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| Gandhi Gate at Amritsar |
Since then this city has been known as Amritsar (after the name of the sarovar). The first stone of the foundation of the Darbar Sahib is said to have been laid by Sain Mian Mir Sahib, a Muslim saint from Punjab, at Guru Arjun Dev's request. A story in Sikh lore tells of a mason who then corrected the stone's alignment and was chided by Guru Arjun Dev for doing so with the Saint stating that the re-alignment was symbolic of the complex being continually attacked and rebuilt. Masons worked on laying the foundation on January 3, 1588.
Sant Mian Mir was very friendly with Guru Arjun Dev and tried to intercede to prevent the Guru's subsequent torture and death at the hands of the Emperor Jahangir. He continued to be a friend of the next Guru, Guru Hargobind, and again worked on attaining his freedom when he was held for some time at Gwalior Fort. In 1590, Guru Arjun Dev moved to the village of Wadali where Guru Hargobind was born on June 19, 1590.
By 1601, the Darbar Sahib was fully ready and on August 16, 1604 the first volume of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scriptures, was prepared and installed in the Darbar Sahib at Amitsar.
It is here that the Akal Takht (The throne of immortality, lit. the never ending throne) the seat of Sikh political power was built by Guru Hargobind in 1609. Two flags representing temporal and spiritual authority and Sikh sovereignty were set up in front of the Akal Takht. Here Guru Hargobind wore two swords of Miri and Piri (temporal and transcendental authority).
On April 13, 1634, the Mughal army attacked Guru Hargobind here. From 1635 to 1698, Amritsar remained in the control of the Mina family (descendants of Pirthi Chand). Guru Tegh Bahadur visited the town on November 23, 1664. In April 1698, Bhai Mani Singh was appointed as the caretaker of the shrines of Amritsar.
The Mughal chief of Patti tried to occupy Amritsar several times. One such attempt was made in April 1709. The Sikhs, under the command of Bhai Mani Singh and Bhai Tara Singh of Dhillwan, repelled this attack. When Baba Banda Singh Bahadur occupied several areas in the Punjab, Bhai Mani Singh chose to leave Amritsar in order to avoid the Mughal attacks. On December 30, 1711, the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, granted Ajit Singh Palit charge of Amritsar. After the death of Bahadur Shah, Ajit Singh Palit returned to Delhi. In 1721, Bhai Mani Singh returned to Amritsar and re-started regular worship. His first act was to solve a dispute between the Tat Khalsa and the Bandai Khalsa factions for the right to the management of the shrines in Amritsar.
On March 29, 1733, a major gathering of Sikhs was held here in front of Akal Takht. During the same time a Sarbat Khalsa gathering was also held. It discussed the Mughal offer of Nawab-hood. In April 1734, Bhai Mani Singh was arrested and was executed in Lahore on June 24, 1734.
