Weekend Reading : Story of Indian Spy in WW2 - Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan

Born(1914) in Russia, and later moved to France, Noor was a direct descendant of Tipu Sultan, and daughter of Inayat Khan ( teacher of Sufism in Europe ) and Ora Baker ( American ).

A very quiet,shy and sensitive girl, she kept to herself and studied Music and child psychology. She became a writer as she grew up and in 1939, her book ‘20 Jataka Tales’ based on Buddhist Jataka Tales was published. When Germany invaded France, they fled to England in June 1940

In Nov 1940 she joined WAAF ( Women Auxillary Air Force) as Aircraft Woman 2nd Class and started her training as Wireless operator. She even applied for a commission in 1941.
In 1942, Noor joined Churchill’s secret Special Operations Executives (SOE).

She was trained to become an undercover Radio Operative and Spy in occupied France. Though initially she found it very difficult, but soon she gave it all she had and became an operative ready to be deployed.

Pic : SOE Training schoool at Beaulieu and B MK ll transmitter

In Jun 1943, she was parachuted into Paris and became the first woman Radio operative in the history to be deployed there. Her code name - Madeleine!

Her bad luck;within days of her arrival,sweep by Gestapo caught all operatives working in Paris. She was the only one left. She spent next three months dodging and escaping Gestapo,always carried her transmitting equipment with her,continuously changing her transmission locations

Once she was hanging her antennae outside when a German Officer approached her and asked “ May I help you Mademoiselle?” She kept her calm and used her charm to make the German Officer set up her antennae from which she was transmitting in next half an hour.

But finally, she was caught after three months of her active transmissions. She was betrayed by Reene Gary, sister of Henri Gary, her circuit leader for 100,000 francs. She was arrested and taken to Gestapo HQ. Within minutes she made a daring escape from the bathroom window

Luck betrayed her as when she was on roof making her escape, RAF began its raid n all alarms went off. Germans checked her room n she was caught. On orders from Berlin, she was labelled ‘Highly Dangerous’. First woman to be sent to German prison Pforzheim,shackled,tied n tortured

She stayed there for 10 month and continued to be defiant under torture and gave nothing. Finally she was sent to Dachau concentration camp and the moment she reached there, after another night of torture, she was shot point blank by SS guard Wilhelm Rupert on 13 Sep 1944.

In 1946, French government awarded Noor with Croix De Guerre. In France she’s remembered as the Heroine of Resistance. In 1949, British awarded her with The George Cross, second highest british award. In 2012, a bronze bust of Noor, first of any Asian woman.

A stamp was issued with her picture by Royal Mail in 2014, as part of series ‘Remarkable lives’.
Noor was indeed a legend and a story every Indian should know and feel proud about. An Indian princess, a British soldier and a spying legend.

Her last words were - Liberté !