SRI HARMANDIR SAHIB

AINCERT Ghaggar-Hakra Expedition 2026 — Sri Harmandir Sahib

Date: 2 July 2026

Venue: Amritsar, Punjab

Organiser: AINCERT

Description: AINCERT Founder President Ujjwal BU Pant visited Sri Harmandir Sahib, universally known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikh faith, on the night of 2 July 2026. Sri Harmandir Sahib was built by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Sikh Guru, in 1588 CE. Its foundation stone was laid by Sain Mian Mir, a Muslim Sufi saint, embodying the Sikh principle of unity across religious boundaries. The shrine was placed at the centre of the Amrit Sarovar, the Pool of Nectar, with four doors opening in all four cardinal directions to declare it open to all humanity. Destroyed repeatedly by Mughal and Afghan forces, it was rebuilt each time by the Sikh community. Maharaja Ranjit Singh covered its upper structure with gold-plated copper sheets in the early nineteenth century, giving it the name Golden Temple. The Akal Takht, the temporal seat of Sikh authority established by Guru Hargobind Ji in 1606, stands opposite the shrine across the marble Parikrama. The shrine never closes and continuous recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji takes place day and night. The AINCERT visit was conducted barefoot on the marble Parikrama during the monsoon and produced 18 field photographs covering the gold facade, the Amrit Sarovar reflection, the Akal Takht, the Ramgarhia Bunga minarets, the Tharha Sahib inscription board, the Gurbani LED display, and the Parikrama. A complete cultural and heritage research paper was produced.