Amritsar Amritsar British 4th Division (World War I) Category="Cities and towns in Punjab, India"Category="Sikhism"

: This article is about Amritsar City. For information about Amritsar District, see Amritsar district.

Amritsar
[image]
Location of Amritsar
Location 31.6331° N 74.8656° E
State Punjab, India
District Amritsar
Mayor Mr Sunil Dutti
Altitude 218 metres
Area ? km²
Population ( 2001) 1,000,000
Density ?/km²
Codes
  • Postal
  • Telephone
  • Vehicle
?
+ 0183
?
Time zone IST (UTC +5:30)

Amritsar (Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ, Hindi: अमृतसर), meaning "Pool of the Nectar of Immortality", is a city in Punjab, India. It has a population of over 1,000,000 in Amritsar city and over just over 3,000,000 in Amritsar district from the 2001 Indian census. It is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar District. It is located in the northwest part of India in the State of Punjab, 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 home to the breathtaking and serene 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, the Harmandir Sahib was completed and 3 years later, the Sikh Holy Book was placed there. In Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time, Amritsar had superseded Lahore as the pre-eminent city of Punjab. It is also the location of the Amritsar massacre, which took place at Jallianwala Bagh.

Background

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 (GT) 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. Amritsar developed from a small village pool to a business centre. However, it did not become the industrial centre of Punjab due to its proximity to the volatile Indo-Pak border. The city boasts 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 and Toronto in Canada. The main commercial activities include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades and light engineering.

Language

The main spoken language in Amritsar is Punjabi. Other languages spoken in the city are Hindi, English and Urdu.

Climate

The weather in this region of India is seasonal with four distinct seasons. The winter season (November to March) where temperatures ranges from 18 °C to about 0 °C, the hot season (April to June) where temperatures can reach 34 °C , monsoon season (July to September) and post-monsoon (September to November).

The best time to visit is between October and March.

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.

The Golden Temple Massacre on 5 June, 1984 also occurred here killing over 500 people when the Indian Army attacked.

Education

The Khalsa College is 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 was established here.The city also is home to DAV College and BBK DAV College for Women.