Secret agent of WWII- Noor Inayat Khan's life recalled in book

She was Tipu Sultan’s descendant, and served as a secret agent in World War II. She was one of three women in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to be awarded the George Cross, the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom.

Sharbani Basu, author of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan, was in the city on Thursday, talking with an audience which had gathered at the British Council, about the wartime exploits of this brave secret agent, eventually betrayed to the Gestapo (the secret police of Nazi Germany), and executed after being tortured, in 1944.

The book was first published in 2006, and the author had extensively used historical documents that related to the life of Noor that were declassified in 2003.

“Noor never lived in India, but this is the land of her ancestors,” says Basu, adding “Noor was truly an international person, born in Moscow to an Indian father, Hazarat Inayat Khan and American mother, Ora Ray Baker. She lived in Paris and London.”

Noor’s story also throws light on young Indian men who were part of the frontline in World War II.

“There were two-and-a-half million Indians, the biggest standing army. So, that was our contribution to the World War; these young people gave their lives. We should be proud of them. They need to be remembered,” Basu says, drawing attention to war heroes seldom remembered in independent India, since they fought as part of a colonial government.

Noor was only 30 years old when she was executed with a bullet shot in her head at the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, Upper Bavaria, on September 13, 1944.

After the book was published, several readers suggested that a memorial be raised for Noor. Fundraising efforts are now on, so that a bust of Noor could be installed in London. “An early day motion (a formal motion that will be debated in the House) was tabled in the House of Commons on June 22, 2010 by Valerie Vaz, MP,” says Basu.

“In September 2010, the vice-chancellor of the University of London gave permission for the bust to be installed in Gordon Square, near the house where Noor lived, and from where she left on her final mission. The bust has already been commissioned, and will be sculpted by the famous Karen Newman,” says Basu.

To contribute to the installation of the bust, you could visit http://www.facebook.com/ pages/Noor-Inayat-Khan-Memorial-Trust/ 168798439822480

And there is one other coincidence worth mentioning too — as the nation celebrates Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary this year, Basu notes, “Noor's father was a friend of Tagore, whose bust is also in the same area.”