Battle of Kup

Battle of Kup
Part of Afghan-Sikh Wars, Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani and Vadda Ghalughara
Date5 February 1762[1]
Location
Kup
Result Afghan victory[2][3]
Belligerents
Durrani Empire Sikh Confederacy
Commanders and leaders
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]		 Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (WIA)
Charat Singh (WIA)
Strength

Unknown believed to be larger (According to Khuswant Singh)[5]

150,000 excluding Local levies (According to Bhagat Lakshman Singh)[6][7][a]

Many Ranghar Villagers[4][9]

30,000 Soldiers and Non Combatants (According to Tom Landsford)[2]

50,000 Soldiers and 5,000 Non Combatants (According to Hari Ram Gupta)[10]
Casualties and losses
Unknown 5,000 to 30,000[3][2][11][4][5][12][13]

The Battle of Kup (part of the Vadda Ghalughara, meaning "greater massacre") 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][14][9] Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Afghan forces reached Malerkotla, west of Sirhind. They were met by between 30,000 and 50,000 Sikhs.[9][2][15] Abdali's forces outnumbered the Sikhs in hand-to-hand combat and the Sikhs couldn't use their usual tactics of hit and run, but had to engage in battle while protecting the civilians at the same time.[5] The Sikhs created a human ring around civilians as protection and fought the battle as they advanced towards Barnala.[5] 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. According to various different estimates, as many as 5,000 to 30,000 Sikh men, women, elderly and children were killed in what is known as the second Sikh genocide (Vadda Ghalughara).[2][4][3][5][12][13]

  1. ^ a b Bhatia, Sardar Singh. "Vadda Ghallurghara". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Lansford, Tom (2017). Afghanistan at War: From the 18th-Century Durrani Dynasty to the 21st Century. ABC-CLIO. p. 21. ISBN 9781598847604.
  3. ^ a b c d Gupta, Hari Ram (2001). History of the Sikhs, Volume 1. Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 9788121505406.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani,father of modern Afghanistan. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. pp. 275–280.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Singh, Khushwant (2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195673081.
  6. ^ Chhabra, G.S (1960). The Advanced study in the History of Punjab Vol I (Guru and Post Guru period up to Ranjit Singh). Jalandhar: Sharanjit. p. 441.
  7. ^ Singh, Bhagat Lakshman (1923). Sikh Martyrs. Lahore Book Shop. p. 210.
  8. ^ Chhabra 1960, p. 441.
  9. ^ a b c Kalaswalia, Kartar Singh. Teg Khalsa (in Punjabi) (10th ed.). Bazar Mai Sewan, Amritsar: Chatar Singh Jiwan Singh Pustakan Wale. pp. 144–153. ISBN 9788176017831.
  10. ^ Gupta, Hari (2007). History of the Sikhs Volume II Evolution of the Sikh confederacies (1707-1769). New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 180. ISBN 978-81-215-0248-1.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sardar Singh Bhatia 1998, pp. 396 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Shani, Giorgio (6 December 2007). Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-10188-7.
  13. ^ a b Sandhu, Gian Singh (28 March 2023). Who Are the Sikhs?: An Exploration of the Beliefs, Practices, & Traditions of the Sikh People. Archway Publishing. ISBN 978-1-6657-3953-5.
  14. ^ Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmed Shah Durrani Father of Modern Afghanistan. Asia Publishing House. p. 279.
  15. ^ Gupta, Hari (2007). History of the Sikhs Volume II Evolution of the Sikh confederacies (1707-1769). New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 180. ISBN 978-81-215-0248-1.


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