Episode 12 | Begum Samru

Masala History

She was a concubine, courtesan, wife, lover, warrior, leader, a Mughal noble, a British ally. She was Christian and Muslim. She threw grand parties that South Asians and Europeans alike were enamored with. In the nineteenth-century male-dominated world of South Asia, Begum Samru stood out, and purposely so. The Mughal emperor Shah Alam II depended on her as much as the British sometimes did. In this episode, we discuss the remarkable life of a woman leader who fought on the field and off it. Born in poverty, she died as one of the richest people in the subcontinent, Begum Samru's life and legacy is the topic of this podcast episode.