Amritsar
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Amritsar (Meaning: Pool of the Nectar of Immortality). (Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ or ਅਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ) is a city in Punjab, India. It has a population of over 10,00,000. It is located in the northwest part of India in the State of Punjab, the city is 32 miles east of Lahore. Its name came from Sanskrit Amŗta-saras = "Nectar Lake"; in Hindu belief Amŗta (nectar) is a liquid that Hindu 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. The land on which, it was built, was gifted to Guru Ram Das by Mughal emperor Akbar. 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 In Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time, Amritsar City had superseded Lahore as the pre-eminent city of Punjab.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 Jallianwalla Bagh.
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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. The city lies on the main Grand Trunk (G.T)road from Delhi to Jalandhar to Amritsar connecting to Lahore in Pakistan. Lahore, which was the historic capital of the pre-partition Punjab, is about 50 km west of Amritsar. The city is the administrative centre for the Amritsar district. The city boasts of an international airport (Raja Sansi International Airport) that is about 11km from the city centre. Several International airlines operate flights from here. It is connected with Singapore, Tashkent, Ashgabat as well as London, Birmingham in the UK& Toronto in Canada. 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 Sahib
- Darbar Sahib Tarn Taarn
- Baba Budha Ji, Ramdas
- Guru da Bagh, Kokawali
- Bohli Sahib, Goindwal
- Bir Baba Budha Ji, Thattah-Chabhal
- Sri Darbar Sahib, Khadoor Sahib
- ChhehartaSahib, Guru Hargobind Ji
- Baba Bakala, Guru Teg Bahadur Ji
- Birth Place of Baba Budha Ji, Kathunangal
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 Jallianwala Bagh.
Between March and August 1947, in the year of the Partition of India, attacks and massacres against Sikhs and Hindus in Amritsar were carried out by the Muslim League during the Muslim League-Sikh War. [1] (http://allaboutsikhs.com/books/gst/chap-09.htm)
The Golden Temple Massacre on 5 June, 1984 also occurred here killing over 500 people when the Indian Army attacked.
Education
The Khalsa Collegeis (http://www.khalsacollegeamritsar.org) one of the oldest educational instituiton of the region. The century old institution was founded in 1892. It offers courses in Science, Arts, Commerce, Computers, Languages, Education, Agriculture & Physiotherapy. In 1969 Guru Nanak Dev University (http://www.gnduonline.org) was established here.The city also is home to DAV College (http://www.davindia-asr.org) and BBK DAV College for Women (http://www.bbkdav.org).
External links
- Amritsar City Website (http://www.amritsarplus.com/)*
- Amritsar Portal (http://www.amritsar.com/)
- Amritsar District Administration (http://amritsar.nic.in/)
- Amritsar Municipal Corporation (http://www.amritsarcorp.com/)
- Shri Durgiana Tirath (http://www.durgianatirath.com/)
- Tourist Office (http://www.indiatouristoffice.org/North/amritsar.htm)
- City Map (http://www.amritsar.com/Amritsar%20City%20Map.shtml)
- My Pind – District Map (http://www.mypind.com/dtamrit.htm)
- Route from Chandigarh to Amritsar (http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/pocketmaps/chandigarhamritsar.htm)de:Amritsar
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