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

Dr Opinderjit Kaur Takhar MBE, Senior Lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton and Director of the Centre for Sikh and Panjabi Studies, who is hosting the lecture, said: “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.

“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, RSVP by Tuesday April 23 by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.