The earlier name of Muktsar was Khidrana. A group of 40 Sikhs had deserted Guru Gobind Singh Ji during the second battle of Anandpur Sahib (1704 A.D.). However, they again came back to Guru Sahib after realising their mistake. They fought in the battle of Khidrana against the Mughals and achieved martyrdom. Those 40 martyrs were called 40 Muktas, (The word Mukta is derived from the word Mukti which means salvation). The place Khidrana was named Muktsar in the memory of those forty Sikh soldiers who had earlier deserted Guru Sahib. Guru Sahib pardoned them after they had repented at Khidrana.
