World War II spy first Indian-origin woman to get memorial plaque in London
London: Britain's World War II spy, Noor Inayat Khan, on Friday became the first Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a memorial Blue Plaque at her former family home in central London.
The Blue Plaque scheme, run by the English Heritage charity, honours notable people and organisations who were connected with particular buildings across London.
Khan's plaque has gone up at 4 Taviton Street in Bloomsbury, where she lived before she left for Nazi-occupied France in 1943 as an undercover radio operator for Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE).
Noor, the daughter of Indian Sufi saint Hazrat Inayat Khan and a descendant of the 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, went on to be killed at Dachau concentration camp in 1944, having revealed nothing to her captors, not even her real name.
"When Noor Inayat Khan left this house on her last mission, she would never have dreamed that one day she would become a symbol of bravery, said Shrabani Basu, historian and author of Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan'.
She was an unlikely spy. As a Sufi she believed in non-violence and religious harmony. Yet when her adopted country needed her, she unhesitatingly gave her life in the fight against Fascism, said Basu, who formally unveiled the commemorative plaque in a small ceremony to be broadcast on social media, given the coronavirus social distancing requirements.
It is fitting that Noor Inayat Khan is the first woman of Indian-origin to be remembered with a Blue Plaque. As people walk by, Noor's story will continue to inspire future generations. In today's world, her vision of unity and freedom is more important than ever, added Basu, who is also founder-chair of the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust (NIKMT), which installed a sculpture of Noor in nearby Gordon Square in 2012.
The SOE was an independent British Secret Service set up by Britain's war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1940 and Noor became its first female radio operator sent into Nazi-occupied France. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross (GC) for her bravery in 1949.
Anna Eavis, Curatorial Director at English Heritage, said: We're so pleased to be able to continue unveiling our 2020 blue plaques with this virtual ceremony after a very quiet few months.
"I am particularly delighted to start with Noor Inayat Khan, whose courage was unfaltering even in the face of such extreme danger. The new plaque reads: Noor Inayat Khan GC, 1914-1944, SOE Agent codename Madeleine' stayed here .
Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar are among some of the other Indian-origin historical figures to be honoured with similar Blue Plaques at buildings associated with their stay in London.
Noor joins the likes of Ada Lovelace, the pioneer of computing, and Rosalind Franklin, the scientist who helped discover DNA, to make up only 14 per cent of over 950 such Blue Plaques celebrating women across London.
English Heritage said that while the figure is still unacceptably low, its ongoing Plaques for Women campaign has seen a dramatic rise in the number of public nominations for women since it launched in 2016.
Later this year, the charity plans to unveil plaques to Christine Granville, a remarkable secret agent of the Second World War, and Barbara Hepworth, one of the 20th century's greatest artists.
Nominations are the lifeblood of the London blue plaques scheme and if we are to continue to see a significant increase in the number of blue plaques for women, we need more female suggestions, the charity said.
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CT Ravi seeks impartial probe into Ballari clash, firing incident
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Chikkamagaluru: Legislative Council member C.T. Ravi on Friday called for an impartial and fair investigation into the banner-related clash and firing incident that occurred in Ballari.
Speaking to reporters in Chikkamagaluru, Ravi said the incident must be investigated thoroughly without prejudice or hatred influencing the probe. He said it was important to clearly establish who opened fire and who was responsible for the killing.
Referring to Valmiki Jayanti celebrations, Ravi said it was the BJP government that began officially observing the occasion, while the Congress, he alleged, had earlier denied the existence of Lord Ram and indirectly questioned the legacy of Valmiki. He recalled that during the Ram Setu case, the Congress had told the Supreme Court that Ram was a fictional character and not a historical figure.
On the Ballari incident, Ravi said registering cases or taking action with malicious intent was not appropriate. He added that whether banners were put up with permission or without it, forcibly removing them was wrong. If banners had been erected without permission, a complaint could have been filed instead.
Ravi also questioned how the government could justify people going near the residence of G. Janardhan Reddy to display strength. He said these circumstances suggested that the banner issue may only have been a pretext and that there could be other factors behind the violence.
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