Disabled Women in History: Noor Inayat Khan WWII Spy and Indian Princess

Midnight December 13th, 1944 disabled spy Noor Inayat Khan entered Dachau, the first-ever concentration camp built by Hitler. Like so many others Noor and the other prisoners walked underneath the sign Arbeit Macht Frei,  but there would be no work for Noor in Dachau. As they were locked into cells that night, Noor and her companions were left to wonder what would happen to them. The answers would come soon enough. By morning Madeleine Damerment, Eliane Plewman, and Yolande Beekman were murdered, but Noor was kept alive. Because of her “highly dangerous” label, Noor was brutally beaten for hours before she was shot. Her last words were:

Liberte 

Today we’re talking about a seriously badass disabled woman, Noor Inayat Khan.  She was born in Moscow, was a descendent of an 18th-century Muslim ruler of Mysore state, spent her nursery years in England, grew up in France, studied psychology, wrote children’s stories, was a member of WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Force) in WWII, and eventually joined SOE (Special Operations Executive) to be a British Spy. What a life!

On December 13th, 1944 Noor Inayat Khan entered the Dachau concentration camp. She was labeled as a highly dangerous prisoner and the Gestapo wanted her to suffer. Her last words were Liberte (Liberty). Click To Tweet

Disabled women in history: Noor Inayat Khan

(1914-1944)

Noor was born in Russia to an American mother and an Indian father. Her father Inayat Khan was the grandson of Casimebi, the granddaughter of Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of the kingdom of Mysore. From this lineage comes the “Indian Princess” label.

Shortly after Noor was born the family fled to England because of the Russian Revolution. They settled in England for a while, until the British government decided her father’s Sufism was dangerous. They then fled to France, where Noor grew up.

Noor grew up loving music and writing. In her twenties, a friend asked her to translate the Jataka Tales, a collection of 500 stories and fables about the previous incarnations of the Buddha. Producing her book gave Noor a purpose in life beyond taking care of her family and their home. Her career as a children’s writer took off and she found her calling in life.  Noor’s stories were so popular they were even broadcast on the Children’s Hour of Radio Paris.

The outbreak of WWII

Noor’s father was a Sufi Muslim that practiced and taught religious harmony.  Both Noor and her brother Vilayat practiced non-violence as part of their father’s teachings, but they felt they needed to be part of the war to end the killing.

When Germany invaded France the Khan Family escaped to England on the very last boat. London was already burning when they arrived. The Luftwaffe bombed nightly and Londoners spent sleepless evenings in shelters and subway stations listening to their homes and businesses being destroyed. Noor could not stand by and do nothing. On November 19th, 1940 she joined the WAAF (Women’s Auxilary Force) and was sent for training as a wireless operator. Noor didn’t know that Military Intelligence was watching her training, hoping to recruit her to SOE (Special Operations Executive Branch) to send to France.

Noor was very different from last week’s disabled spy Virginia Hall. She was quiet, clumsy, artsy, dreamy, kind, trusting, and not suspicious enough. Noor’s supervisors thought she was too clumsy and too trusting to be a spy. They even said she wasn’t “too overburdened with brains.¹” They were wrong and they underestimated Noor and her capabilities. Where Virginia Hall was hard and demanding, Noor was quiet and accommodating, but she was brave to the very end.

Some of Noor's superiors thought she was too clumsy or not smart enough to be a spy, but she proved them wrong and stayed strong to the very end. Click To Tweet

Noor Inayat Khan’s disability from a circulatory disorder

Noor had a very distinctive way of tapping out Morse Code because her fingers were permanently swollen from chilblains. The chilblains were painfully inflamed blood vessels in her skin from exposure to cold. It’s believed that this was caused by a circulatory disorder.

Noor (Nora to us) and I were on the same wireless operator’s course in Edinburgh from December 1940 to 1941. Although she was unable to hold the Morse key properly because of severe chilblains, she persevered and passed out with the rest of us. She was a very brave woman and deserves this Memorial.

-Irene Warner, a friend of Noor in the WAAF³

When Noor was captured by the Gestapo, SOE should have known it wasn’t her transmitting because her morse code style was so distinctive. The alarm was raised about the change in style, but the supervisors didn’t listen, creating all sorts of problems for SOE.

Other posts in this series:

Disabled Women in History: Virginia Hall WWII Spy

Disabled Women in History: Barbara Jordan Breaking Barriers

Disabled Women in History: Rosemary Kennedy and the lobotomy

Noor Inayat Khan heading into France as a disabled wireless operator

Noor flew into France on the night of June 16/17 1943 as the first female radio operator. She climbed into a tiny Lysander plane and crossed over the channel under the cover of darkness.

All three agents flown in that night would not make it out of France alive.

• Diana Rowden- Natzweiler concentration camp
• Cecily Lefort- Ravensbruck concentration camp
• Noor Inayat Khan – Dachau concentration camp

Unfortunately for Noor, a disaster occurred a week after her arrival in Paris. The Gestapo arrested every single member of her wireless circuit. Seizing the wireless sets compromised information, including Noor’s code name Madeleine. The Gestapo knew of her existence through no fault of her own.

Noor was first advised to go into hiding, and secondly to go back to England, but she refused. She was the last remaining radio operator in Paris and she did the work of six radio operators all by herself. She managed to send frequent important messages and helped 30 Allied airmen escape.

Arrested and turned over to the Gestapo

Noor knew the net around her was tightening and became frantic. Her plan was to leave France on October 14th, but on the 12th she was arrested by a Frenchman and turned over to the Gestapo. She would have escaped in time if it weren’t for a French woman named Renee Garry who gave her away for money.

A French agent described Noor as a tigress¹ because she fought arrest so strongly.  As soon as they took Noor to the Gestapo headquarters she tried escaping through the window and down a gutter.  At first, Noor was subjected to psychological games, but she remained strong and shared no information. Noor was asked by the Gestapo whether she thought she’d sacrificed her life in vain, and Noor replied that she was content with serving her country.

Noor experienced had months of beatings and starvation before she was removed to Dachau. She never revealed any information. Noor was still considered dangerous and so she experienced extra torture such as being stripped, abused, kicked and left broken on the floor. Finally, an officer told her to kneel and put a pistol to her head. Afterward, Noor’s body was taken to the crematorium. The liberation of Dachau occurred 7 months later.

The life of Noor Inyat Khan

On April 5th, 1949 Noor received the George Cross, the highest civilian honor in Britain.

On January 16th, 1946 Noor received the Croix de Guerre with Gold Star, the highest civilian honor in France.

Noor Inayat Khan was brave, courageous, and a successful SEO agent. Though there’s very little information out there about her disability, I had to do this story because I was so impressed by Noor. I’ve never felt like I had much in common with someone like a brave WWII spy, but Noor reminded me of myself. I hope that were I in her situation, I could be as brave as she was.

 

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Recommended reading and watching

Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan

You can rent (or buy) “The Enemy of the Reich” from amazon or other retailers

 

Sources

1. Basu, Shrabani. Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan. Roli Books, 2008.

2. Elliott, Laura. “Part Two: Badass Disabled Women of Colour Who Made History.” Medium, Medium, 26 Mar. 2021, lcelliott2.medium.com/part-two-badass-disabled-women-of-colour-who-made-history-1b06b4264e0b.

3. wwww.logdes.net, Design by Ajit Dutta. Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust, www.noormemorial.org/noor.php.

4. Fisher, John Hayes. The Princess Spy: Timewatch. BBC