A Tribute To The Illuminated Woman Of World War II
Our humble tribute to you
The illuminated woman
Of World War II
Oh! The courageous Miss Noor Inayat Khan
Great grand daughter
Of the Sufi king Tipu Sultan
The Tiger of Mysore
You were bestowed
With the highest military awards
For your splendid valor
Oh! The most charismatic heroine
Of World War II
Oh! The beloved daughter
Of the legendary Sufi master
From whom you learned
The jewels of spirituality
Love, joy, harmony,
Endurance and beauty
And when he passed away
You nurtured your mother
And siblings with benevolence
We truly cherish your munificence
Oh! The kind hearted woman
Of World War II
Oh! The emblem of
Purest beauty and grace
You, the poet and musician
You, the writer and champion of languages
Your stunning tales of inspiration
Now captivating the children’s attention
You, the amazing air force lady
You, the brilliant wireless operator
You are Madeleine and Nora
The master of disguises and aura
Oh! The dynamic spy
Of World War II
Oh! The incredible tigress
You were betrayed
And tortured with the high level of severity
Yet you stood firm and never gave up
For the sake of humanity
You challenged the wicked hegemony
Fighting heroically
Against the horrendous evils
You sacrificed your precious life
Uttering the last single word, “Liberte!”
Oh! The Freedom Fighter
Of World War II
Oh! The Sufi princess
You are the sweetest martyr
That we all madly admire
You are the icon of integrity
Dwelling in our hearts for eternity
You are now the radiant star
In this glorious universe
May God, The Almighty, All-Compassionate and All-Loving
Bless your gentle soul, rest you in peace
And grant you the highest place in heaven
Oh! The most magnificent woman
Of World War II
Poet’s Notes
The language of poetry is a metaphor. Here the word, “illuminated“ is a metaphor. The readers should not take this literally.
Miss Noor Inayat Khan’s first full name was, “Noor-un-Nisa”. For short, people used to call her Noor. The meaning of “Noor-un-Nisa” is the divine light of womanhood”. Her name speaks for her great spiritually illuminated qualities. That is the reason I gave her the title, “The Illuminated Woman”. This is not the ordinary light, but the light of enlightenment.
The poem, “The Illuminated Woman Of World War II” is dedicated to Miss Noor Inayat Khan, the heroic woman of World War II. This poem fully illustrates her remarkable life story.
Miss Noor Inayat Khan was a British national. She was an extremely talented lady. This brave woman fought against German fascism during World War II. She was a part of British Air Force and worked as a wireless operator. She was later recruited by British Special Operations Executive (SOE). As a SOE agent, she performed her duties very efficiently in Nazi occupied France and gave Gestapo agents a very hard time.
During her operations in France, she was betrayed by a double agent and then arrested by Gestapo agents. She made two dramatic escape attempts, but was recaptured and sent to Germany. Here she was interrogated, tortured, and finally sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp, where she was again severely tortured.
At last, when Gestapo agents found that they were not making any progress in getting the classified information out of her, she was executed on September 13, 1944, and her body was cremated.
The only word she said before she was executed was, “Liberte!” For her remarkable gallantry, she was posthumously awarded a British George Cross and a French Croix de Guerre.
Copyright © Irfanulla Shariff