Battle of Kup
| Battle of Kup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sikh Confederacy |
 Durrani Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Charat Singh |
Ahmad Shah Durrani Jahan Khan[4] Shah Wali Khan[4] Zain Khan Sirhindi[4] Bhikhan Khan[4] Murtaza Khan Baraich[4] Qasim Khan Marhal[4] Lachhmi Narayan[4] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30,000[2] | 40,000[5] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 10,000 to 20,000[3][2] | 10,000[5] | ||||||
The Battle of Kup was fought on 5 February 1762, between the Afghan forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Sikhs, under the command of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Charat Singh.[1][5][6] Ahmad Shah Durrani with around 40,000 Soldiers reached Malerkotla, west of Sirhind, where nearly 30,000 Sikh men, women, children and elderly were encamped. With surprise attack, the Sikhs threw a human shield around civilians as protection and fought the battle killing several thousand Afghans. However, Abdali was able to break the ring and carried out a full scale massacre of the Sikh civilians.[3] Ahmad Shah's forces killed several thousand Sikhs, and the surviving Sikhs fled to Barnala. As many as 10,000 to 20,000 Sikh men, women, elderly and children were killed in what is known as the second Sikh holocaust (Vadda Ghalughara).[2][3][5]
References
- ^ a b Bhatia, Sardar Singh. "Vadda Ghallurghara". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d Lansford, Tom (2017). Afghanistan at War: From the 18th-Century Durrani Dynasty to the 21st Century. ABC-CLIO. p. 21. ISBN 9781598847604.
- ^ a b c d Gupta, Hari Ram (2001). History of the Sikhs, Volume 1. Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 9788121505406.
- ^ a b c d e f g Singh, Ganda. Ahmad Shah Durrani,father of modern Afghanistan. pp. 275–280.
- ^ a b c d Singh, Khushwant (2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195673081.
- ^ Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmed Shah Durrani Father of Modern Afghanistan. Asia Publishing House. p. 279.
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