Baba Nand Singh was born at Sherpur in Ludhiana district in 1870 and established the Nanaksar tradition, centred on a dera at Jagraon in the same district.
The Nanaksar practice is austere: no offerings of money at the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, no collection boxes, no ostentation, a plain langar, and a discipline of meditation. Its buildings are deliberately simple, in white, with a distinctive form that is recognisable anywhere.
There are Nanaksar deras across Punjab and in Britain, Canada, the United States, Kenya and Malaysia, and they are among the most widely distributed Sikh institutions in the diaspora after the mainstream gurdwaras.
The succession after Baba Nand Singh, through Baba Ishar Singh Ji and afterward, produced several lines and some disputes.
Its refusal of money offerings, in a religious economy where the golak is the central institution, is the thing that distinguishes it and the thing least discussed about it.
The Nanaksar tradition is austere: no golak, no offerings taken at the shrine, no images, and a strong emphasis on individual practice over institutional display.
He lived and taught at Jagraon in Ludhiana district and the deras of the line have spread across Punjab, Britain, Canada and elsewhere.
It is one of several movements within Sikhism that grew outside the SGPC's structure and that keep their own practice without seceding from it.