Sunset of the Sikh Empire is the last book of Sita Ram Kohli, edited by Khushwant Singh and published posthumously in 1967. The book provides a detailed history of the ten years between the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the annexation of the Sikh Empire by the British. The author has utilised a huge mass of material pertaining to Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s times—about three lakh folios covering the period of the Lahore Darbar from 1811 to 1849, kept in the tomb of Anarkali at Lahore—and British archival material from the National Archives, New Delhi. Day-to-day events are explained in detail, with dates being cross-referenced from various sources. This classic reissue retains the sanctity of the 1967 edition while giving it a completely new look.

This authoritative work is a primary sourcebook that will appeal to students and scholars of history and colonial studies.

Sita Ram Kohli (1889–1962) was one of the most renowned historians of the Sikh Empire. He was a lecturer in history at the Government College, Lahore and retired, in 1951, as Principal of Ranbir College, Sangrur, Punjab. Professor Kohli served on a number of historical organisations such as the Indian Historical Records Commission, Indian History Congress and Punjab History Conference. Punjabi University, Patiala, instituted an annual lecture series in his honour. He compiled the Catalogue of Khalsa Darbar Records (in two volumes), and published in both Punjabi and English.

 List of Plates
About the book

1. The Builders
2. A Bolt from the Blue
3. The Heel of Achilles
4. Nemesis
5. Hira Singh as Prime Minister of the Punjab
6. The Last Year of Freedom
7. The Beginning of the End
8. The Kingdom of Lahore Becomes the State of Lahore
9. Rising at Multan and the First Siege
10. The Hazara Episode and the Defection of Sher Singh
11. The Curtain Falls