Sant Attar Singh Mastuana

Sant Attar Singh of Mastuana was one of the most revered Gursikh preachers of early twentieth century Punjab. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism calls him the most charismatic figure in latter-day Sikh piety. He was born on 13 March 1866 at Chima in Sangrur district, the son of a farmer, Karam Singh, of modest means. He learned the Sikh texts as an apprentice at the Nirmala dera in his village. At seventeen he enlisted as a gunner in the Artillery and was later moved to the 54th Sikh Battalion at Kohat, where he took amrit in the cantonment gurdwara. He vowed not to marry. In 1891 he had his name struck off the army rolls to give his life to preaching.

Preaching. He toured Jammu and Kashmir, Sindh and the North-West Frontier Province, and many Sikhs and Hindus in the Pothohar region took the pahul from him. Master Tara Singh and Bhai Jodh Singh were baptised by him at Dera Khalsa. In 1902 he set up his main centre at Gursagar Mastuana near Sangrur. After 1920 he turned to Damdama Sahib, where he raised a large bunga and made it a major centre for spreading Sikhism.

Education. He took part in the Singh Sabha's twin concerns, the purity of Sikh belief and custom and the spread of modern education among Sikhs. He presided over the Sikh Educational Conference at Ferozepur in 1915 and helped found the Khalsa High School at Lyallpur, the Khalsa High School at Chakwal, the Missionary College and the Guru Nanak Khalsa College at Gujranwala, the Malwa Khalsa High School at Ludhiana and Akal College at Mastuana. He sent four young Sikhs abroad to study and spread the Gurus' message: Teja Singh, Amar Singh, Dharmanand Singh and Hari Singh Basra. Teja Singh founded the Khalsa Jatha of the British Isles in London and took a master's degree at Harvard.

Reform politics. He supported the Gurdwara reform movement and took part in the SGPC's diwan at Nankana Sahib in 1921 for the Nankana martyrs. He was invited to the bhog at the close of the Jaito morcha. A 1911 report by the Government of India's intelligence department described him as the inspiration behind the Tat Khalsa movement, from which, the Encyclopaedia says, the Akali movement can be traced.

Key moments

• 13 March 1866: born at Chima.
• 1891: leaves the army to preach.
• 1902: establishes his main centre at Gursagar Mastuana.
• 1911: goes to the Delhi Darbar as a guest of the Maharaja of Jind.
• 1915: presides over the Sikh Educational Conference at Ferozepur.
• 1921: attends the Nankana Sahib diwan for the martyrs.
• 31 January 1927: dies at Sangrur; cremated at Mastuana, where a gurdwara stands as his memorial.

What he is remembered for. He is remembered for his recitation of Gurbani before vast audiences, for the many baptised at his hands, and for the schools and colleges built in his wake.