Blue Plaque for Muslim spy who refused to yield to Nazis
A FEMALE secret agent who became an “unlikely” spy during the Second World War is to become the first woman of Indian origin to be honoured with a Blue Plaque.
Noor Inayat Khan was the first female radio operator to be flown into Nazi-occupied France and later became known as “Britain’s first Muslim war heroine in Europe”.
English Heritage said the plaque would be unveiled in Taviton Street in Bloomsbury, at the address that Khan scratched on the base of her feeding bowl to communicate to another prisoners after being captured.
Khan was living at the London property when she left to help the war effort in 1943. Khan, of Indian and US descent, served in the Special Operations Executive – set up by Winston Churchill in 1940.
After being arrested by the Gestapo, Khan escaped from prison but was recaptured shortly afterwards.
She was killed at Dachau concentration camp in 1944, having refused to reveal, despite torture, anything to her captors, including her real name.
Shrabani Basu, Khan’s biographer, who is unveiling the plaque, said: “When Noor Inayat Khan left this house on her last mission, she would never have dreamed that one day she would become a symbol of bravery.
She was an unlikely spy. As a Sufi, she believed in non-violence and religious harmony. Yet when her adopted country needed her, she unhesitatingly gave her life in the fight against fascism.
“It is fitting that Noor Inayat Khan is the first woman of Indian origin to be remembered with a Blue Plaque. As people walk by, Noor’s story will continue to inspire future generations.”
It comes after English Heritage admitted the proportion of women celebrated by the scheme was “still unacceptably low”. Only 14 per cent of more than 950 London Blue Plaques celebrate women.
The charity said that “if we are to continue to see a significant increase in the number of blue plaques for women, we need more female suggestions”.
The unveiling will take place at 7pm tonight. Plaques planned this year will include tributes to secret agent Christine Granville and artist Barbara Hepworth.