London:
A social housing block in north London has been named after British Indian spy and descendant of Tipu Sultan, Noor Inayat Khan, following a vote among residents to choose from a shortlist of the area's historic residents.
Camden Council unveiled the 'Noor Inayat Khan House' on Wednesday at a ceremony attended by local MP and Labor Party opposition leader Keir Starmer, Khan's biographer Shrabani Basu and Camden Council leaders and residents.
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What an honor and privilege to name a new residential block #Camden today after #WWII heroine #NoorInayatKhan The residents chose her name. #SpyPrincess#SOE Thank you @CamdenCouncil Now there is a memorial, one #BluePlaque and a house named after her in the Borough. pic.twitter.com/IUT1mUM94v
— Shrabani Basu (@shrabanibasu_) December 20, 2023
Camden was where the young Norwegian lived with her family before she left for Nazi-occupied France in 1943 after being recruited as an undercover radio operator for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). She became the first woman to be dropped behind enemy lines during the war. WWII.
“It's great that the residents of Camden have voted to name the block after Noor Inayat Khan; the people of Camden have really taken Noor to heart, and she is well known and loved in the area,” said Basu, the London-based author of “Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan.”
In her speech at the unveiling, she noted: “Today we remember Noor Inayat Khan as a heroine of war, a young woman of Indian descent, who unhesitatingly gave her life in the fight against fascism. But it is not just her courage and loyalty that we remember. At a time when conflict is widespread in the world and countries and communities are divided by gunfire and walls, it is important to remember the values Noor stood for.
“She was a Sufi, she believed in religious tolerance, she believed in non-violence and peace between nations. Today, let us take away her message for peace and harmony.” In 2020, the charity English Heritage unveiled a blue plaque at 4 Taviton Street in Bloomsbury commemorating Khan's home in Camden, following a memorial installed nearby in Gordon Square in 2012 by the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust.
The new residential block in the name of the war heroine who was shot dead in the Dachau concentration camp in 1944 at the age of just 30, is part of a social housing project that should provide more affordable housing in London.
“This isn't just about some bricks and some windows and a roof; this is about life chances, ambition and equal opportunities for everyone. When I was growing up we didn't have much money, but we did have a house. And that gave me the certainty to go ahead and do some of the things that I've done in my life. I want every child to have that opportunity,” said Starmer, MP for Holborn and St Pancras in Camden.
Each of the three new residential buildings in the Maitland Park redevelopment has been named after prominent local figures as part of Camden Council's strategy for diversity in public spaces.
In addition to Noor Inayat Khan, a second block commemorates Mary Prince – the first black woman to have her autobiography published in Britain, and a third is named after Antony Gray – an LGBTQ activist whose work led to the decriminalization of homosexuality for men.
“Residents have shaped the legacy of their hometown by helping to choose three remarkable figures from our local community to name their new buildings after,” said Councilor Danny Beales, Camden Council's Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment.
The council said the redevelopment on the Maitland Park Estate in Haverstock is the latest social housing project to reach completion in Camden since the council announced the expansion of its housing program by committing an additional £1.3 billion investment in construction of new homes for residents.
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