The forgotten ‘Spy Princess’ of Second World War

A 20th century tomb chamber with a tree growing through its roof; a dargah where a 14th century Sufi saint rests; a stone tablet dedicated to the memory of a Nazi concentration camp victim. War stories often begin in improbable places but the coming together of these incredibly disparate elements makes it Delhi’s most amazing tidbit of the Second World War.

The historic village of Nizamuddin is a natural setting for stories. With the tomb of the Sufi Nizamuddin (died 1325) as its focal point, a vast necropolis spreads itself outward, with even kings and emperors building their own mausoleums nearby. From renowned poets to forgotten Mughal princesses, all those buried in the area have their own story, but none is more poignant a tale than that of a person who has no grave here, but a mere stone tablet mentioning her name.

In a quiet compound near the main dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin lies another dargah, built as recently as the 20th century. The gravestone is behind an elegant curtain of stone lattice work which filters the light into the inner chamber. On one side, a tree rises up, asserting its independent spirit by winding its way up through a space made in the roof. The grave is of Inayat Khan, considered a Sufi by his adherents.

Actually, Inayat Khan was a musician, poet and philosopher in the Sufi tradition who seems to have been elevated to near-saintly status post his passing. Unlike the musicians who are seen performing every Thursday at the Nizamuddin dargah to an enthralled audience, Inayat Khan’s music found patrons in the West – in the United States and Europe. Our story will retrace his footsteps in that western direction.

In a corner of Inayat Khan’s tomb chamber is a small stone tablet with an inscription naming his daughter, Noor Inayat Khan, and indicating a short lifespan - the year of death being 1944. Noor is not interred here though! The tablet is merely a pointer to an individual whose life, work and eventual death came about in Europe.

To understand Noor, one needs to delve into her background, especially her parents. Inayat Khan was one of a group of musicians who travelled from Baroda (now Vadodara) to the United States, setting sail from Bombay (now Mumbai) for New York in September 1910. Calling themselves the Royal Musicians of Hindustan, they began giving concerts.

It was at a lecture at the Ramakrishna Mission in San Francisco that Inayat Khan met a young girl called Ora Ray Baker, who was, amongst other things, the niece of a US senator. The two fell in love but facing opposition, especially from Baker’s family, decided to wait till either the family gave their consent or Baker herself came of age. The musicians moved to France looking for better opportunities. On coming of age, Baker arrived in Europe and the two were married in London in March 1913. Ora Ray Baker became Amina Sharada Begum.

Getting an opportunity, the musicians moved base to Moscow and it was here that Noor was born on January 1st 1914, the eldest of four children that would be welcomed by Inayat and Amina. However, Russia was in tumult with anger rising against the Tsar and his nobility. War clouds were on the horizon too and in this scenario, Inayat and his young family moved to London. Here, as the First World War played itself out, little Noor began her schooling.

With peace returning, the family moved to a suburb of Paris in 1920. As fate would have it, this place would become their home for the next two decades. Inayat Khan did not plan it this way though. He probably sought to bring his family back to India. Returning alone to India, possibly to look for a place to settle down for good, Inayat fell ill and died in 1927.

Up till that point, Noor’s childhood was filled with music and happiness. She learnt to play various instruments, the piano, the veena, the harp etc. From her father, she understood the oneness of all faiths, growing up a sensitive child. Inayat’s sudden and untimely death left Amina shattered. Noor, the eldest child, seemed to suddenly grow up and assumed responsibility for her younger siblings. She learnt child psychology and studied music, publishing a book in 1939. And then the Second World War arrived!

With the Germans launching the Blitzkrieg in 1940, France fell. Noor and her family fled to England, where she joined the Women’s Auxilary Air Force (WAAF) and trained as a wireless operator. At this point, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) had been formed for the purposes of gathering intelligence and staging sabotage operations in German-occupied France. Noor opted for this dangerous service, received training and what followed is worth making a film with.

Her training completed, she was clandestinely flown to France in June 1943 and began work in Paris transmitting information she received, back to her handlers in England. In occupied France, she was now part of a network of spies with her code name being ‘Madeleine’. Her upbringing in France helped her blend in. The ever alert Nazi secret police, the Gestapo, was on the lookout all the time. Any spies or members of the French Resistance who were caught were brutally tortured for information about others in the network and then executed. Anyone who was caught was as good as dead!

Within ten days of her arrival, the claws of the Gestapo began to close in on Noor’s own network. Several members were caught and the network began to gradually crack. At this point, Noor declined an opportunity to return to England and safety. Perhaps it was the same sense of responsibility she had shown in 1927 on taking charge of her siblings at her father’s death. This time, the other radio operators in her network were eliminated one by one, leaving her isolated and increasingly vulnerable. At one point, she was the last remaining radio operator in her network. And then her luck ran out!

In mid October 1943, she was arrested by the Gestapo – possibly as a result of betrayal by someone else in the network. Twice she attempted to escape but failed. Refusing to sign a declaration that she would not attempt another escape, she was sent to a prison in Germany. What followed was solitary confinement and torture, both physical and psychological. Accounts of this period are predictably sketchy. Apparently, she was classified as being highly dangerous and kept shackled most of the time.

Two events of 1944 began an endgame for her. On June 6th, 1944, the allied forces opened a second front for Germany with a successful landing on the French coast, at Normandy. A month later, there was an assassination attempt on Hitler. It was clear to all that the end of the Nazi regime was nigh. All political prisoners, spies and sundry others locked away for years began to be executed. In September 1944, Noor Inayat Khan was transferred to Dachau concentration camp – a place that saw over 40,000 people killed during the course of the war.

And on September 13th, 1944 – almost exactly eighty years ago from today - Noor was executed along with three other agents. No trace remained of her body which was probably disposed of by burning.

Noor’s contribution was as part of the larger machine of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). According to Supreme Allied Commander General Eisenhower, the SOE had done the work of 15 military divisions and helped shorten the war by 6 months. After the war, she was posthumously decorated by France with the Croix de Guerre and by England with the George Cross.

Noor could continued to be part of the war effort with an easier job in the WAAF, but she chose to tread a more dangerous path. The hands that played the veena and the piano ended up operating a radio transmitter. A comment she made to a friend offers a glimpse into her mind: “If one or two (Indians) could do something in the Allied service which was very brave and which everybody admired it would help to make a bridge between the English people and the Indians.” One wonders what Noor would have done further in life had she lived on.

It was in 2006 that the first full narrative about Noor Inayat Khan emerged, in the form of an outstanding book by Shrabani Basu – ‘Spy Princess’. The part about the princess is attributed to the belief that she descended from Tipu Sultan, a claim that is not entirely acceptable. But that is mere fine print. Noor Inayat Khan’s story is a saga of courage and sacrifice. A pity that the only marker to this brave woman in the land of her ancestors is a tiny tablet in Nizamuddin village, in a dargah that sees few visitors!

The author is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.