Amritsar

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Amritsar

Amritsar (), meaning "Pool of the Nectar of Immortality", is the administrative headquarter of the Amritsar District in Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city of Amritsar to be over 1,000,000 and that of the entire district to number just over 3,096,077. Amritsar is located in the northwest part of India in the State of Punjab, 32 miles east of Lahore, Pakistan. Amritsar derives from Sanskrit Amŗta-sarovar = "Lake of Nectar".

It is home to the Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, and is the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh Religion. In Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time, Amritsar had superseded Lahore as the pre-eminent city of Punjab. It is also known for the Amritsar Massacre (1919) and Operation Blue Star (1984).

The main commercial activities include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts, service trades and light engineering. Amritsar is also a seat of major educational institutions like Guru Nanak Dev University (Established 1969), Khalsa College, Amritsar (Established 1892), DAV College(Established 1955), Government Medical College, Amritsar (Established 1926). Amritsar is also home to Pingalwara, the home for destitutes, founded by Bhagat Puran Singh.

Background

The city is dominated by the 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 Road (GT Road) from Delhi to Jalandhar to Amritsar connecting to Lahore in Pakistan. The G. T. Road, built by Sher Shah Suri, runs through the whole of the northern half of the Indian Subcontinent, connecting Peshawar, Pakistan to Sonargaon, Bangladesh.

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 has an international airport (Raja Sansi International Airport) that is about 11 km from the city centre. It is connected with Singapore, Tashkent, Ashgabat as well as London, Birmingham and Toronto.

Language

The main spoken language in Amritsar and in the villages around the city, is the Punjabi dialect of Maajhi, considered to be Standard Punjabi. Other major 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 -3 °C, the hot season (April to June) where temperatures can reach 46 °C , monsoon season (July to September) and post-monsoon (September to November).

Amritsar is most temperate between October and March.

Religious Shrines

Sikh

The following is a list of the prominent Sikh sacred places in the city and its vicinity:

Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple)
Gurdwara Manji Sahib Devan Asthan
Akal Takht
Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib
Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh, built at the site of the martyrdom of Baba Deep Singh
Gurdwara Bebaksar Sahib
Birth Place of Guru Hargobind Sahib
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Tarn Taran (some ten miles from Amritsar)
Gurdwara Baba Budha
Guru da Bagh, Kokawali
Gurdwara Bohli Sahib, Goindwal
Gurdwara Bir Baba Budha, Thattah-Chabhal
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Khadur
ChhehartaSahib, Guru Hargobind Ji
Baba Bakala, where Bhai Makhan Shah proclaimed that he had found the ninth Sikh Guru in Guru Teg Bahadur
Birth Place of Baba Budha Ji, Kathunangal

Hindu

Education

The Khalsa College, Amritsar is one of the oldest educational institutions 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 is also home to DAV College and BBK DAV College for Women.

External links

Cities and towns in Punjab (India) | Sikhism | Sikh places

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