401 – Doctor Who – Demons of the Punjab
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Show Notes
India, 1947, on the eve of the birth of Pakistan and the TARDIS gang are there.
Ben and Eugene discuss the Demons of the Punjab.
Episode Synopsis:
Yaz has a grandmother, Umbreen, who emigrated from Pakistan to the UK decades ago, but Yaz wants to know more about her, so she convinces the Doctor, somewhat reluctantly, to go visit her in her youth. They find themselves in a rural area in 1947, where they meet the young Umbreen on the day before her wedding to a Hindu named Prem.
None of this is right. Yaz knows that her grandmother lived in the city and was married to a Muslim man. She must get to the bottom of this mystery. The Doctor remains reluctant until she encounters aliens who seem to be killing people, starting with the Hindu holy man who was going to perform the marriage ceremony. The aliens are Thijarians, a well-known race of assassins that the Doctor has only heard of. It seems that they are here to kill someone.
Meanwhile, history is unfolding. This is also the day that Lord Mountbatten announces the partitioning of India into two countries, India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. The start of a turbulent time in the sub-continent’s history that lead to millions of deaths and much suffering as religious differences boiled over.
Even Prem’s brother is staunchly against the wedding between a Hindu and a Muslim.
The Doctor gets to the bottom of the Thijarian mystery and now they must let history unfold.