Amritsar, The Golden City :
• Amritsar lies between Ravi and Beas rivers & covers an area of 1300
sq. miles.
• The city is 17km from Indo-Pak border and 400km from Delhi.
Amritsar is well connected with other parts of the country by rail
road and air.
• The climate of Amritsar region is hot and arid type with very hot
and long summers and cold winters.
• Present population of city (municipal area) is 10 lakhs.
• Amritsar does not have its own style of architecture. It has always
been borrowed from elsewhere because the people who came and
settled here were from different places.
• Moreover it has been through so many different periods and has
had gone through socio-political changes so many times, that they
have all left their imprints in the architectural history of Amritsar.
• One can actually note the differences in the architectural styles of
the different periods.
• Earlier the architecture used to be influenced mainly by the Rajasthani style.
With lots of jharokas, decorative motifs and carvings.
• Later with the advent of Mughals, people started to use elements like the
domes and the minars but these were slightly modified.
• For example, the domes would be fluted. The British brought with them
pediments, colonnaded verandas and entrance porches.
• The modern style exploited new materials and also gave a new vocabulary to
the architecture of Amritsar.
A Visual of Jali & Intricate Carvings (from 1790s)
• A stark contrast between the old and the new can be seen.
• Earlier, the buildings would present a highly decorative façade with elements like
jharokhas, recessed arches and chhatris breaking the façade.
• Now building facades seem to play with massing in general. Solids and voids used
in an interesting manner give a different dimension to the building.
• New materials have also come. Reinforced concrete seems to have taken over the
traditional brick buildings.
Khalsa College (1898) Depicting Mughal Architectural Style like Onion Domes & Minartes.
A Brief History :
Foundation : In the first two hundred years of its history Amritsar was
called Ramdaspur, because it was Guru Ramdas who under the able
guidance of his predecessor, Guru Amar Das, wanted to found a township
in a sacred spot where a tank had been dug in the year 1573 which is the
present site of the umritsarovar. By 1577, the digging of the tank was
complete.
1628, The township of Ramdaspur
around the sarovar.
Survival : After he left the city because of conflicts with Mughal
administration, for more than a century the town did not grow any more :
in fact it had to struggle for survival.
Expansion : The Harniandir was constructed through a collective effort of
all the leaders of the Khalsa. But a whole ring of forts with palaces, katras
with their own markets and houses and some factories, and havelis with
spacious gardens sprang up on all the sides of the town, which now came
to be known as Amritsar.
1900, The settlement spilled outside the
fort area. British settlements developed
outside and away from the core.
Consolidation : Under Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the city got consolidated as
well. In the third decade of the century, the Maharaja started constructing
a double wall with moats around the city to improve its fortifications.
Twelve gates, with bridges on the moats, were made. Twelve gates, with
bridges on the moats, were made. In 1809, the Maharaja had constructed
a fort outside the Lahori Gate, and named it Gobindgarh.
Colonial Rule : Around the early 19th century, in 1849, the British took
over the city. One of the early measures of the British administrators of
Amritsar was to remove its fortifications. A new wall only a few feet thick
was constructed, eaving only a few old gates intact.
The Railway Station, the Town Hall, the Government School building, the
District Courts, the Treasury, the Victoria Jubilee Hospital were all built in
succession.
Post Independence : After partition of the country in 1947 the entire
scenario changed and the city, which commanded the central position,
now became a border town 28 km away from the international boundary.
After independence the city bore a great loss because of riots.
1947, Amritsar expanded in all
directions. New settlements came along
the GT Road and the Railway lines.
2000, the city becomes densely populated.
The planned and the organic development
has generated a complex growth pattern.
Major events in the Post Independence period:
Jallianwala Bagh Incident
• On April 13th the day of baisakhi a public meeting was
announced to be held a Jalianwala bagh maidan close to
the golden temple premises to asset the people’s right to
assemble and protest against the Rowlett act which had
come into operation on march 21st 1919 and it had
generated angst all over India.
• But brigadier general dyer who had taken charge of
Amritsar then decided to leash havoc on some 25000 men ,
women and children who had gathered there.
• As the machine guns started raining bullets the dead piled
upon the dead and wounded upon the wounded, since
there was a single exit (narrow passage) resulted in a
stampede.
