Sardar Ajit Singh of Attariwala

Sardar Ajit Singh of Attariwala, was born into Sidhu Jat family, he was continued an allowance of Rs. 7,500 out of Sardar Kahan Singh’s Jagir of Rs. 35,500. The remainder was resumed. Sardar Ajit Singh of Attariwala was thus recognized as the representative and head of the family, He was one of the most able of the modern Sikhs of the Panjab, being well educated in Urdu, and having a slight knowledge of English. In 1865 he was appointed Sub-Registrar of Atari, and in the following year he was invested with magisterial powers. He worked at Amritsar for three years, gaining valuable experience, and thereby fitting himself for the sole charge of the Atari Ilaka which was entrusted to him. In 1872 he passed with credit the departmental examination prescribed for Assistant Commissioners, and he was allowed to exercise fall jurisdiction over two hundred villages around Atari. Three years later he was gazetted to the powers of a Collector on the Revenue side. In 1877 he received the rank of Assistant Commissionersioner, and in 1885 was admitted to the Order of the Indian Empire, in recognition of long and valuable services and as a representative of the leading gentlemen of the Province, Shortly afterwards he was appointed an Honorary Subordinate Judge, with power to dispose of Civil suits up to Rs. 5, 000 in value.

Under the scheme of Local Self-Government, inaugurated in 1885, Sardar Ajit Singh was elected President of the Amritsar District Board, which post he held for the remainder of his life. He took an active interest in agricultural improvements, and was for many years an active member of the cattle fair committee at Amritsar. He was a Fellow of the Panjab University and a member of the council of the Aitchison a College In fact, for twenty-five years before his death, which occurred in 1888, the Sardar had held a prominent position as a loyal public servant and a valuable judicial and executive officer. He died at the age of forty-nine years, leaving five Sons, four daughters and six widows. The eldest son, Sardar Balwant Singh, was the head of the Atari family.