Amritsar and the Golden Temple!

Amritsar, in the north western region of the Indian state of Punjab, (north of New Delhi,) is the spiritual capital of the Sikhs, with Harimandir Sahib, better known as the Golden Temple, their focus of worship and highest veneration. This beautiful monument, with its dome and exterior walls, as well as most of the interior, sheathed in gold plates, is a shimmering piece of marvel "floating" on the sacred lake that surrounds it. Many tourists come away with the impression that it rivals the famed Taj Mahal at Agra.

Both Amritsar, as well as the Golden Temple, has a very checkered history. This region became the bulwark of defense against several invasions of northern India, ironically, both during and after the decline of Mughal power.

After Amritsar was founded by the fourth Sikh Guru, Ram Das, in 1574 and work on the Temple complex started in 1577, the first foundation stone of the Temple was laid by a Muslim saint! But repeated attacks by the Mughals and then the Afghans, through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with the fortunes of this place varying, the resilience of these people remained firm and resolute! Link for more details.

As late as the early decade of the 1800s, the first Sikh Maharaja, Ranjit Singh, was the first to succesfully conquer Pashtun lands in present north-west Pakistan, and this put an end to the thousands of years of invasions through the famed Khyber Pass! Even his Muslim subjects held Ranjit Singh in high esteem because of his just rule, and many of his ministers were Muslims. see Link

But this secular attitude was first laid down by Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, who at the age of 30 began proclaiming "there is no Hindu, there is no Muslim!" With the principles that he laid down, his followers gradually became a seperate group, with its own unique identity, religious beliefs, dress code.........with followers drawn from both Hindus and Muslims. Link for Sikhism.

Getting there.....

(from above link: The Raja Sansi International Airport at Amritsar connects Singapore, London, Birmingham, Toronto and major domestic destinations like Delhi, Srinagar and Chandigarh by Air India, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Deccan and several other airlines...........)