Amritsar is one of the important cities of the Indian state of Punjab and is famous for its Golden Temple. The name Amritsar is derived from the name Amrit Sarovar meaning a pool of nectar. Amritsar has an important place in the history of India both in pre-independence era and post independence time period. The city has an important place in the Hindu mythology. Many dynasties namely Mauryas, Guptas, Shahi dynasty and Delhi Sultanate ruled this place.

There were many stories about the foundation of the city. Some people say that the land was granted to Guru Amar Das by the Mughal King Akbar and some other say that it was purchased for 700 rupees by the then Sikh Guru Ram Das. At that time, Amritsar was a small town lying between the villages of Tung, Gumtala, Gilwali and Sultanwind. Chak Guru was exempted from paying land taxes by the Emperor Akbar. As the village was founded by Guru Ram Das in 1573, it was initially called Ram Das Pura. During that time, many shrines were constructed and many Sikh devotees participated in their establishments.

Tanks and a bazaar called Guru Ka Bazaar were constructed. In 1581, Guru Gaddi built the tank stairs with bricks and called it Amar Sarovar or Amrit Sarovar. This became the new pilgrim spot of the Sikhs. The archeological findings of the four sites of Amritsar namely Vadalol, Chhina, Gharinda and Har state that this place was inhabited during the times of Indus Valley Civilization. Then this area was ruled by Chandragupta Maurya and King Ashoka and later by Kushan and Kanishka rulers. In 10^th century AD it was ruled by Raja Jaipal of Shahi Dynasty. Mohammed of Ghazni defeated Anangpal, son of Jaipal in 1008. The rule of Slave dynasty, Lodi dynasty and Mughal dynasty followed that.

Guru Nanak preached in Amritsar during 16^th century followed by Guru Angad Dev. Angad became the successor of Guru Nanak on 14^th July 1539. Many people followed him and converted to Sikhism. On 29^th March 1552, Guru Amar Das Ji became the third Sikh Guru. Humayun visited him and got his blessings. On 1^st September 1574, Amar Das made Ram Das as his successor. Since then Sikhism grew in that area and became a prominent religion.

In 1634, Guru Hargobind was attacked by the Mughal army. Many shrines were demolished during this time. When the Afghan chief Ahmed Shah Abdali invaded India in 1757, he destroyed Darbar Sahib and Akal Takht and many people lost their lives in the struggle. In the second half of 17^th century, the reconstruction of the shrines was started. Soon Amritsar became one of the important centers of trade and commerce in North India.

Ranjit Singh announced himself as the king of the Punjab region in 1801. He brought Amritsar under his control on 1805. He ordered for the gold plating of the Darbar Sahib in 1830 and so it was called as Golden Temple. Golden Temple has a prominent place in the Amritsar photos and Amritsar videos.

British established their control over the region after the death of Ranjit Singh. They established many buildings. In 1862, the railway service between Lahore and Amritsar was begun. Jalianwalla Bagh massacre that took place in Amritsar which portrays the brutality of General Dyer was one of the important incidents in the Indian freedom struggle. When India got its independence, there was a struggle between Pakistan and India as both the countries wanted to retain Lahore and Amritsar. Finally Lahore was given to Pakistan and Amritsar became a part of the Punjab region of India. It saw enormous growth in all the aspects after that.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On February 18, 2012lView All Articles

I am Suhaina Mazhar, a freelance content writer and blogger and have written thousands of original articles. Writing is my passion, writing is my hobby and writing is my career. I want to write till the last moment of my life.

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/history-of-amritsar-article-499.htm

Keywords :
Amritsar , Amritsar photos , Amritsar videos