Geetakshi Arora conferred with Noor Inayat Khan prize

Geetakshi Arora of SOAS South Asia Institute has won the first Noor Inayat Khan Prize, the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust announced in London.

Noor Inayat Khan

• Noor was born in Moscow in 1914 to Indian father Hazrat Inayat Khan and American mother Ora Ray Baker.
• She was a secret agent in World War II and was sent behind enemy lines. She operated from Paris, doing crucial work for the allies.
• Noor was betrayed, arrested and killed in Dachau Concentration Camp at the age of 30.
• Her last word was ‘Liberte’

Noor Inayat Khan prize

• Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust has inaugurated the Noor Inayat Khan prize in memory of the second world war heroine
• Shrabani Basu is the founder and chair of the trust
• The prize consists of 1000 pounds and a certificate

Flash points

• The annual prize is awarded to the post-graduate student Geetakshi Arora from SOAS, University of London, working in the area of gender studies and South Asian history
• Geetakshi Arora is an Indian origin student who was awarded for the Dissertation in spirit with Noor Inayat Khan’s efforts
• The award was given by Michael Hu, head of SOAS South Asia Institute

Points to note

• A memorial square for Noor Inayat Khan is at Gordon Square, London
• It was opened in 2012