• Such a merciless massacre shocked the entire nation.
• Today the place has become a pilgrimage of sorts, a symbol
of Hindu Muslim unity, a hallowed spot where Indians shed
their blood fighting for the freedom of their motherland.
The protest was a peaceful one, and the gathering
included pilgrims visiting the Golden Temple.
The Jallianwalla Bagh memorial today.
Effects of Partition
• In 1849 when the British had taken over Amritsar from
then to 1947 till partition Amritsar hardly registered
much development in terms of socio cultural issues.
• It had become a politically unstable state. After partition
Amritsar could now look forward to a peaceful future.
• Although it lost upon its communal harmony and
witnessed arson, pillage and rapine in the beginning, it
soon started recovering from its wounds.
• Since it was the only connection to Lahore which now
went to the other side it became an important border
city. But the growth of the city got hampered because of
the now existing physical barrier.
• Although Amritsar lost upon a lot of things like fertile land
and river and industries but it managed to strive forward
to progress.
Operation Blue Star
• Operation Blue Star was the code name of an Indian military
action which was carried out between 1&10 June, 1984, in
order to capture the Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
and his followers hidden inside the buildings of Harmandir
Sahib complex in Amritsar, Punjab.
• Indira Gandhi and government of India declared president
rule in Punjab and deployed 4 division of Army through out
Punjab, in a desperate attempt to flush out Bhindranwale
and his accomplice from Golden Temple complex.
• Proper commando operations followed, commandos
supported by infantry and tanks and machine guns attacked
the holy place. Curfew was imposed in the city.
• The operation itself led to the death of some 5000 people
which included terrorists as innocent devotees who were
trapped inside the complex. The city of Amritsar burnt for
quite sometime in the wake of such a situation.
• It led to civil war and riots not only in the city but all over
the nation. It was a big attack on the temple but a bigger
one on the sentiments of the people.
Visuals from the Incident.
Conclusion:
• The History of Amritsar has been painful throughout the course of its
evolution.
• Several Incidents which are previously mentioned have been very
influential in the shaping of the city.
• The City has no particular architectural character but a mix of several
styles such as Rajasthani Ornamentation, Mughal Style & influence of
Western Style (during Colonial Rule).
• The development of the city is in both organic & planned manner.
• Further development has to be well thought by keeping the past incidents
in mind and providing a particular character associated to the people of
Amritsar.
• This can be achieved through studying the lifestyle of the residents and
incorporating them by usage of local materials, adapting of site responsive
design strategies, façade treatment of the building & etc.
• The huge influence of Golden Temple should not be forgotten. The temple
complex itself provides a feeling of Relief to everyone.
Victoria Jubilee Hospital ( One of the Biggest Hospital of Punjab during 1900s )
The Hospital was founded in the year 1891 and was renamed as Shri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in the year 1975.
Currently the place is being used as Food plaza under the name ‘Urban Haat’ to boost the Toursim Industry.
Khalsa College, Amritsar:
• Khalsa College was built as an educational institute during the British Raj in India when Sikh scholars thought
about providing higher education to Sikhs and Punjabis within Punjab.
• Its architectural design was created by Ram Singh, a famous architect who also designed one of the Places in
England.
• Its building was completed in 1911–12. Its architectural features are mix of British, Mughal and Sikh architect.
• The main building is considered a gem of the Indo - Sarcenic style, which is strongly influenced by traditional
Indian and Mughal schools of architecture.
• The foundation stone was laid on 5 March 1892, with the first classes starting in 1893.
Gobindgarh Fort, Amritsar
• Gobindgarh Fort is a historic military fort located in the center of the city of Amritsar in the Indian state of
Punjab.
• The Fort was until recently occupied by the army but was opened to the public from 10 February 2017.
• Today the fort is being developed as a museum and theme park, as a repository of Punjab’s history.
• It was originally built by Dhillon Jat Misldar (militia chief) Gujjar Singh Banghi of Bhangi Misl, the local
chieftain in the 18th century.
• Gobindgarh was conquered and enhanced in the early 19th century by Sandhawalia Jat ruler Maharaja Ranjit
Singh who renamed it after the 10th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh.