The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Centenary Lecture

The Centre for Sikh and Panjabi Studies at the University of Wolverhampton is holding a lecture on Tuesday 30th April 2019 to commemorate the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

April 2019 marks 100 years since the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, an event in Indian colonial history which saw more than 300 Panjabis, the majority of whom were Sikh, killed and over 1,000 wounded, when the British Army opened fire on a large group who had formed in the Jallianwala Bagh gardens in Amritsar.

This merciless act of violence that was at first lauded in the British parliament would eventually lead to censure and the erosion of the idea that the British Empire was a protective and benevolent force in India.

Hosted by Dr Opinderjit Kaur Takhar MBE, senior lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and Director of the Centre for Sikh and Panjabi Studies, this public event commemorating the massacre and examining its significance in Sikh and Panjabi history will feature a number of speakers, including Dr Rami Ranger, Jas Wouhra, Sham Sharma, Rupinder Kaur and Councillor Kuldip Sahota, alongside two academics who have recently published books on the subject.

Dr Kim Wagner, Senior Lecturer in British Imperial History at Queen Mary University of London, will be giving an insight into the socio-historical ramifications of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre from his new book Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre.

Saurav Dutt, author of novels including The Butterfly Room, will also discuss the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre from his research for his own commemorative book Garden of Bullets: Massacre in Jallianwala Bagh.

The lecture will take place in the Chancellor's Hall at City Campus from 6.30 pm until 9.00 pm. 

To attend, please RSVP by Tuesday 23 April 2019 by emailing csps@wlv.ac.uk. If you have any allergies or dietary requirements or access requirements, please inform us at the time of booking. Places at this event are strictly limited, and advanced booking is required.