21 July 2007 Manchester

21 July 2007, 1.30pm
Workers Film Association
9 Lucy Street, M15 4BX

2007 marks 150 years since the events of 1857: the first war of independence by the peoples of the sub-continent, which the British refer to as the Indian mutiny. Millions of people were ruled by the East India Company. The company’s rule was characterised by brutality and repression. Their practices led to the death of 10 million in the first Bengal famine of 1770. 1857 saw the unity of South Asians across religious and ethnic divides in a struggle against the rule of foreign occupiers.




Revenge: the execution
of rebels by cannon
fire in 1857





1.30 – 3.30pm: Understanding 1857
The Historical Significance of 1857: Kalpana Wilson (South Asia Solidarity Group)
East India Company – a History of Loot:
Nick Robins (author of The Corporation that Changed the World)
3.30 - 4:00 pm Tea

4.00 - 6.00pm East India Co. to Halliburton
‘Terrorists’ then and now: Naeem Malik - (1857 Committee)
Iraq – East India Co. (1763 – Factory established in Basra) to Halliburton:
Hani Lazim - (Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation)
The Folksongs of 1857: D Aijaz, (author of Kaal Bolaindi - folksongs sung today from the 1857 uprising)