Attari, on the border west of Amritsar, was the seat of the Sandhu family that produced Sham Singh Attariwala Ji, who died at Sobraon in 1846, and Chattar Singh and Sher Singh Attariwala, who led the Second Anglo-Sikh War.
Chattar Singh was governor of Hazara. His daughter was betrothed to Maharaja Duleep Singh Ji and the British administration blocked the marriage, which is one of the stated grievances behind his revolt in 1848.
Sher Singh, his son, was sent to suppress the Multan revolt and joined it instead, and commanded at Ramnagar, Chillianwala and Gujrat.
After the annexation the family was pensioned and its estates reduced. Sher Singh was held in England for a period.
One village produced the general who refused to leave the field in 1846 and the generals who fought the last Sikh campaign in 1849, and it is now known for a flag ceremony.
Sham Singh Attariwala Ji commanded at Sobraon in February 1846 and was killed there. The account is that he refused to leave the field after the bridge behind the army was cut.
Sher Singh surrendered at Rawalpindi in March 1849 and the last of the Khalsa army laid down its arms there. The account of the men throwing their weapons on the pile and one of them saying that today Ranjit Singh has died is repeated in every history and comes from the British side of it.
Attari is the last village before the crossing. The family haveli stands there and its condition has been raised in the press repeatedly.