The Golden Temple (also known as Harmandir Sahib, lit. 'abode of God', Punjabi pronunciation or Darbar Sahib, 'Excellent Darbar',

or Suvaran Mandir is a Gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the main spiritual place of Sikhism.

The man-made pool on the site of the temple was completed in 1577 by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das. In 1604, Guru Arjan kept a copy

of the Adi Granth in the Harmandir Sahib. The gurdwara was repeatedly rebuilt by the Sikhs after becoming a target of persecution and was

destroyed several times by the Mughal and invading Afghan forces. After Maharaja Ranjit Singh discovered the Sikh Empire, it was rebuilt in

marble and copper in 1809 and the sanctum sanctorum was covered with gold leaf in 1830. This gave the name of the Golden Temple.

The Golden Temple is the most spiritually important temple in Sikhism. It became the center of the Singh Sabha movement between 1883 and

1920 and the Punjabi Suba movement between 1947 and 1966. In the early 1980s, the Gurdwara became the center of conflict between the Indian

government and a radical movement led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. In 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent in the Indian Army as part

of Operation Blue Star, which resulted in the death of over 1,000 soldiers and civilians, as well as the great damage to

the Gurudwara and the destruction of the Akal Takht. The Gurudwara complex was rebuilt after the loss of 1984.