Amritsar is a city in Punjab, India. It has a population of over 2,500,000. It is in the northwest part of India in the State called Punjab. Its name came from Sanskrit Amŗta-saras = "Nectar Lake"; in Hindu belief Amŗta (nectar) is a liquid that their gods drank to keep them immortal.
It is the home to the Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, and is the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh Religion. Founded by the fourth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Ram Das, it was completed by his successor Guru Arjun Dev. Work began in 1573 on digging the holy pool. In 1601, Harmandir Sahib was completed and 3 years later, the Sikh Holy Book was placed there that is called the Guru Granth Sahib. In Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time, Amritsar City had superseded Lahore as the pre-eminent city of Punjab. It is also the location of the Amritsar Massacre, which took place at Jalianwalla Bagh .
Background
Amritsar developed from a small village pool to a thriving business center. The city is dominated by history of the Sikhs and many of their sacred shrines are found in and around the city. It is the Administrative Centre for the district and lies on the main GT road from Chandigarh to Jalandhar to Amritsar to Lahore, Pakistan. Lahore, which was the historic capital of the pre-partition Punjab, is about 50 km west of Amritsar. An international airport (Raja Sansi International Airport) also operates about 11km from the city centre. Several airlines operate flights from abroad, including Singapore as well as London and Birmingham in the UK. The main commercial activities include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades and light engineering.
Religions Shrines
The following Shrines are found in the city:
- Golden Temple Manji Sahib Devan Asthan
- Akal Takhat
- Ramsar Sahib
- Baba Deep Singh Ji
- BebakSar
- Birth Place of Guru Hargobind
- Darbar Sahib Tarn Taarn
- Baba Budha Ji, Ramdas
- Guru da Bagh, Kokawali
- Bohli Sahib, Govindwar
- Bir Baba Budha Ji, Tatah
- Sri Darbar Sahib, Khadurh Sahib
- Shaarta Sahib, Guru Hargobind
- Baba Bakala, Guru Teg Bahadur
- Birth Place of Baba Budha Ji, Kadungal
Massacres
The Amritsar Massacre occurred here on 13 April 1919, killing 379 people and wounding another 1,200. This took place in a square known as Jaliyan-wala-Bagh.
The Golden Temple Massacre on 31 May, 1984 also occurred here killing over 400 people.
Education
In 1969 Guru Nanak University was established here.
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