Khan, Noor un-Nisa Inayat “Nora”.

Khan, Noor un-Nisa Inayat “Nora”, also known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, born 01-01-1914, in Moscow, Central Administrative Okrug, Moskva, Russia, the eldest of four children.

  Her siblings were Vilayat Inayat Khan, an author and Sufi teacher; Hidayat Inayat Khan, a composer and Sufi teacher; and Khair-un-Nisa Inayat Khan.

Her father, Inayat Khan, was born in Baroda, Bombay Presidency, and came from a family of Indian Muslims with hereditary nobles and classical musicians among both sides of his ancestors. Inayat Khan’s great-great-grandfather was Tipu Sultan the ruler of Mysore. Inayat Khan lived in Europe as a musician and a teacher of Sufism. Her mother, Pirani Ameena Begum (born Ora Ray Baker), was an American from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who had met Inayat Khan during his travels in the United States. Afterwards, Vilayat became head of the Sufi Order of the West, later the Sufi Order International, and now the Inayati Order.

The family moved to London and settled in Bloomsbury. In 1920, they relocated to France, where Khan studied child psychology and music; she became a writer, publishing poetry and children’s stories in French and English.

Following the outbreak of WWII, the family returned to England. Though Khan was a pacifist and supporter of Indian independence, she wanted to contribute to the war effort, so in November 1940, she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and trained as a radio operator. Later, the F (France) Section of the SOE recruited her, Special Operations Executive, abbreviated SOE, was one of seven secret organizations established by the British government in England during World War II. The organization was formed from three already existing secret departments. These were Section D of MI6 under the command of Major Lawrence Douglas Grand, MI R section led by Major John Charles Francis Holland, and the propaganda section, Department EH under the command of Sir Campbell Stuart, former director of The Times.  and sent her to France as part of a sabotage force in February 1943, the first woman to serve as an undercover radio operator in occupied Europe.

Major Laurence Grand was fatally injured in a motorway accident and was pronounced dead on arrival at Putney Hospital, London, on 22-11-1975, age 77. On 14-03-1956, age 77, John Holland died at his son’s house in Wimbledon. Sir Campbell Arthur Stuart passed away on 14-09-1972 (aged 87) in Highgate, London, United Kingdom.

Death and burial ground of Khan, Noor un-Nisa Inayat “Nora”.

In June, the Gestapo began to hunt down her unit, and within a few months, she was among the few operators still working. On 13-10-1943, Khan was captured, and during the 11 months of her imprisonment and frequent questioning and torturing, she refused to hand over information. Eventually, she was sent to the Dachau camp,   where she was shot dead on 12-09-1944. She was 30 years old. The Noor Memorial Trust led a two-year campaign to erect this memorial and chose the sculptress Karen Newman to create it. It was unveiled by the Princess Royal in 2012, close to Khan’s childhood home in Taviton Street near Gordon Square and where she returned while training for the SOE during World War II. It was the first freestanding memorial in the UK to honor a woman of Asian background.

In 1949, Noor was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her heroism and resilience during the war. Khan, Noor un-Nisa Inayat “Nora” is buried at the Runnymede Memorial, Englefield Green, Runnymede Borough, Surrey, Engeland. Cooper’s Hill Laan, Englefield Green, Egham TW20 0LB, United Kingdom.

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