Dakhni Sikhs derive honour and self-respect from their ancestors who were much concerned about self-esteem. When Nizam gave them the jagir of Nirmal, they rolled farman into the muzzle of a gun and blew that off, saying: “We get salary from our Maharaja. Who is he to give us jagir?” The past and the present thus reinforce each other. They boast: “Singhan da dabdba poora hai ji.”
