AMRITSAR DISTRICT. 



I. THE DISTRICT. 



1. The Amritsar District is a rectangular section of the country 



lying between the Beas and Ravi rivers which is 

 Geographical features. . ^ 



known as the " Ban- L>oab." The tract is uniformly 



level apart from the gentle slope from the Beas to the Ravi and down the 

 Doab which broadens as the rivers diverge. The sandy ridge running 

 down the centre and the perennial stream known as the Sakhi with other 

 scarcely perceptible drainage lines are natural features of the district 

 which is intersected with the various branches of the Bari Doab Canal. 



The district is included in the Lahore Division of the Punjab, and the 

 districts oE Gurdaspur and Lahore are situated on its north-east and south- 

 west sides. 



It is divided into 3 tahsils or fiscal subdivisions named Amritsar, 

 Tarn Taran and Ajaala, the last occupying all that portion which fronts 

 the Ravi river and the two former abutting the Beas. That part of the 

 district lying south of the Grand Trunk road is within the tract known 

 as the Manjha. 



The low-lying alluvial land on the banks of the rivers which changes 

 year by year according to the action of the floods is called the " Bet." 

 The total area of the district is 1,601 square miles of which about 1,482 

 are normally cultivated. 



The population at the last census in 1901 was 1,023,825. 



2. Owing to the nearness of the hills and the prevalence of canal irri- 

 ~. gation, the hot season in Amritsar is comparatively 



temperate. The hot season ends with September 



and hoar frost is common in January and February. At one time the 

 Tarn Taran Tahsil was regarded as very healthy, being open and dry, but 

 since the advent of flow irrigation it must share with the rest of the 



