320
AMRITSAR DISTRICT
Wolves, the only beasts of prey, are rarely met with. Nilgai are never
seen, antelope very rarely, and 'ravine deer' (Indian gazelle) only
occasionally. Wild hog are occasionally found in the Nag plantation.
Geese are found on both the rivers in the winter, and mallard, teal, and
other water-fowl throughout the District. Crane, curlew, quail, sand-
grouse, and green pigeon are fairly common; partridge and snipe less
so. There is good mahseer fishing in the Beds.
Owing to the nearness of the hills and the prevalence of canal-
irrigation, the hot season in Amritsar is temperate compared with that
at Lahore. The District is, however, distinctly malarious. This is
mainly due to the canals, which have already seriously affected the
salubrity of certain parts. The hot season ends with September, and
hoar-frost is common in January and February.
The District has a fairly constant rainfall, which varies inversely with
the distance from the hills, ranging between I6 inches at Khara and
24 at Amritsar. The heaviest fall recorded between 1886 and 1903
was 48 inches at Raya in 1894-5, while in 1896-7 Khara had only
4-35 inches.
Amritsar District contains no noteworthy relics of an early date, and
the interest of its local annals begins only with the rise of the Sikh
power. The Guru or high priest, Angad, successor to
Nanak, the founder of the sect, inhabited the village
of Khadur, near the Beas, in the south of the District, and there he died
in 1552. Amar Das, the third Guru, lived at Govindwal in the same
neighbourhood, and was succeeded on his death in 1574 by his son-in-
law Ram Das, who became the fourth spiritual leader of the rising sect,
and died in I58I. Ram Das laid the foundations of the future city of
Amritsar upon a site granted by the emperor Akbar. He also excavated
the holy tank from which the town derives its name of Amrita saras, or
' Pool of Immortality'; and in its midst, on a small island, he began to
erect a temple, the future centre of Sikh devotion. Arjun, the fifth Guru,
son and successor of Ram Das, completed the sacred building, and lived
to see the growth of a flourishing town around the holy site. In spite of
persecution, the sect rapidly increased in numbers and importance; but
Arjun, having become involved in a quarrel with the imperial governor
of Lahore, died a prisoner at that city in i606. Under his son, Har
Govind, the Sikhs first offered resistance to the imperial power. The
Guru defeated a force sent against him, but was ultimately obliged to
leave the Punjab, and died an exile in I644-5. Guru Govind, the tenth
spiritual chief in succession to Nanak, organized the Sikhs into a religious
military commonwealth, in which all men were equal and all were
soldiers. In 1708 Banda, the chosen friend and disciple of Govind, the
last of the Gurus, returned to Amritsar, and preached a religious war
against the Muhammadans. Henceforth the character of the Sikh
|
![[Digital South Asia Library]](/graphics/thirdlevel.gif)
