History Of Amritsar

Prior to the partition of the country, Amritsar occupied an unrivalled position in the business and commercial life of the undivided Punjab. Situated as it is on important trade routes, its trade even today extends to Kabul, Kashmir and Tibet, although the Partition left it a border town and did away with much of its erstwhile importance as a trade center.

Guru Ramdas, the fourth Guru of the Sikhs, who decided to build here a magnificent temple to serve as a central place of pilgrimage for the Sikhs, founded Amritsar in the late sixteenth century. The design of the shrine included the construction of a tank round the proposed temple. The site lay in picturesque surroundings where the congregations met for prayer and contributed voluntary labor to build the tank under the personal guidance of the Guru. Later, a sprawling town was to grow round this sacred spot.

It fell to the share of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth in the apostolic line, to develop the shrine and the town on a larger scale. He built a beautiful temple on the spot, in the middle of the sacred tank, where the famous Golden Temple stands today.

Hazrat Sheikh Mian Mir, a Muslim Saint, who was a great friend and admirer of the Guru, laid the foundation stone of this temple. By this time Guru Arjan Dev hand compiled the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, which was placed in the temple with great reverence. Devotional hymns from the holy book are recited daily and thousands of people come here for spiritual solace .