Leaving Love and Country

Devanshee

Leaving Love and Country

Noor Inayat Khan did not become a spy overnight. Like all people, she fell in love and had hopes and dreams about her future. But when the Nazis occupied parts of France and the war escalated to unimaginable heights, she had to leave her love and country behind. This marked the beginning of the princess spy - her final stage of life.

Before she became a spy. Image source: Walesonline.co.uk

A lesser-known fact about Noor remains that in the 1930s, she fell in love with a Jewish pianist Azeem Goldenberg - an unlikely duo in tumultuous times a; Jewish man and a Muslim woman. **Though their relationship was not approved by Noor’s family, they did get engaged and were soon to be married.

However, their happiness was short-lived. After six years of togetherness, they separated due to the beginning of the war. If one delves deeper into Noor’s personal life, one comes across her brother Vilayat’s remarks regarding the relationship.

He mentioned that even though he (Azeem) was never officially accepted by the family, he continued to spend time at Fazal Manzil, and his overbearing attitude put Noor under a lot of emotional distress.

Nevertheless, the two parted ways and this also marked the beginning of the last act in Noor's life.

With the second world war in motion, the world was divided into two blocks- the Axis and the Allies. To defeat the menacing Axis powers the Allies needed human power in every field. Strategized plans are only successful when there is someone to execute them.

Once they arrived in England, Noor and her brother committed to serving in the war. Noor joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in November 1939. Before that, she had trained as a Nurse at the Red Cross.

Soon she was chosen to train as a wireless operator. The last act of her short life began. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but Noor was willing to give her everything.

It seemed as though the outbreak of the second world war awakened something in Noor. She soon found herself contemplating serving in the war.

When her brother Vilayat evoked hypothetical images of Nazi soldiers firing rounds at innocent Jews, Noor was enraged.

Despite being a pacifist, Noor was adamant about defeating the Nazis. After all, the Nazis stood against everything she was taught. Noor, who was brought up with the ideas of harmony, was horrified to learn of the atrocities performed by the Nazis.

Noor and her family decided to move back to England to seek refuge from the Nazis who had already captured parts of France. In a fictive essay, Noor described the horrors she witnessed on her journey to England and how arduous each moment seemed. As bombs fell over cities in France, they fled the country without their belongings.