Indian-origin British spy Noor Inayat Khan to be featured on British coins

Guwahati: British Chancellor of Exchequer, Rishi Sunak told the British media this week that the country is considering a proposal to feature historical figures from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community of the country on a set of coins titled "Service to the nation".

Indian-origin Noor Inayat Khan, a descendant of Tipu Sultan is on the top of the list. The proposal has been submitted to the Royal Mint.

Noor Inayat Khan was born in Moscow in 1914 to an Indian father and an American mother. She was raised a Sufi and her father Inayat Khan founded the Inayati Order, the Sufi order in the West. She along with her family initially moved to London and then to Paris, during World War-I.

In November 1940, Noor became a wire operator in the British Royal Airforce as a part of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. She became the first radio operator to be sent to Paris to work for SEO's Proper resistance network under the codename Madeleine. She was labeled a spy by the UK during World War II.

Noor fought against fascism till her last breath. The Germans captured her in 1943 and classified her as "highly dangerous". On September 13, 1944, she was executed at the Dachau concentration camp in southern Germany. In 1949, Britain honored her with the George Cross.

Sources suggest that during the war, Noor used to say, "I wish some Indians would win high military distinction in this war."

She believed that courage and bravery would build a bridge between England and India, which was still a British colony. Unfortunately, she died without witnessing India rising to independence.

Britain's consideration comes at a time when the Black Lives Matter movement is shaking the pillars of history in Britain. Reminded about their days as colonizers, Britain is now seeking to undo it wrongs by recognizing heroes from ethnic communities by featuring them on British coins or notes. If the proposal is passed, it will also be the first time that non-white people will be featured on British notes and coins.

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