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France Honors Indian-Origin WWII Heroine
23 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Noor Inayat Khan, descendant of Tipu Sultan, honored by France.
- She was a British agent in the French Resistance during WWII.
- Khan was executed in a Nazi concentration camp in 1944.
France has issued a special postage stamp to honor Noor Inayat Khan, an individual of Indian heritage and descendant of the Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan. This recognition is part of a series celebrating "Figures of the Resistance" who fought against Nazi Germany during World War II, marking the 80th anniversary of the war's end.
Born in Moscow to an Indian Sufi father and an American mother, Khan's early life was spent in Paris before she escaped to London during the war. She joined the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force and was recruited into the Special Operations Executive. In 1943, she became the first female radio operator sent into occupied France.
Her clandestine mission was cut short when she was captured and deported to the Dachau concentration camp. There, she was tortured and executed in September 1944 at the age of 30. For her bravery, Khan was posthumously awarded the French Resistance Medal, the Croix de Guerre, and Britain's George Cross.
