Calls grow to honour Indian-origin WW II spy

HUBBALLI: There are growing calls in Karnataka to give national recognition to Noor Inayat Khan, an Indian-origin woman who spied for Britain during the Second World War. Khan was a descendant of 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan and became the first female undercover radio operator to be sent to occupied France. She was later captured and killed. Last week, she was honoured with a plaque in London.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been requesting the central government to formally honour Khan’s bravery since 2006. He told TOI that Pranab Mukherjee had visited her memorial in France when he was the defence minister. “We have been urging the government that our youth awards should be renamed after her,” he said. Writer Chandrashekhar Mandekolu, who has penned the biography ‘Noor Inayat Khan’, said she respected all religions. “She recalled Lord Krishna’s words when she was confused over the use of violence during the war. She had also translated 20 of the Buddha’s Jataka Tales into English,” he said. “Though she was born in a Muslim family, she used to keep a copy of the Upanishads.”