About Amritsar

About Amritsar

Amritsar is historically known as ‘Ramdaspur’ and conversationally as ‘Ambarsar’ is a city in the north-western part of India. It is the spiritual center for the Sikh religion and the administrative headquarters of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab. Amritsar, derives its name from Amrit Sarovar, the holy tank that surrounds the fabulous Golden Temple also known as Harmandir Sahib.Amritsar is situated 217 kilometres northwest of state capital Chandigarh and is 32 kilometres east of Lahore, Pakistan and therefore, very close to India’s western border with Pakistan.

The main commercial activities include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades, and light engineering. The city is known for its rich cuisine and culture, and for the tragic incident of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919 under British Rule. Amritsar is home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once a home to Shaheed Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement.

History Of Amritsar

History of Amritsar is really fascinating. Amritsar is one of the largest cities of the Punjab state in India dating back in history over 400 years.The city origin lays in the village of Tung, and was named after the lake founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung.Earlier Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564. It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das.)

Over the centuries Amritsar has witnessed a bloody struggle for survival. The city was constantly faced with threats from both Muslim and Hindu rulers, and had to be fortified by Guru Hargobind.

During India’s freedom struggle, Amritsar became the scene of one of the worst atrocities perpetrated by the British. Protests and demonstrations were being organised by people against the Rowlatt Act that allowed the British to imprison anybody without explanation. To suppress these protests, the Governor of the Punjab Province O’Dwyer imposed a ban on public assemblies. In defiance of this order, a group of men, women and children gathered in a rectangular piece of land, called Jallianwala Bagh, to mark the anniversary of the birth of the Khalsa panth (order of the Khalsa). General Dyer, who was charged to enforce law and order in the region, marched up to the ground with his troops and blocked the narrow entrance. He then opened fire on the gathering without any warning, killing and wounding thousands.

In the post-Independence period, the town once again saw a spate of bloody warfare, now between the Indian administration and Sikh militant groups. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a militant Sikh leader gave a call for separate nationhood, which spread like wildfire throughout the state.Bhindranwale was killed, and so were thousands of his men and soldiers. Though the temple was rebuilt and is now back to its original glory, the scars in the minds of the Sikh people remained.