Amritsar, the largest and most important city in the Punjab state, is located 15 miles east of the Pakistan border in northwestern India. The city is the birthplace of Sikhism and the site of the Sikhs’ chief pilgrimage destination—the Harmandir Sahib, or the Golden Temple.
Founded in 1577 by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh guru, the city is an exciting mix of religious traditions, housing numerous Hindu temples and Muslim mosques in addition to the Golden Temple.
Amritsar is known as “the city where no one goes hungry,” due to the Sikh concept of seva, meaning “selfless service.” At the Golden Temple, employees and volunteers serve more than 100,000 meals each day.
There are approximately 1.2 billion adherents to Hinduism worldwide.
16% of the world’s population is Hindu.
1.09 billion people in India are Hindu.
India is home to 94% of Hindu believers in the world.
80% of India’s population is Hindu.
1.5 million people in the U.S. are Hindu.
The U.S. is the 8th most significant concentration of Hindus worldwide.
830,000 people in Canada are Hindu.