Why Not Amritsar?

[11Gurus1Jot]

Deos anybody know what reasons India have given for not giving Amritsar 'holy city' status.

There are Cities in India which have 'holy states' and therefore the selling of Alcohol, cigarettes and drugs is prohibited in those cities.

However, despite Sikhs asking on many occassions for Amritsar to be given 'holy city' states, the Indian Government does the opposite and keeps on giving more licences for Shops to sell Alcohol and Cigarettes in Amritstar.

Does anybody know what reason India has given for issuing so many licenses to sell Alcohol and cigarettes in Amritsar, whilst giving other cities 'holy' status?

[SinghInTraining]

hi 11gurus1jot, i have never heared of "holy city status" before, i am very interested to find out, i tried typing it into google but cudent find anything, can you please give me some idea where i can go to find out more about this subject? Thanks

[TheFancyBanana]

amritsar is a sikh holy city. so, considering how the indian gov. hates sikhs, why would they want to help us by prohibting alcohol etc.? they want to mess the youth up in punjab so no one becomes a gursikh, i mean theres alcohol shops every mile in punjab. sant jarnail singh asked for this status many times i think. but why would the goverment listen to us?

[californiasardar1]

Sorry, but what does it mean for a city to be "holy"?

I understand the historical relevance of Amritsar and the desire to have some sort of city that serves as something of a capital for the quam.

However, what makes one piece of land more "holy" or "sacred" than another? ("Historically important and significant" does not mean the same thing as "holy")

I just feel like the whole concept of a holy city is somewhat at odds with my understanding of what our religion preaches.

[singh135]

Sorry, but what does it mean for a city to be "holy"?

I understand the historical relevance of Amritsar and the desire to have some sort of city that serves as something of a capital for the quam.

However, what makes one piece of land more "holy" or "sacred" than another? ("Historically important and significant" does not mean the same thing as "holy")

I just feel like the whole concept of a holy city is somewhat at odds with my understanding of what our religion preaches.

The Akaal Takht is located in Amritsar. Hence it is sacred for Sikhs.

[californiasardar1]

The Akaal Takht is located in Amritsar. Hence it is sacred for Sikhs.

There are historical Gurdwaras etc. in many other cities. Should all of these cities also be considered "holy"?

I'm not opposed to the notion of Amritsar being considered some sort of capital for the quam, but I guess I don't understand the notion of a "holy" city within the context of our religion. Sometimes I think we decide to adopt certain stances to mimic other faiths that have "holy" cities, so as to not be any less than them.

[GuptUnknown]

There are historical Gurdwaras etc. in many other cities. Should all of these cities also be considered "holy"?

I'm not opposed to the notion of Amritsar being considered some sort of capital for the quam, but I guess I don't understand the notion of a "holy" city within the context of our religion. Sometimes I think we decide to adopt certain stances to mimic other faiths that have "holy" cities, so as to not be any less than them.

Missing the point, the point isn't about the title "Holy" , its about banning all alcohol and meat from the city.

[11Gurus1Jot]

ChuckSinghNorris Ji, Singh135 Ji, and Guptunknown Ji,

Thanks for the posts. Looks like we'll never get a formal answer from India.

Maybe this is something Sikhs could campaign for. I think like all 3 of you have said, it's not about making it a holy city, it's about not making it an unholy city or place of many vices and human misery!

Good points all 3 of you, I am a bit clearer on the subject following your posts!

[S1ngh]

Here is the reason:

Hindu community makes the majority of Amritsar citybpopulation (lalay/traders etc). It was only during late 90's that Sikhs from rural area started moving towards city but still our number is low. Without having majority in our holy city it will be hard to ask for holy city status as majority enjoys stuff which Sikhs want to get banned. Interesting is that in past decade or more, we haven't had any Sikh mayor. Anyway, I don even trust my own people as some of them are one step ahead in anti-panth than non-Sikh.

However, within the four wall boundaries of original Amritsar (hall gate, hathi gate, lahori gate ec), you will not find any meat, cig and liquor shop.

[KhalistaniGunMan]

Missing the point, the point isn't about the title "Holy" , its about banning all alcohol and meat from the city.

understandably banning tobacco and alcohol..but meat?..your basically excommunicating a large number of people just because of their dietary choices...how about we kick out everyone who doesnt eat meat