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PARTITION MUSEUM

The Partition Museum is a public museum located in the town hall in Amritsar, India. The museum aims to become the central repository of stories, materials, and documents related to the post-partition riots that followed the division of British India into two independent countries: India and Pakistan. The museum was inaugurated on 25 August 2017. In 1947, British India was divided into India and Pakistan. The partition lines, drawn on a map by the British lawyer Cyril Radcliffe, divided the states of Punjab into West Punjab and East Punjab on the basis of religion. As a result, millions of people found themselves on the wrong side of the border overnight.

THE GOLDEN TEMPLE

The Golden Temple (also known as the Harmandir Sahib) is a gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the preeminent spiritual site of Sikhism. The gurdwara is built around a man-made pool (sarovar) that was completed by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das, in 1577. In 1604, Guru Arjan placed a copy of the Adi Granth in Harmandir Sahib. The Gurdwara was repeatedly rebuilt by the Sikhs after it became a target of persecution and was destroyed several times by the Mughal and invading Afghan armies. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, after founding the Sikh Empire, rebuilt it in marble and copper in 1809, and overlaid the sanctum with Gold foil in 1830. This has led to the name the Golden Temple.

WAGAH BORDER CEREMONY

The lowering of the flags ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force, BSF) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. The drill is characterized by elaborate and rapid dance-like manoeuvres and raising legs as high as possible, which have been described as “colourful”. It is alternatively a symbol of the two countries’ rivalry, as well as brotherhood and cooperation between the two nations. At the international border between India and Pakistan, the pomp and pageantry of the Beating Retreat and the Change of Guard occur within the handshaking distance of the Indian and Pakistani forces. Wagah, an army outpost on the India-Pakistan border between Amritsar and Lahore, is an elaborate complex of buildings, roads and barriers on both sides.

GOBINDGARH FORT

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. Popularly known as the Bhangian da Killa (fort of the Bhangis) after its 18th century founder belonging to Bhangi Misl of Dhillon Jats rulers. Sandhawalia Jat ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh renamed it in the early 19th century after the 10th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

JALLIANWALA BAGH

Jallianwala Bagh is a historic garden and ‘memorial of national importance’ close to the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India, preserved in the memory of those wounded and killed in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre that occurred on the site on the festival of Baisakhi, 13 April 1919. The 7-acre site houses a museum, gallery and several memorial structures. It is managed by the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust. It was renovated between 2019 and 2021. In 1919, in response to excluding Mahatma Gandhi from visiting Punjab, the secret deportation of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal on 10 April and the reactions to the Rowlatt Act, Punjab had witnessed attempts of Indians to gather and protest.

BABA ATAL TOWER

Baba Atal Rai tower is situated to the south of the Golden Temple. At a height of 40 m, it is a nine-storeyed tower and one of the tallest buildings in Amritsar. Legend has it that Atal Rai, the son of the sixth Guru Hargobind, revived a dead friend, Mohan. Guru Hargobind rebuked the nine-year-old child for displaying his spiritual powers. In order to compensate for breaking the law, Atal Rai took samadhi. Each floor of this octagonal tower represents a year of Atal’s life. Initially, the structure was built as a tower, but eventually, it was transformed into a gurudwara. The first floor of the tower houses a number of miniature works depicting scenes from Guru Nanak’s life. One can also get a sweeping and panoramic view of the city of Amritsar from the top of the tower.