placed the Adi Granth, the holy book, within the Harminder (Temple of God) Gurudwara.

Traders started to settle here. Soon, a busy and bustling market was established and the city grew in size and numbers around the temple complex. The history of Amritsar is far from a peaceful one. In the 18th century, the city was pillaged by Ahmad Shah Durrani. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the first Sikh ruler of Punjab, rebuilt the city, he also donated a hundred kilos of gold that was added as plating to the temple surface giving it its name.

In the face of constant threat from marauding Hindu and Muslim kings, Guru Hargobind fortified this city, and only accepted offerings of weapons from his disciples, that were used in many a bloody battle defending this temple town.

The city saw bloodshed of a different nature during India's freedom struggle when an unarmed crowd of protesters attended a public meeting in the face of a ban. In the closed grounds of Jallianwala Bagh, thousands of men, women and children were mowed down by the firepower of British troops led by General Dyer.

Post independence too, the city saw more than its fair share of violence and bloodshed. Seeking separate statehood, Sikh militant groups under the leadership of Sant Bhrindanwale led a mutinous and bloody battle against the central government, which finally ended years later with two attacks by the Army on the militants holed up within the Golden Temple, spurning troops with bullets. Brindanwale was killed in the first encounter and after the second, the movement lost steam and elections were resumed in the state.