Guru Amar Das Ji [1479 – 1574] was the third Guru of the Sikhs, born at Basarke in Amritsar. His father, Tej Bhan and mother Bakht Kaur were orthodox Hindus. He became the oldest Sikh Guru at the age of 73.

Guru Amar Das put an end to tradition of Sati, the burning of the widow on her husbands funeral pyre, and encouraged the remarriage of widows. He opened 22 preaching centres called Manjee or Manji and founded the town of Goindwal as the headquarters for the Sikh community.