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France has issued a new commemorative postage stamp in honour of Noor Inayat Khan, the Indian-origin British spy who served in the French Resistance during the Second World War. Noor, a descendant of Tipu Sultan, is the only woman of Indian origin to feature in La Poste’s latest “Figures of the Resistance” series marking 80 years since the end of the war.
The stamp, part of a set celebrating men and women who resisted Nazi occupation, depicts Noor in her Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) uniform. Each stamp in the collection is based on a photographic etching of the individuals being commemorated.
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London-based writer Shrabani Basu, who authored Noor’s biography Spy Princess, welcomed the tribute.
“I am delighted that France has honoured Noor Inayat Khan with a postage stamp, especially as it comes on this important 80th anniversary of the end of the war,” she said.
“Noor sacrificed her life in the fight against fascism. She grew up in Paris, joined the war effort in England, and it is wonderful to see her face on a postage stamp which will be posted by ordinary people in France.”
A life shaped by war and exile
Born Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan in Moscow in 1914, she was the daughter of an Indian Sufi philosopher, who was linked to the Mysore royal lineage, and an American mother. The family later made Paris their home, where Noor received her early education. After the German invasion of France, she fled with her family to England and joined the WAAF.
Her proficiency in wireless communication and her knowledge of France led to her recruitment into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) on February 8, 1943. The SOE, created to carry out espionage and sabotage in occupied Europe, trained her for clandestine radio work.
First female radio operator sent into occupied France
In June 1943, Noor became the first woman radio operator to infiltrate Nazi-controlled France. Working under extreme danger, she transmitted key intelligence to London for several weeks before being arrested. She was eventually deported to the Dachau concentration camp, where she was executed on September 13, 1944, at the age of 30.
Honours across nations
Her heroism has long been recognised in both France and Britain. She received the French Resistance Medal and the Croix de Guerre, one of France’s highest honours. Britain awarded her the George Cross in 1949.
Basu noted that India, despite Noor’s ancestry and legacy, is yet to commemorate her formally.
“Britain honoured Noor in 2014 to mark the centenary of her birth. She now has a stamp in her honour issued by Britain and France. It is time that India, the country of her ancestors, honours her with a postage stamp too,” she said.
Part of a wider tribute to the Resistance
La Poste said the new series recognises individuals who played critical roles in resisting German occupation.
“These men and women who said no became involved in intelligence networks, exfiltration, sabotage… Risking their lives, they saved the country’s honour and placed it on the winning side,” the statement read.
Other figures included in the set are Jean-Pierre Levy, founder of the “France Liberte” Resistance movement, and SOE agent Violette Szabo, who died in Ravensbrück concentration camp.
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