Raised in Britain and France and a direct
descendant of Indian Royalty, Noor Inayat
Khan was always destined for great things.
When World War II started Noor decided
to take a stand against the Nazi regime
by joining the Women's Auxiliary Airforce
(also known as the WAAF) in 1940. But
she found her job lacking as she wanted
to do more for the world. This led to Noor
joining Winston Churchill's
secret Special Operation
Executive (SOE) in France
in 1943. From their Noor
trained as a wireless
operator and learnt the
distinct art of wireless
telegraphy.
From here, Noor's career
as a spy started. She
received an undercover
mission by Vera Atkins, an
intelligence officer for the
SOE French Unit. Noor's first mission was
under the spy name Jeanne Marie Renier, a
children's nurse.
As a great wireless telegrapher and a
fluent French speaker she started to be
used as a spy and regularly sent codes
from Paris to London in the resistance
network 'Prosper'.
Despite suspicions that the network was
infiltrated by a double agent working for
Nazis, Noor refused to return to Britain.
As her team was gradually captured
Noor continued to send intercepted radio
messages back to the UK.
Eventually, Noor was arrested by the
Gestapo in 1944. She
was beaten, tortured and
starved for the next 10
months but Noor refused
to reveal any of her
undercover work to the
Gestapo.
In September 1944 she
was executed alongside
three other SOE agents
at the age of 30. Noor's
courage and resilience
has been described
as "inspiring" by authour and journalist
Shrabani Basu. She added, "Two and a
half million Indians volunteered for the
war effort and it was the largest single
volunteer army. I think we must not forget
their contribution. Noor was part of this."
12
ISSUE 106 / 2018
GUESTLIST
Noor Inayat Khan was born to a great Sufi Indian Leader,
Hazrat Inayat Khan and an American Mother Ora Ray
Baker. Her childhood and teenage years were filled
with Sufism, a branch of the Muslim religion, sometimes
defined as 'Islamic mysticism'.
NOOR INAYAT
KHAN, THE
INDIAN PRINCESS
WHO FOUGHT
THE NAZIS
INDGI LIVES
