MALCOLM, JOHN

Sir John Malcolm (2.5.1739 – 30.5.1833) was born in Scotland. He joined the British army when he was very young. He had good knowledge of Persian language. The Governor General C. Cornvalis appointed him as a translator and later promoted him as Secretary. In 1799, he was appointed as the British Ambassador to Iran. He wrote a book about the history of Iran, in Persian language. In 1803, he was appointed as the British Resident in Mysore. In 1812, he wrote The Sketch of the Sikhs. It was through this book that he created controversies about the history of the Sikhs.

It was he who promoted the idea od creation of dasamgranth when he was at Patna with a group of Nirmalas (probably Sukha Singh and Koer Singh or their assocates). He spent his last days in England.

(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)