Battle of Kup


The Battle of Kup was fought on 5 February 1762 between the Afghan forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Sikhs. 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 a full scale massacre. 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.