GAUHAR SINGH

GAUHAR SINGH (d. 1763), a Siddhu Jatt, was founder of the famous village of Atari in Amritsar district. Dhira, son of Jagmal, an ancestor of Gauhar Singh, was the first of the family to migrate to Mehraj Phul area, in present day Bathinda district, from Jaisalmer about the year 1580. About 1735 the family scattered; some of them settled in Jagraon area, whereas Gauhar Singh and his brother Kaur Singh moved on to the interior of the Punjab with twenty-five horsemen.They reached Amritsar, took pahul or the vows of the Khalsa and entered the service of Gurbakhsh Singh Roranvala of the Bhangi misi.

Gauhar Singh became a disciple of Bava Mul Das, an ascetic of great sanctity, and on the saint`s direction settled at the site of present day village of Atari. There he built a big house on a mound which came to be called atari a tall house. From atari the village as well as the family came to be known as Atari. Gauhar Singh served under the Bhangi sardars, Gujyar Singh and Lahina Singh, after the death of Gurbakhsh Singh Roranvala. He died in 1763. His son Nihal Singh continued to hold the jdgir under Sahib Singh Bhangi, son of Gujjar Singh.

References :

1. Seetal, Sohan Singh, The Sikh Misals and the Punjab. Ludhiana, n.d.
2. Griffin, Lepel, and C.F.Massy, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909