The History Of Golden Temple

India is a country of rich heritage and culture. We have more than 100 religions in India. Every religion possesses its culture and places of worship. One of the most popular worship places in the world is Sri Harmandir Sahab situated in Amritsar which is also known as the Golden Temple.

This auspicious temple was built by Guru Ram Das the fourth Sikh Guru and Guru Arjan Dev the fifth Sikh Guru in the year 1581. This land was borrowed from one of the richest Zamindars of that time by Guru Ram Das paying Rs 700 at that time which can be calculated as more than Rs 10 crore today. Hazrat Mian Mir Ji, a Muslim saint, laid the foundation of the Golden Temple. The Golden Temple is surrounded by a man-made holy pond which is also called 'Sarovar'.

The Golden Temple was made for a view of Sikh's worship area but today people from various parts of the world visit The Golden Temple irrespective of their religion. It is also believed that if you visit The Golden Temple and wish for something good with full faith then it gets fulfilled. You might have​​​​​​​ known The Golden Temple's present but do you know the past of it? Well, here you go. The construction of the Golden Temple was accomplished in 1601. In the year 1604, The Guru Granth Sahib was installed in the Golden Temple by Guru Arjun Dev. The charge for reading this holy book was Baba Budha Ji. Ahmad Shah Abdali, an Afghani intruder demolished The Golden Temple in 1757 and then again in 1762, then filled the holy pond surrounding the temple with garbage and blood of cows to make it impure. The purpose of demolishing it was to light up fear in the Sikhs.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the then leader of the Sikh Empire, rebuilt it in marble and copper in 1809 and it was overlaid with gold foil in 1830 which gave the name the Golden Temple.  In the early 1980s, there was a conflict risen between Indira Gandhi, some Sikh groups and a militant movement led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

The demand for this movement was to get a new and independent nation named Khalistan. In 1984, to get their demands fulfilled few militants went in the Golden Temple so to dismiss this movement Indira Gandhi announced Operation Blue Star and sent the army in The Golden Temple which led to deaths of over 1,000 people including militants, soldiers, and civilians, as well as causing damage to the temple and the also destruction of Akal Takht. The Rajiv Gandhi government repaired the Akal Takht Sahib in 1986 but it was removed in 1989 and in 1999 the Kar Sevaks made the Akal Takht Sahib.