VARYĀM SIṄGH, PAṆḌIT (1864-1953), religious scholar and preacher, was born the son of Dhannā Siṅgh, a peasant of moderate means living in the village of Jabbovāl, now in the Kapūrthalā district of the Punjab. Losing his father at the age of 14, he took up his ancestral profession of farming, and as a hobby started practising wrestling. But he soon left both and proceeded to the holy city of Amritsar to devote himself to learning. Besides the Gurū Granth Sāhib, he read there classics such as Vritī Prabhākar, Vichār Sāgar, Mokṣa Panth Prakās with Bhāī Amrik Siṅgh. He then studied under Paṇḍit Kākā Rām who taught him grammar and prosody. Varyām Siṅgh made a reputation for himself in religious debate. For his learning, he earned the sobriquet of paṇḍit. As a preacher, he promoted the reformist ideology of the Siṅgh Sabhā movement and espoused the cause of Sikh education on behalf of the Khālsā College Governing Council. Working for the Khālsā Dīwān Nābhā, he attracted the attention of Mahārājā Hīrā Siṅgh (1843-1911), who appointed him president of the Dharamarth (charities) Committee of the State and religious tutor to the sons of Sardār Shamsher Siṅgh of Baḍrukkhāṅ. There-after the services of Paṇḍit Varyām Siṅgh were secured successively by several aristocratic families such as the Soḍhīs of Kartārpur and the Sardārs of Dhammomājrā.

        Paṇḍit Varyām Siṅgh died on 25 January 1953.