Anandpur Sahib is a small Sikh City, about 45 km from Ropar. It is surrounded by Shivalik hills on one side and river Sutlej on the other side. In 1665, Guru Tegh Bahadur founded a village, which was named Chakk Nanaki (now a part of greater Anandpur Sahib). The new village included some of the land of the villages of Sahota, Mianpur and Laudipur. Guru Sahib purchased the land from Rani Champa (of Bilaspur) for a payment of five hundred rupees. The foundation of the town was laid by Bhai Gurditta (a descendant of Baba Buddha), at the site of village Sahota, on June 19, 1665. Guru Sahib named it Chakk Nanaki after his mother Mata Nanaki (wife of Guru Hargobind). Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed here for a few weeks only and then left for his long missionary journey (1666-1670) of the present states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal, Assam etc. From 1670 to 1672, Guru Tegh Bahadur stayed at Bakala. In March 1672, Guru Tegh Bahadur finally moved to Chakk Nanaki and stayed there up to 1675. Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, the tenth Guru, stayed here from 1672 to 1685. [He founded the town of Paonta Sahib in 1685 and stayed there up to October 1688]. On March 30, 1689, he laid the foundation of Anandpur Sahib at the site of Kesgarh Sahib (now the area of Chakk-Nanaki, Anandpur Sahib, Sahota, Mianpur, Laudipur, Mataur, Thappal etc. is known as Greater Anandpur Sahib). Here, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib revealed Khalsa on March 29, 1698 (according to some sources 1699). Kesgarh Sahib and five forts (Taragarh, Anandgarh, Lohgarh, Holgarh/Agamgarh and Fatehgarh) were built here by Guru Sahib.
The hill rulers and the Moguls had attacked Anandpur Sahib several times. On August 19, 1695, Dilawar Khan, the Governor of Lahore, sent an army under the command of his son Rustam Khan. On August 29, 1700, Ajmer Chand, the ruler of Bilaspur State and his associates attacked Anandpur Sahib. The battle continued for four days. On September 1, 1700, Kesari Chand, a hill ruler was killed; the hill army fled the battlefield. On October 4, 1700, following the request of the hill rulers, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib left Anandpur Sahib for Nirmohgarh. Ajmer Chand’s army attacked Guru Sahib, at Nirmohgarh, on October 8. Here, four battles took place between October 8 and 14. On October 14, Raja Salahi Chand, the ruler of Basali, escorted Guru Sahib to his State. On October 30, 1700, Guru Sahib returned to Anandpur Sahib. On February 24, 1702, a Hola Mahalla procession was taken from Anandgarh to Holgarh. On January 16, 1704, Ajmer Chand’s army attacked Anandpur Sahib again. It was on this occasion that Guru Sahib began the tradition of Farrra (the Sikh flag in the Dastar, the Sikh turban). On May 3, 1705, huge armies of the hill rulers and the Governor of Sirhind, put a siege to Anandpur Sahib. The siege continued for 7 months. On December 4, Guru Sahib received a letter from Aurangzeb. After this, Guru Sahib decided to leave Anandpur Sahib. On the night of December 5 and 6, 1705, Guru Sahib and the Sikhs left the town.
On March 5, 1748, an important gathering of the Sikh Commonwealth was held here. In March 1753, Adina Beg (the Governor of Jullundur) attacked the Sikhs who had gone there to hold their annual gathering. In 1812, Mahan Chand, the ruler of Bilaspur, attacked Anandpur Sahib. The Sikhs, under the command of Sodhi Surjan Singh, gave a crushing defeat to Mahan Chand. In the third decade of the nineteenth century, the town had become the second major centre of the Sikhs. For some time, Akali Phula Singh also made it his headquarters in 1824.
After 1947, the town witnessed several Akali conferences and other gatherings. As a part of Punjabi Suba agitation, it was here that the Sikhs started Direct Action for erasing the Hindi sign-boards in the Punjab, in 1966 and raised the first flag of Khalistan in 1981. The famous Anandpur Sahib Resolution was passed here on October 16-17, 1973. On June 4, 1984, it was attacked and occupied by the Indian army. On March 26, 1986 police firing ordered by Surjeet Barnala, the then chief minister of Punjab, killed several Sikhs. Every year, in February-March, a fair Hola Mahalla is observed in the town.
Kesgarh Sahib, which was Throne-seat (it was the seat of Akal Takht Sahib and not a separate throne) of Guru Gobind Singh, is situated in the heart of the town. Several relics belonging to Guru Sahib have been preserved here. The Khanda (double-edged sword) with which the Sikhs were initiated for the first time on March 29, 1698/1699 has also been preserved here. Besides Takht Kesgarh Sahib, there are several Gurdwaras in this city: 1. Akal Bunga (Here, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib held his first court as Tenth Guru). 2. Sis Ganj (Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib’s head was cremated here on November 17, 1675). 3. Guru De Mahal (It was the residence of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib and Guru Gobind Singh Sahib. Three sons of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib were born here). 4. Manji Sahib-I (Here, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib used to hold his court). 5. Manji Sahib-II (Here, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib used to hold his court. Here, the sons of Guru Gobind Singh used to learn martial arts. This is also known as Damalgarh because the tradition of Dumala (Farra) was started at this site on January 16, 1704). 6. Damdama Sahib (Here, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib held his court. It was his ‘Takht’. Here, he used to receive special guests and diplomats. Here, in 1678, Bhai Mani Singh prepared the final copy of Guru Granth Sahib, hence it is known as Damdame Wali Bir). 7. Thara Sahib (It was here that the Pandits of Kashmir, led by Bhai Kirpa Ram Dutt, visited Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib on May 25, 1675 and requested Guru Sahib to save them from the tyranny of Aurangzeb and his Kashmir governor). 8. Bhora Sahib (Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib used to meditate here). 9. Gurdwara Qila Anandgarh Sahib (About 800 meters from Kesgarh Sahib. There is a Baoli, which has 135 steps. It was built by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia). 10. Gurdwara Qila Fatehgarh Sahib (It has been built at the site of Fatehgarh fortress). 11. Gurdwara Qila Holgarh Sahib (It was the site of Holgarh fortress. It is about 1.2 km southwest of Kesgarh Sahib. Here Guru Gobind Singh Sahib began the tradition of Hola Mahalla to teach the Sikhs the art of manoeuvre in battle. Fake battles were arranged to train the Sikh soldiers). 12. Gurdwara Qila Lohgarh Sahib (It was the site of fortress Lohgarh. It is about 800 metres from Kesgarh Sahib. Here, Bhai Bachitar Singh and Bhai Udey Singh wounded the drunkard elephant sent by the hill chiefs to break open the gate of the fortress), on September 1, 1700. 13. Gurdwara Mata Jit Kaur, at Agampur village, about 2 km from Kesgarh Sahib. Mata Jit Kaur (wife of Guru Gobind Singh) was cremated at this site. 14. Gurdwara Tir Garh, about 5 km from the heart of the city, at the site of the Tirgarh Fortress.