Holidays Travel Guide

Amritsar


Amritsar is a city in the northwestern part of India and is the
administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab,
India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be
over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering just over
3,695,077. Amritsar is 32 kilometres (20 mi) east of Lahore, Pakistan
and therefore, very close to India's western border with Pakistan.
Another origin of Amritsar's name is from Amrit-Sagar, "The Ocean of the
Nectar of Immortality".

Amritsar is home to Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple,
the spiritual and cultural center of the Sikh religion. This important
Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj Mahal in Agra and is the
number one destination for non-resident-Indians (NRI) in the whole of
India.There is Baba Jivan Singh temple dedicated to the brave sikh. The
9th Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur was killed by the Mughals in Delhi where there
is Guru Sish Ganj Gurudwara. Baba Jivan singh ji walked from Anandpur to
Delhi and managed to capture the head of Guru Teg Bahadur and
presented that to Guru Gobind Singh.

Amritsar is also known for the incidents of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in
1919 under British Rule and Operation Bluestar in 1984 under the late
Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi.
The main commercial activities include tourism, carpets and fabrics,
farm produce, handicrafts, service trades and light engineering. The
city is popular and known for its food and culture. Amritsar is also
home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once a home for Shaheed
Udham Singh, a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement