Amritsar

Amritsar, a division, district, and city of the Punjaub, British India. The Division is made up of the Amritsar, Sialkot, and Gurdaspur districts. Its boundaries are the Himalayas to the N.E., the Chenab river to the N.W., the Bias river to the S.E., and the districts of Lahore and Gujranwale to the S.W. The District has an area of 1574 square miles of level plain, depending on irrigation for water. The products are wheat, barley, millet, rice, and other cereals. Shawls resembling those of Kashmir are the principal manufacture. The City (Amrita Saras, Fountain of Immortality) takes its name and origin from the reservoir made there in 1581. The circumference of the city is 8 miles, but there are large suburbs. Its position on the Punjaub Railway makes Amritsar a great centre of trade, not only for the province, but for the transit of goods to Central Asia.