 Ram Singh, leader of the Namdhari sect, visited Muktsar in 1861 on the occasion of Mela Maghi to deliver his message.However, the priests of Muktsar Gurudwara refused to pray for Ram Singh, unless he agreed, by way of penalty for his "un-Sikh" ways, to pay the entire cost of masonry for the local tank.After India gained independence from the British in August 1947, there was an aggressive exodus of the non-Muslims from West Punjab and that of Muslims from the East Punjab.