Amritsar, literally meaning the tank of nectar, is steeped in glorious religious and national traditions. The lies about 25 km east of the border with Pakistan.

Amritsar is the largest and one of the most important city in Punjab and is a major commercial, cultural, and transportation centre. It is also the centre of Sikhism and the site of the Sikhs' principal place of worship, the Harimandir or Golden Temple.

With a population of about 708,835 (1991) and a number of educational institutions, business markets, industrial concerns, banks, hotels parks and restaurants, Amritsar still remains the most important, the largest and, perhaps, the most picturesque city in the Punjab.

Amritsar was founded in 1577 by Ram Das, the fourth Guru of the Sikhs, on a site granted by the Mughal emperor Akbar. Ram Das ordered the excavation of the sacred tank, or pool, called Amrita Saras ("Pool of Nectar"), from which the city's name is derived. A temple was erected on an island in the tank's centre by Arjun, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs.

During the reign (1801-39) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the upper part of the temple was decorated with a gold-foil-covered copper dome, and since then the building has been known as the Harimandir. Amritsar became the centre of the Sikh faith, and as the centre of growing Sikh power, the city experienced a corresponding increase in trade. It was annexed to British India in 1849.

A short distance away from the Golden Temple is a spacious park, Jallianwalla Bagh, where on April 13, 1919, British colonial government troops fired on a crowd of unarmed Indian protesters, killing and wounding more than 2000 persons. The site of the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre is now a national monument. Another violent political clash took place in Amritsar in 1984, when troops of the Indian army attacked hundreds of Sikh separatists who had taken up positions in and heavily fortified the Golden Temple.

Amritsar is a centre for the textile and chemical industries and also engages in food milling and processing, silk weaving, tanning, canning, and the manufacture of machinery. The city lies on the main highway from Delhi to Lahore and is a major rail hub. An airport is nearby. In the newer, northern section of the city is the Ram Bagh, a large, well-maintained park that contains the summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.