Amritsar

Amritsar , city (1991 pop. 709,456), Punjab state, NW India. It is a district administrative center, as well as a trade and industrial city where carpets, fabrics of goat hair, and handicrafts are made. The center of the Sikh religion (see Sikhism ), Amritsar was founded in 1577 by Ram Das, the fourth guru [Hindustani,=teacher], on land given by Akbar . The Golden Temple (refurbished 1802), set in the center of a lake, is especially sacred to Sikhs. The city was the center of a Sikh empire in the early 19th cent., and modern Sikh nationalism was founded there. Khalsa College, a branch of Punjab Univ., is in Amritsar. The first Amritsar massacre took place in the Jalianwala Bagh, an enclosed park, in Apr., 1919; hundreds of Indian nationalists were killed and thousands wounded when troops under British control fired upon them. The second massacre occurred June, 1984, when Indian troops, opposing a militant Sikh separatist movement, shot their way into the Golden Temple, killing more than 400 people inside.

Amritsar City in Punjab state, nw India. Founded in 1577, Amritsar is the religious centre of Sikhism, and site of its holiest shrine, the Golden Temple. It was the scene of the Amritsar Massacre (1919), when hundreds of Indian nationalists were killed by British troops. Amritsar is noted for its handicrafts. Industries: textiles, silk weaving. Pop. (2001) 975,695.

Amritsar a city in the state of Punjab in NW India, founded in 1577 by Ram Das (1534–81), fourth guru of the Sikhs. It became the centre of the Sikh faith and the site of its holiest temple, the Golden Temple. It was the scene of a riot in 1919, in which 400 people were killed by British troops.