GAUHAR SINGH (d. 1763), a Sidhu Jat, was founder of the famous village of Atari in Amritsar district. Dhira, son of Chaudhary Jagmal Singh, an ancestor of Gauhar Singh, was the first of the family to migrate to Mehraj area, in present day Bathinda district 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 Roranwala of the Bhangi Misl.
Gauhar Singh became a disciple of Bawa 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 fortress 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 Bhangisardars, Gujar Singh and Lahina Singh, after the death of Gurbakhsh Singh Roranwala. He died in 1763. His son Nihal Singh continued to hold the Jagir under Sahib Singh Bhangi, son of Gujjar Singh.