Sant Attar Singh was born at Cheema in Sangrur district in 1866, served briefly in the army, and became the most influential Sikh preacher of his generation.
He travelled continuously, held amrit sanchars at which very large numbers took initiation, and founded schools. Akal Academy and the Mastuana Sahib complex in Sangrur district grew from his work, and Guru Nanak Khalsa College at Gujranwala was founded on his urging.
He laid the foundation stone of Khalsa College at Bombay and was involved in the founding of several other institutions.
His method was travel and initiation rather than organisation or politics, and he stayed out of the Akali movement while its leaders sought his endorsement.
The network of Akal Academies now running across Punjab traces to him. He is the origin of a large part of the modern Sikh educational establishment and is much less known than the institutions are.
He founded the school at Mastuana in 1909, and the network of academies that followed carries the name. Education was his method, which was unusual for a sant to make the centre of the work.
He served in the army before he took to preaching and was associated with the Singh Sabha reform without being an organisational figure in it.
He laid foundation stones for a large number of institutions across Punjab. He died in 1927.