78th Independence Day: Remembering the iconic flagbearer who sparked India's revolution

By hoisting that flag, Cama didn’t just capture global attention—she offered India’s freedom fighters a powerful symbol of resistance.

On August 21, 1907, an Indian woman, draped from head to toe in a traditional Parsi saree, stirred a quiet storm at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. As she unfurled a flag, her voice rang out: "This flag is of India's independence. Behold, it is born." The dignitaries were stunned, unaware that this bold act would echo through history, long after her death on August 13, 1936. This was no ordinary woman; she was Madam Bhikaji Cama, revered as the ‘Mother of the Indian Revolution.’ As editor of the radical Parisian newspaper ‘Bande Mataram,’ she became a symbol of resistance, earning the moniker ‘Indian Joan of Arc’ from the Russians and playing a key role in Savarkar’s daring escape plan in London.

By hoisting that flag, Cama didn’t just capture global attention—she offered India’s freedom fighters a powerful symbol of resistance. Born Bhikaji Patel, she was fortunate to receive an exceptional education at Bombay's Alexandra Girls’ English Institution, a privilege granted by the progressive Parsi community. Yet, it wasn’t just education that shaped her; it was the political turmoil of the time. Despite the constraints of her era, she defied societal norms, plunging headfirst into the political fray.

Her marriage to Rustom Cama, a pro-British lawyer, quickly soured as their views on British rule clashed. This discord only fueled her resolve, and she immersed herself in sociopolitical activism. At the Indian National Congress in Bombay, she connected the struggle for India’s independence with the fight for women’s rights, believing that the emancipation of one was tied to the other. Her commitment was unwavering, even during the 1896 bubonic plague outbreak in Bombay, where she defied convention, donned a white apron, and nursed the sick, contracting the deadly disease herself.

Forced to seek treatment in Britain in 1901, Cama spent the next three decades fighting tirelessly for India’s freedom. In Paris, she became the nucleus of a small group of Indian nationalists. It was here, in 1907, that she travelled to Stuttgart, and her reputation as a revolutionary only grew. The British government, alarmed by her influence, sought to have her arrested, but the French and German leaders stood by her. Though Lenin reportedly invited her to the Soviet Union, she declined.

Cama’s conviction in gender equality and Indian freedom was unshakeable. She boldly proclaimed, “India must be free, India must be a republic, India must be united,” and drew inspiration from Christabel Pankhurst and the Suffragette movement. Speaking in Cairo in 1910, she challenged her audience: “I see here the representatives of only half the population of Egypt. Where are the other half? Sons of Egypt, where are your mothers, sisters, and daughters?”

Under the mentorship of Dadabhai Naoroji, she quickly became disillusioned with moderate politics, drawn instead to the fiery speeches of Mazzini and Garibaldi.

Cama’s revolutionary zeal found a new outlet when she joined V D Savarkar’s Free India Society in London. She smuggled banned literature into India, translating Savarkar’s ‘First War of Indian Independence’ into French and orchestrating his escape plan after his arrest. Even after Savarkar’s imprisonment, Cama continued her revolutionary activities, undeterred by British opposition.

Her meeting with Gandhi in 1906 highlighted their differing views. While Gandhi advocated for patience, Cama insisted on immediate independence. Cama’s influence extended even to Pondicherry, where she aided Indian revolutionaries with arms and literature. Her revolutionary spirit caught the attention of Maxim Gorky, who praised her efforts in Russia.

As World War I raged, Cama’s call for Indian troops in France to lay down their arms infuriated the French government, but she remained unyielding. Despite declining health and a life-threatening car accident, she refused to apologise for her actions, choosing to return to India only when her health forced her hand. In November 1935, she finally set foot on Indian soil, where she would pass away the following August, leaving behind a legacy of unwavering commitment to freedom.