Bhikaiji Cama

Bhikaiji Cama (born September 24, 1861, Bombay [now Mumbai], India—died August 13, 1936, Bombay) was an Indian political activist and advocate for women’s rights who had the unique distinction of unfurling the first version of the Indian national flag—a tricolor of green, saffron, and red stripes—at the International Socialist Congress held at Stuttgart, Germany, in 1907.

Born to an extremely wealthy Parsi business family, Bhikaiji Patel received her early education in Bombay (now Mumbai). Influenced by an environment in which the Indian nationalist movement was taking root, she was drawn toward political issues at an early age. In 1885 she married Rustomji Cama, a well-known lawyer, but her involvement with sociopolitical issues led to differences between the couple. Because of marital problems and her poor health, which required medical attention, Cama left India for London.

During her stay there, she met Dadabhai Naoroji, a strong critic of British economic policy in India, and began working for the Indian National Congress. Cama also came in contact with other Indian nationalists, including Vir Savarkar, Lala Har Dayal, and Shyamji Krishnavarma, and addressed several meetings in London’s Hyde Park.

After the 1907 conference in Stuttgart, Cama traveled abroad on an extended lecture tour to mobilize public opinion against British rule in India, especially among expatriate Indians; she also spoke in favour of women’s rights. When rumours began that she would be deported from England, she moved in 1909 to Paris, where her home became a headquarters for those agitating for Indian independence. She helped Har Dayal launch his revolutionary paper Bande Mataram, copies of which were smuggled into India from London. For three years during World War I, after Great Britain and France became allies, the French authorities interned her for her anti-British activities. She maintained active contacts with Indian, Irish, and Egyptian revolutionaries and liaised with French Socialists and Russian leadership. In 1935, at the age of 75, she was allowed to return to India, where she died the following year.