Amritsar district


Amritsar district is one of the twenty three districts that make up the Indian state of Punjab. Located in the Majha region of Punjab, the city of Amritsar is the headquarters of this district.
As of 2011, it is the second most populous district of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a border district of Punjab and lies along the India-Pakistan border.
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History

Sur Empire (1540 - 1554)

Sher Shah Suri, an Afghan monarch, defeated Kamran in 1540 and conquered Punjab, including Amritsar, which remained part of the Sur Empire until 1554.

Sikh Empire

The control of Amritsar was fully taken by Maharaja Ranjit Singh by 1802, after bringing all the Misls under his control. He also fortified Gobindgarh Fort along modern lines.

British

Amritsar district was annexed by the British from its former Sikh rulers after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–1849. During British Rule Amritsar District was part of Lahore Division and was administratively subdivided into 3 tehsils namely - Amritsar, Ajnala and Tarn Taran. However, as part of the partition of India in 1947, Amritsar district was separated from the rest of the division and awarded to India. Some areas 186 villages, Patti & Khem Karan falling in the Lahore District became part of Amritsar District at partition. During the partition period, the Muslim population of the district, some 46%, left for Pakistan while Hindus and Sikhs from West Punjab in newly created Pakistan migrated in the opposite direction. The Sikhs and Hindus were a majority in the Amritsar district jointly constituting about 52% of the total population before the partition of 1947.

Climate

Amritsar has a humid subtropical climate, typical of Northwestern India and experiences four seasons primarily: winter season where temperatures can reach, monsoon season and post-monsoon season. Annual rainfall is about. The lowest recorded temperature is, was recorded on 9 December 1996 and the highest temperature,, was recorded on 9 June 1995. The official weather station for the city is the civil aerodrome at Rajasansi. Weather records here date back to 15 November 1947.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Amritsar district has a population of 2,490,656, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada. The number of literates in Amritsar district is 1,684,770, with 932,981 male literates and 751,789 female literates. The effective 7+ literacy of the district is 76.27%. The sex ratio of 889 females for every 1,000 males. The total Scheduled Caste population is 770,864 of the population. There were 488,898 households in the district in 2011.

Gender

The table below shows the sex ratio of Amritsar district in various census years.

Religion

According to the 2011 census, Sikhs make up about 69% of the population while Hindus 28%, with a small minority of Christians and Muslims. Sikhs predominate in rural areas, while Hindus and Sikhs are in nearly-equal numbers in urban areas. Christianity is growing rapidly especially among Dalits, while Islam, once the major religion in the district, is now insignificant.
The table below shows the population of different religions in absolute numbers in the urban and rural areas of Amritsar district.
ReligionUrban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural
Sikh6,63,14510,53,7906,28,20717,55,3683,14,94713,40,258
Hindu6,32,94457,9955,70,32777,9573,96,21595,937
Christian19,39634,94817,03834,9106,75229,175
Muslim7,4515,0513,6903,4819401,303
Other religions11,6754,2614,0131,0862,775188

Language

At the time of the 2011 census, 94.29% of the population spoke Punjabi and 4.80% Hindi as their first language. Hindi-speakers almost all live in urban areas.

Health

The table below shows the data from the district nutrition profile of children below the age of 5 years, in Amritsar, as of year 2020.
The table below shows the district nutrition profile of Amritsar of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, as of year 2020.
IndicatorsNumber of women Percent Percent
Underweight 77,30810%11%
Overweight/obesity339,57842%30%
Hypertension288,12036%16%
Diabetes108,13513%NA
Anemia 422,42653%53%
Anemia 13,45435%58%
Total women 38,331
Total women802,785

The table below shows the current use of family planning methods by currently married women between the age of 15 and 49 years, in Amritsar district.
MethodTotal Urban Rural
Female sterilisation36.9%33.1%41.5%
Male sterilisation1.2%0.3%2.3%
IUD/PPIUD9.3%10.6%7.6%
Pill2.2%2.6%1.7%
Condom22.1%26.3%17.0%
Any modern method71.6%72.9%70.1%
Any method81.0%84.5%76.6%
Total unmet need4.0%3.6%4.6%
Unmet need for spacing1.7%1.1%2.5%

The table below shows the number of road accidents and people affected in Amritsar district by year.

Economy

The table below shows the number of registered working factories and workers employed by selected manufacturing industries in Amritsar district as of 2017.
IndustryFactoriesWorkers
Basic metals12
Computers, Electronics and Optical products11147
Chemicals and chemical products675
Transport equipment120
Furniture211
Non-metallic mineral products369
Beverages21189
Food products and Beverages products14134

District administration

  • The Deputy Commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service is in charge of general administration of the district. He is generally a middle-level IAS officer of Punjab Cadre. As the District Magistrate, he also effectively the head of the police force. The Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar is Harpreet Singh Sudan appointed in 2022.
  • Administration of departments such as public works, health, education, agriculture, animal husbandry, etc. is headed by district officers who belong to various Punjab state services.
  • The Commissioner of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service is responsible for maintaining law and order in the district. He is assisted by officers of the Punjab Police Service and other Punjab Police officials.
  • The Divisional Forest Officer, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service is responsible for the management of forests and wildlife in the district. He is assisted by officers of the Punjab Forest Service, other Punjab Forest officials, and Punjab Wildlife officials.
  • A Municipal corporation is responsible for the management of public works and health systems in the city of Amritsar. The municipal corporation is a democratic body of councillors and is presided over by the Mayor, who is elected by the councillors. At present, there are more than 70 councillors.
Amritsar District Borders the Pakistani Punjab Districts of Lahore, Kasur, Shiekhupura along the Ravi River Tarn Taran District to the South along Sutlej River, Kapurthala District along the Beas River and Gurdaspur District to the North.

Tehsils in Amritsar district

There are four tehsils in Amritsar district as per 2011 census.
#TehsilDistrict
1Amritsar- IIAmritsar
2AjnalaAmritsar
3Baba BakalaAmritsar
4Amritsar -IAmritsar
5MajithaAmritsar
6LopokeAmritsar

Notable people