Podbit · Empire: World History
When Partition struck in 1947, Lahore became Pakistan and its Sikh population fled en masse. Bamba — bearing the unmistakably Sikh name Duleep Singh — stayed put. Her Muslim secretary Piyaji vouched for her, and her British widow's identity gave her cover. She became the last Sikh in the city she considered home.
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At 35:40 · chapter starts 32:10
The 1930s and 1940s dealt Bamba blow after blow from a distance. Her husband died in Scotland in 1939 while she was in Lahore — they had been living parallel lives; she was 70 and trapped by the war. In 1942, word reached her that Catherine had died in England, found by Sophia on the floor; Bamba could not attend the funeral. Then came 1947 and the greatest catastrophe: Partition. In an upheaval that killed approximately 1.5 million people, Lahore — the Jewel of the North, a mixed city of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims — was assigned to Pakistan. The Sikh population fled en masse. Bamba, bearing the conspicuously Sikh name Duleep Singh, with her grandfather's legacy written into every stone of the city, stayed. She was saved, as far as anyone knows, by Piyaji — her Muslim companion and de facto secretary, one of the most respected Muslims in Lahore, who vouched for her. Her British widow's identity gave her an additional layer of cover: she could be 'Mrs. Sutherland' if the situation demanded it. She refused to acknowledge that anything had changed.
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