Amritsar (Punjabi: Amr̥tasara pronounced [əmːˈɾɪtsəɾ]ⓘ;, historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as Ambarsar,[5][6] is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana.

It is one of the ten municipal corporations in the state; Karamjit Singh Rintu is serving as the mayor of the city.

Numerous people visit Ramtirath Temple, Located 12 Km west of Amritsar on Chogawan road, dates back to the period of Ramayana, Rishi Valmiki's hermitage.

It is believed that during the ashvamedha yajna by Rama, Lava and Kusha caught the ritual horse and tied Hanuman to a tree near to today's Durgiana Temple.

In one, based on a Gazetteer record, the land was purchased, with Sikh donations, for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung.

The latter guru had asked Ram Das to find land to start a new town, and to create a man-made pool as its central point.

After the son of Guru Amar Das built the gurdwara Harmandir Sahib, the pool area developed further as a temple complex.

[13] The period and achievements of construction between 1574 and 1604 are described in Mahima Prakash Vartak, a semi-historical Sikh hagiographic text likely composed in 1741.

The twelve gates constructed during this era were known as (including later renamings):[19][23][20][24] When the British annexed Punjab in 1849, Amritsar was a walled city.

[19] The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, involving the killings of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of British Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).

In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the king to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the "aim and intention of British policy to confer self-government on India at an early date".

[27] On 10 April 1919, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two popular proponents of the Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi, were called to the deputy commissioner's residence.

Excited groups of citizens soon merged into a crowd of about 50,000 marching to protest these arrests to the deputy commissioner.

[citation needed] Three days later, on 13 April, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of unarmed Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh.

[32] Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83, with 493 civilians and Sikh militants killed.

[33][34] While independent estimates place the numbers upwards of 5,000 people, a majority of them pilgrims, including women and children.

[35] In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artefacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down.

[36][37] Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in what is viewed as an act of vengeance.

[38] Amritsar is located at 31°38′N 74°52′E / 31.63°N 74.87°E / 31.63; 74.87[39] with an average elevation of 234 metres (768 ft) in the Majha region of the state of Punjab in North India and lies about 15 miles (24 km) east of the border with Pakistan.

According to 2011 Census of India, Hinduism is the main religion of the Amritsar city at 49.36% of the population, followed by Sikhism (48.00%), Christianity (1.23%), and Islam (0.51%).

Amritsar's trade and industry faced a blow during militancy period in 1980s, but there are still many textile mills, knitting units and embroidery factories functional in the city.

[84] Tourism and hospitality have recently become the backbone of local economy due to heavy tourist arrivals.

[citation needed] Amritsar hosts Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport.

A ring road will also be built surrounding all 4 sides of Amritsar[89] ₹ 450,000,000 is being spent to expand the Amritsar-Jalandhar stretch of G.T.