Madam Bhikaji Cama Biography: Birthday, Early Life, Activism, Works, Death, Legacy

Madam Bhikaji Cama Biography: Bhikaiji Rustom Cama was a prominent advocate for Indian independence. Bhikaiji, who came from a wealthy Parsi household, was drawn to the nationalist cause at a young age. Exiled for years in Europe, she collaborated with prominent Indian leaders. She co-founded ‘Paris Indian Society’ and established literary works such as ‘Madan’s Talwar’ and was the first person to unfurl the Indian flag abroad, dubbing it the “Flag of Indian Independence” while attending the second Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany.

Madam Bhikaji Cama Biography

Youth and Early Life

Madam Cama was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) on September 24, 1861, to the wealthy Gujarati Parsi couple Sorabji Framji Patel and Jaijibai Sorabji Patel. Her father was a prominent member of the Parsi community and a merchant. In the city, her parents were a well-known couple. Bhikaiji attended the Alexandra Native females’ English Institution, just like a number of Parsi females of her era. She was a diligent and disciplined adolescent with a talent for languages. As she grew up in an environment where the Indian nationalist movement was progressively gaining momentum, she was inspired by the cause to the point where she was able to argue competently in various circles.

She wed the wealthy pro-British attorney Rustom Cama on August 3, 1885. Rustom, the son of Kharshedji Rustomji Cama (also known as K. R. Cama), desired a career in politics. Bhikaiji’s engagement with sociopolitical issues was not well received by her spouse, resulting in discord between the couple and an unhappy marriage.

Madam Bhikaji Cama Career

In 1896, a starvation in Bombay led to the bubonic plague, which had a devastating effect on the population. Bhikaiji was instrumental in providing care for the afflicted and assisting with vaccinations. She contracted the plague while assisting plague victims and was sent to Britain in 1902 for treatment. Bhikaiji supported the Indian Home Rule Society (IHRS), which was founded by Shyamji Krishna Varma and backed by prominent Indian nationalists in Great Britain.

Along with Munchershah Burjorji Godrej and S. R. Rana, Bhikaiji co-founded the Paris Indian Society in 1905 as a branch of IHRS. In her Paris home, which was also frequented by Lenin, she provided refuge for a number of revolutionaries from around the globe. Bhikaiji collaborated with notable exiled nationalists to compose revolutionary literary works for the national movement, publishing them in Switzerland and the Netherlands before distributing them.

In 1909, Bhikaiji established the Indian Nationalist journal ‘Madan’s Talwar,’ which was named after Indian revolutionary independence activist Madan Lal Dhingra, who had assassinated William Hutt Curzon Wyllie. The weekly was published in Berlin and was prohibited in India and the United Kingdom. Bhikaiji was also a staunch supporter of gender equality and believed that after India’s independence, women would not only have the right to vote but also enjoy other liberties.

At the onset of World War I, France became a British ally, prompting the majority of the ‘Paris India Society’ to leave France. During the conflict, Bhikaiji and Singh Rewabhai Rana were detained, and in January 1915, she was sent to Vichy. She was permitted to return to Bordeaux in November 1917 on the condition that she report weekly to the local police. In 1935, after the conclusion of the war, Bhikaiji suffered a stroke and petitioned the British government for permission to return to her homeland.

Madam Bhikaji Cama Death

Jehangir and Bhikaiji returned to India in November 1935. The fearless revolutionary who played a crucial role in India’s fight for independence from as far away as Europe passed away at the Parsi General Hospital in Bombay, British India, on August 13, 1936.

Legacy

She donated a significant portion of her personal assets to the Bai Avabai Framji Petit Parsi Girls Orphanage, which established a trust in her name, as well as a sizeable sum to Framji Nusserwanjee Patel Agiary, her family’s fire temple in Mazgaon, South Bombay.

In recognition of her accomplishments and contributions, numerous streets and locations in India bear her name.

On the eleventh Republic Day of India in 1962, the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department issued a commemorative stamp in her honour.

In 1997, the Indian Coast Guards commissioned the Priyadarshini-class fast patrol vessel ICGS Bikhaiji Cama to honour her devoted service to the cause of independence.