, was the eldest of the four sons of Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh Gi&#257n&#299 (d. 1843), a man of learning and an influential courtier in Sikh times. He was the grandson of the celebrated scholar, Bh&#257&#299 Sant Si&#7749gh Gi&#257n&#299, who had himself been the custodian of Sr&#299 Darb&#257r S&#257hib. Besides his inclination to letters which he had inherited, Parduman Si&#7749gh started taking interest in princely pastimes such as playing chess and dice. He was barely 13 when he joined service under the Sikh sovereign. The family fell a prey to courtly intrigue after the death in 1843 of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Sher Si&#7749gh. H&#299r&#257 Si&#7749gh Dogr&#257, who had gained power during the reign of the minor Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Duleep Si&#7749gh, had Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh seized and had him assassinated, along with his two brothers. Parduman Si&#7749gh and his surviving brother Arjan Si&#7749gh were taken into custody, placed in chains and treated with the greatest severity. Both eventually managed to escape to Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257 where they sought asylum with the British. H&#299r&#257 Si&#7749gh was killed in December 1844 and Sard&#257r Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh, regent to the young Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Duleep Si&#7749gh reinstated him as the manager of Sr&#299 Darb&#257r S&#257hib and his estates. A portion of the <i>j&#257g&#299r</i> amounting to 5,488 rupees and the family house, Burj Gi&#257n&#299&#257n, at Amritsar, were also restored to him. Bh&#257&#299 Parduman Si&#7749gh was especially entrusted with the development and beautification of the Harimandar S&#257hib and its surroundings. After the annexation of the Punjab in 1849, the British government appointed him superintendent of Sr&#299 Darb&#257r S&#257hib and <i>j&#257g&#299rs</i> worth 4,000 rupees per annum released in perpetuity for the maintenance of the shrines. He accompanied Sard&#257r Lahi&#7751&#257 Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 to V&#257r&#257&#7749as&#299 in 1853, but returned to Amritsar after the latter's death the following year. He was a member of the committee that drew up <i>Dast&#363r ul &#8211&#8216Amal</i> i.e. administrative rules, for the Darb&#257r S&#257hib in 1859. He was also a member of the Board of Honorary Magistrates of Amritsar.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bh&#257&#299 Parduman Si&#7749gh died at Amritsar on 20 November 1877.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Griffin, Lepel and C.F. Massy, <i>Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab</i>. Lahore, 1909<BR> <li class="C1"> Madanjit Kaur, <i>The Golden Temple, Past and Present</i>. Amritsar, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Fauja Singh, <i>The City of Amritsar</i>. Delhi, 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Sr&#299 Amritsar</i>. Amritsar, 1977.<BR> <li class="C1"> Kerr, Ian J., "The British and the Administration of the Golden Temple in 1859," <i>Panjab Past and Present</i>. vol XII.<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Ian J. Kerr<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>