Between the Mutiny and Amritsar: The 'Kooka' Massacre of 1872

This talk explores the little-known history of the ‘Kooka’ Massacre.

Kim Wagner

Kim Wagner is a Danish-British historian of colonial India and the British Empire at Queen Mary, University of London. He has written a number of books on colonial India, including ‘Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre’ (2019).

In January 1872, Deputy Commissioner J. L. Cowan responded to a minor outbreak among Namdhari Sikhs by executing 68 prisoners by blowing them from cannons in the small principality of Malerkotla in Punjab. This talk explores the little-known history of the ‘Kooka’ Massacre, that echoed the Uprising of 1857 and foreshadowed the Amritsar Massacre of 1919, thus revealing something crucial about the forms and functions of fear and violence in British India.

Buy ‘The Skull of Alum Bheg: The Life and Death of a Rebel of 1857’ here >>

Amardeep Singh

Amardeep Singh has dedicated himself to research on Sikh Legacy remnants. He has authored two path-breaking books, entitled, 'Lost Heritage: The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan' and 'The Quest Continues: Lost Heritage The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan'.

Kavita Puri

Kavita Puri joins the UKPHA Bookclub in conversation with Jassa Ahluwalia, to talk about her critically acclaimed BBC Radio 4 series ‘Three Pounds in my Pocket’, which has charted the social history of British South Asians over four seasons, decade by decade covering the 1960’s to 2000’s.

Dr Priya Atwal

Dr Priya Atwal shines fresh light on the kingdom of Ranjit Singh in conversation with actor, writer and filmmaker Jassa Ahluwalia.

William Dalrymple

Historian William Dalrymple joins the UKPHA Bookclub in conversation with actor and filmmaker Jassa Ahluwalia to discuss two hundred years of tumultuous colonial history, covert political machinations and bloody resistance.

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