India – Important 1849 1st Ed Review of Cunningham's History of the Sikhs Calcutta. Rare edition of the Calcutta Review published in 1849 covering the controversial 1st edition of History of the Sikhs by Joseph Davey Cunningham by J.W. Kaye. Joseph Davey Cunningham (b. 1812, died 1851) published History of the Sikhs in 1849. The book (1849 version edition) was noted for Cunningham's criticism of Sir Henry Hardinge's management of the Sikh War and which then brought about his dismissal from political service since the views expressed in this work were anything but pleasing to his superiors. As a punishment, he was removed from his political appointment and sent back to regimental duty. The disgrace is reported to have hastened his death, and soon after his appointment to the Meerut Division of Public Works, he died at the city of Ambala, Haryana state, India in 1851. Besides having Cunningham dismissed from the political service, Hardinge who had taken grave umbrage at the publication of the book, prevailed upon J.W. Kaye, an acknowledged authority on Indian history, to write a detailed review of it. This review, published in The Calcutta Review 1849 (this present volume), mostly attempted to rebut Cunningham's thesis. Kaye's review started a controversy which continued throughout the nineteenth century. Some looked upon the book as the outpourings of "the apologist of the Khalsa” but today Cunningham's History is commonly recognized as a standard, responsible work. The Book also mentions the Anglo Sikh Wars of 1849. A highly scarce publication covering the first serious work on the History of the Sikhs work by Cunningham, J W Kaye spends considerable energy and time  in berating Cunningham's work  as there is a whole chapter dedicated in the Calcutta review (p523 - 558 )