Amritsar

From Central Gurdwara Manchester

AMRITSAR – THE HOLY CITY

AT A GLANCE by Professor Subhash Anand, MBE; C.Text FTI

1. General

The holy city of Amritsar derives its name from the sacred tank (AMRITSAROVAR) in which stands the Harmandir (Golden Temple). This tank was christened as Amritsarovar by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjun Dev, in 1604 after the construction of Harmandir was completed.

During the medieval and modern times, Amritsar has occupied a place of prominence because of its proximity to the West Asian countries of Afghanistan and Iran. Being located on the main communication artery, ie, the GT Road Amritsar became an important centre of commerce. In more recent times, Amritsar, being an important seat of Sikh religion, has always been in the news for one reason or another.

2. Brief History

The advent and growth of Amritsar is closely related to Sikh history.

3. Early History

Maharishi Valmiki had his Ashram at Ramtirath where Sita lived for many years. Ramtirath is located about 10 Km from Amritsar. It was here that Lav and Kush were born and brought up, and had stopped the horse of Ashwamedh Yagya of Lord Rama.

It was also believed that Lord Buddha, in one of his sojourns, stayed here for some time.

4. Medieval Period

In 1532, Guru Nanak stayed here for some time. Till then, the area around the present city of Amritsar, was a dense forest owned by adjoining villages of Tung, Sultan wind, Gumtala and Gilwali.

The city of Amritsar was founded by Guru Ram Dass, the fourth Guru of the Sikhs in 1574 in the form of a village known as Guru Ka Chak or Chak Ram Dass. He also started the excavation and enlargement of the pond which was completed during the pontificate of Guru Arjun Dev.

Harmandir was built in the centre of this tank by Guru Arjun Dev. Its foundation was laid by Mian Mir in 1589 and on its completion the Adi Granth was placed in it in 1604. The tank was named as Amritsarovar by Guru Arjun Dev.

Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, built the Akal takht near the Harmandir Sahib, from where all the temporal affairs of the Sikhs were to be directed. He also built Loh Garh (Iron Fort) in Amritsar and trained a body of soldiers. In addition, he started wearing two swords, the Sword of Piri symbolising spiritual authority, and the Sword of Miri, symbolising temporal authority.

The city attracted the attention of the “Khalsa” of Guru Govind Singh. In the early 18th century, Bhai Mani Singh took charge of Harmandir and for about 20 years, served the Khalsa as their informal counsellor.

In 1738, the Sikhs were persecuted relentlessly by Nadir Shah and Zakarya Khan, the Govenor of Punjab. During this period, “Sarbat Khalsa” constructed a mud fortress named “Ram Rauni” and created “Dal Khalsa” a common Sikh Army under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia by merging the independent Jathas.

From 1747 to 1776, Ahmad Shah Abdali raided and plundered Punjab eight times. After the final departure of Ahmad Shah Abadali, a vacuum was created and no central authority was operative. The Sikhs got divided into 12 confederacies known as “misals”, which kept on striving to gain supremacy over each other till 1798-99, when Ranjit Singh emerged as a sovereign Sikh leader. Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) beautified the temple with gold work and also constructed a fort at Amritsar, which is known as the “Gobindgarh Fort”.

5. British Period

Amritsar once again shot into the limelight in the second decade of the Twentieth Century. It became the hub of some revolutionary and nationalist activities. Ras Bihari Bose visited this city in 1915. On 13 April 1919, the infamous Jallianwala Bagh incident took place in Amritsar, when General Dyer ordered fire to be opened on a peaceful crowd, killing or wounding approximately 2000 people.

6. Battles fought in and around Amritsar

The history of the growth of the city is punctuated by frequent raids and plunderings by the Afghan and Mughal rulers, and their Nizams (Administrators).

7. Against Mughals

After the death of Jahangir and accession of Shahjahan, three battles were fought between the Sikhs and the Mughal administrators in 1621, 1630 and 1631 at Amritsar, Lahira and Kartarpur respectively under the leadership of Guru Hargobind.

During the peasant upsurge (1709-1716), the Sikh peasantry fought battles at Batala, Gurdaspur and various other places under the leadership of Banda Bairagi.

In 1748, Mir Manu, the Governor of Punjab, assisted by Adina Beg and Kaira Mall, besieged Ram Rauni Fort at Amritsar. Again in 1753 a battle was fought at ‘Ram Rauni’ between the Sikhs under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and the Mughal forces under Adina Beg.

8. Against Afgans

In 1756-57, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the fourth time. He plundered Amritsar and desecrated Harmandir and Amritsarovar. To avenge the desecration of Harmandir, the Sikhs fought a bloody encounter at Goharwal about 8 miles away from Amritsar in which Baba Deep Singh sacrificed his life.

On 12 October 1762, Ahmad Shah Abdali again raided Amritsar and after defeating the Sikhs, blew up “Harmandir” and filled the tank with debris. Two years later, he again attacked Amritsar, when 30 men led by Gurbax Singh defended the precincts of Harmandir to their last breath. For the third time, Harmandir was blown up by Afghans.

Amritsar was again conquered by Abdali in 1767, but this time he did not desecrate Harmandir.

9. Places of Interest

Golden Temple. Built by Guru Arjun Dev, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs; the main shrine called ‘Harmandir’ or Temple of the Lord, was inlaid with copper surmounted with a thin plate of god during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and hence, became popularly known as the Golden Temple.

Akal Takht. Approximately 50 metres from the Golden Temple and facing its portico is the ‘Akal Takht’ or Immortal Throne. Historic weapons used by the Sikh gurus and beautiful jewellery are kept here and exhibited on special occasions.

Central Sikh Museum. The Museum is within the Golden Temple complex and contains old historical exhibits and paintings of some of the battles fought by Sikhs.

Tower of Baba Atai. This also forms part of the Golden Temple complex and is named after Atal Rai, the son of Guru Hargobind. Atal Rai was so wise that at the age of 9 years he earned the name of Baba Atal and the tower was dedicated to his memory. It stands by Kaulsar water tank, which is associated with the devotion of a young Muslim girl, Kaulan, who renounced her worldly life to become a disciple of Guru Hargobind.

Jallianwala Bagh. It is located approximately 200 metres from the Golden Temple. The tragedy of 1919 was universally condemned and will remain as one of the blackest days of British regime. The bullet marks on the boundary wall can still be seen as also the well into which the helpless people jumped to escape the bullets. A martyrs memorial in the shape of flame at eternal symbolising liberty has been built here.

Ram Bagh Garden. This is a large park and has Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s summer palace located in its precincts.

Durgiana Temple. This temple is a Hindu place of worship and is a partial replica of the Golden Temple.

Ramtirath. Ten miles from Amritsar, Ramtirath is a holy place with a big tank and many temples. According to tradition, this was the place where Maharishi Valmiki had his ‘ASHRAM’.

Professor Subhash Anand MBE; BSc; MSc Tech; PhD; CText FTI The University of Bolton Deane Road, Bolton, BL3 5AB

Tel: (01204) 903507 Fax: (01204) 399074 e-mail: sca1@bolton.ac.uk

July 2009