Amrit Sanchar or the Amrit ceremony is the Sikh ceremony of initiation or baptism. This practice has been in existence since the times of Guru Nanak Dev (1469–1539). During that period, the ceremony was known as Charan Amrit or Charan Pahul or the Pag Pahul, the words Charan and Pag both signifying the foot of the teacher. During that period, the guru would touch a container in which there was water and initiates would drink this water to be taken into the fold. When the guru was not present, the masands or the local sangat leaders officiated. A reference to initiation by Charan Amrit occurs in Bhai Gurdas, Varan, I.23, born 12 years after the death of Guru Nanak. The water bowl was touched by the guru's foot and then the devotees would drink it and seek blessings of the guru. The guru would guide the Sikhs about the Sikh teachings and instruct them to adopt them as a way of life.

Khande di Pahul (Amrit Ceremony) was initiated in the times of Guru Gobind Singh when the Guru established the Order of Khalsa at Sri Anandpur Sahib on the day of Baisakhi in 1699. Guru Gobind Singh asked a gathering of Sikhs, "who was prepared to die for God? My sword needs a head". At first, the people hesitated, and then one man stepped forward, this repeated another four times until there were 5 men and Guru Gobind Singh alleged that he would cut their heads off in front of the congregation. Guru Gobind Singh dressed them in banas (warrior clothing). Guru Ji then did ardaas and shouted 'OUTTO!', which translates to 'UP!'. Then the men stood up fully breathing.

Amrit or Amrith (Arabic: عمريت‎), also known as Marathos or Marathus (Ancient Greek: Μάραθος), was an ancient Phoenician city located near Tartus in Syria. Founded in the third millennium BC and abandoned during the second century BC, the city's Phoenician ruins have been preserved in their entirety without extensive remodeling by later generations.

The city lies on the Mediterranean coast around 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of modern-day Tartus. Two rivers cross the city: Nahr Amrit, near the main temple, and Nahr al-Kuble near the secondary temple, a fact that might be linked to the importance of water in the religious traditions in Amrit. The city was probably founded by the Arvadites, and served as their continental base. It grew to be one of the wealthiest towns in the dominion of Arwad. The city surrendered, along with Arwad, to Alexander the Great in 333 BC. During Seleucid times the town, known as Marathus, was probably larger and more prosperous than Arwad. In 219 BC Amrit gained independence from Arwad, and was later sacked by forces from the latter city in 148 BC.

Guru Nanak (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; Hindi: गुरु नानक, Urdu: گرونانک [ˈɡʊɾu ˈnɑnək] Gurū Nānak) (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539 at Talwandi (present-day Pakistan)) was the founder of the religion of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.

The Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority, and were named "Nanak" in the line of succession.

Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469, now celebrated as Prakash Divas of Guru Nanak Dev, into a Hindu Khatri family in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, Pakistan. Today, his birthplace is marked by Gurdwara Janam Asthan. Some are of the opinion that 20 October is his enlightenment day rather than his birthday. His father, Kalyan Chand Das Bedi, popularly shortened to Kalu Mehta, was the patwari (accountant) of crop revenue for the village of Talwandi in the employment of a Muslim landlord of that area, Rai Bular Bhatti. Guru Nanak’s mother was Tripta Devi and he had one elder sister, Bibi Nanaki who became a spiritual figure in her own right.

Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Khalsa, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Multan, Kashmir, Attock, Peshawar and Jamrud. In 1813 he accompanied Diwan Mohkam Chand on an expedition to Kashmir which helped Maharaja Ranjit Singh to become the master of the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

Hari Singh Nalwa was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh Empire to beyond the Indus River right up to the mouth of the Khyber Pass. In 1831, he opposed moves by Ranjit Singh to appoint Kharak Singh as his successor as Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. At the time of his death, the western boundary of the Sikh Kingdom was Jamrud. His frontier policy of holding the Khyber Pass was later used by the British Raj.

He served as governor of Kashmir, Peshawar and Hazara and established a mint on behalf of the Sikh Empire to facilitate revenue collection.

Hari Singh's ancestors came to Majitha and served the Sukerchakia Misl. His grandfather, Hardas Singh, was killed in action in 1762. His father, Gurdial Singh, served under Charat Singh and Maha Singh as a Risaldar and received the Jagir of Balloki, a village in the modern day Kasur District of Pakistan.

Maharaja Hari Singh (23 September 1895, Jammu–26 April 1961, Bombay) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in India.

He was married four times. With his fourth wife, Maharani Tara Devi (1910–1967), he had one son, Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh.

Hari Singh was born on 23 September 1895 at the palace of Amar Mahal, Jammu, the only surviving son of General Raja Sir Amar Singh (14 January 1864-26 March 1909), the younger son of General Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Ranbir Singh and the brother of Lieutenant-General Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Pratap Singh, the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1903, Hari Singh served as a Page of Honour to Lord Curzon at the grand Delhi Durbar. At the age of 13, Hari Singh was dispatched to Mayo College in Ajmer. A year later in 1909, when his father died, the British took a personal interest in his education and appointed Major H.K. Brar as his guardian. After Mayo College the ruler-in-waiting went to the Imperial Cadet Corps at Dehra Dun for military training, imbibing its British upper-crust atmosphere and polishing his English to a high gloss, and by the age of 20 he had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Jammu and Kashmir state forces.