Introduction
Madam Bhikkaji Cama was a remarkable figure in the struggle for freedom. She was the embodiment of people of the Indian Diaspora who contributed to the freedom struggle. Her vision of patriotism helped to propel the journey of the freedom movement. She came from a well known Parsi family and her background; built her progressive and forward outlook. From the beginning, she had the mission to independent India from the hands of the British power.
Early life in India:
Bhikhaiji was from a progressive community where women’s education was encouraged. After completing her education at the age of 24 she got married. But her ideas regarding the British ruler faced conflict with her husband’s concept of the same. Her husband held more conservative views and considered the British rule more benevolent. In this stage, she faced mental and emotional conflict with her husband. At the end of the 19th century, Bombay faced the plague epidemic and at that time Bhikhaji joined the Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy Hospital and Grand Medical College of Mumbai for the nursing of affected people. But unfortunately, she was also captured by the same disease and had to go to London for better treatment. It was the time when she left her country for 40 years and persisted in her fight in Europe for the country.
Madam Cama’s Political engagements in London:
It was painful for her to stay away from her motherland, so she started her activities in Europe. She dedicated herself and raised her voice in favour of India’s freedom. In that time she was actively involved in revolutionary activities. In London, it was Dadabhai Naoroji who introduced her to Sardar Singh Rana and through him, she met Shyamji Krishna Varma and came under his influence. Dadabhai Naoroji was previously present in London and helped her to engage in studying in the Inner Temple of the Inns of Court. He was the main figure who advocated for her to associate with him in his political campaigns. Not only him, but important figures like Shyamji and later the Savarkar also helped her to get pragmatic direction in her life. From that timeline, she dedicated her life to the liberation of Mother India. This national awakening was not created inside India but came out from every corner of the world. Madam Cama stood for the top-ranking leaders of the revolutionary party in Europe. She established her constant activity and her only mission was fighting for her country’s freedom.
From that onwards she started her regular writing and became a main contributor to the publication ‘Indian Sociologist’ and was an active member of the ‘Home Rule Society’ and ‘Indian House’. The Revolutionary Party in England had already been laid by patriots like Shyamji but it was that time when Madame Cama and Savarkar came in front to raise and continue the party. From an earlier timeline, she made contact with Shyamji and it was a time and place, revolutionary contribution she was part of. She considered that Congress made a policy of petitioning the British government. So she became impatient in nature started to connect with the concept of revolution and turned herself away from the constitutional agitation and methods of Dadabhai Naoroji. Bhikhaiji decided to be at the forefront of this new militant movement and tried to make awareness of independent India. She tried to spread this awakening from London, Paris and Geneva that had an echo around the world. In her London days, she associated with revolutionaries, she gave speeches, organised and participated in those societies and activities. Most of her early activities were centred around India House. She always tried to expose the animosity of British rule and demand complete independence in front of an international gathering. Madame Cama was the responsible one who evoked delegation to other such Socialist Conference. She was successful in this task because she had major personal contacts with the prominent revolutionaries and co participated with them within Europe.
Representation of India’s first flag at the Stuttgart Conference
Madam Cama was the first one to hoist the Indian flag on foreign soil on 22nd August 1907 at Stuttgart. She attended the International Socialist Conference held in Germany in 1907 as an Indian representative. There she came forward and unfurled the tricolor flag in front of all representatives of foreign countries. A flag is far from a mere piece of cloth because it symbolizes the hopes and aspirations of a nation. Under British rule, India got a specific flag by Western heraldic standards and it represents the captivity under the British Empire. They put their symbol as representing India and this represents the loss of sovereignty under them. This symbolic representation by the British was the same for all territories under their domination. It presents the union under the royal crown and some regional specificity was also there. But Madam Cama’s tricolour was to inspire countless revolutionaries during India’s struggle for freedom. In further time it made its modified version and was adopted later by Indians. The modified version inspires every Indian today and millions of people today assemble with it. In this conference, she not only hosted the flag but also described the devastation of Indian people brought by the famine and plague which she faced in India. At that moment British Labor Party leader Ramsay MacDonald opposed her but another British delegate demanded the continuation of the speech. In that gathering, she made the call for the support of India’s independence and equality of India’s people.
Her contribution to International conferences:
She was also on the mission of collecting and contributing the funds of the Nationalists in London. Not only had that she also paid for seditious literature that was being sent to India. Madame Cama went to America eight to ten weeks after she triumphed over English authority at that conference. Her mission in America was to create awareness regarding India’s difficulties and to provide considerable motivation to the Indian National Movement in that country. She made a tireless effort over campaigns and delivered speeches where she exposed the inequities of the British. rule. Her main aim was to reach her audience and reveal how the British ruled India. In the tour of America, she always held that flag with her and called Americans for their help. She was the first unofficial ambassador of British India to the people of the U.S.A.74-77 After the Stuttgart conference British government understood that she was a threat to them in an international forum, so they became alarmed and threatened her arrest and deportation to India mobilized. For this constant opposition, she went to Paris and continued her work for Indian independence. She and Burojoji Godrej founded the Paris society there.
Her Revolutionary Publications:
After reaching Paris she started to write revolutionary literature and published those. Most of her writing collaborated with other revolutionaries and was printed in various countries of Europe. In her weekly periodical ‘Bande Mataram’, she mentioned about the passing of the notorious Press Act in India. She emphasized that the Act would not affect the future of their cause, since revolutionary journals and books were being printed abroad. She understands the importation of revolutionary literature into India from abroad. She also said that the gravity of political work has shifted from Calcutta, Poona and Lahore to Paris, Geneva, Berlin, London and New York. At that time the British could not influence the French authorities to hand Madame Cama over to them for her anti-British activities. So they took another step and banned her from ever entering India. Madame Cama expressed her rage towards the British government through her weekly ‘Bande Mataram’ and made intense attacks on the British Raj. She published those from Geneva to avoid embarrassing the French and also got kind generosity from them. Those writings from abroad were sent to India and heavily impacted the minds of India. That act was conducted to spread revolutionary ideas here. Many resourceful Indians in Paris helped to continue those publications. Madame Cama realized that it was the time for revolution and something practical, which would, become some concrete and fruitful action. For her, it was the time to provide practical service and sacrifice. British government banned her writing and it ceased being imported to India. They restricted her revolutionary poems but could not prevent her from smuggling those works from Pondicherry. Because at that time it was a French colony, revolutionaries from madras came and smuggled those works to India and distributed them among people.
She also published another magazine named ‘Madan Talwar’ to remember the sacrifice of Madan Lal Dhingra and through this magazine, she targeted the Indian Sepoys under British authority. She not only continued her publications but she also published Vinay Damodar Savarkar’s ‘India’s War of Independence 1857.’ Revolutionaries made her home as a publication hub and promoted Indian revolutionary literature. But in the time of world war, Britain became the ally of France, so for that reason French government came to help Britain and Madam Cama was confined under French authority. After 1917 she was released and again continued her revolutionary works in Paris.
Struggle towards women empowerment:
Madame Cama had a strong influence over the case of women’s struggle. She is not only known for her struggle for independence but has also been active in women’s movements. She participated in different International Council for Women and requested to come forward for India. She supported the thought that women should play an important role in public affairs. Even Dadabhai Naoroji’s granddaughter came under the influence and followed her revolutionary ideas. At that time she brought the notion of equality of men and women and spoke out about the awareness of the role of women in the struggle for freedom and how equality can make changes in society. She also pointed out the equal wages between men and women. In the National Conference in Egypt in 1910 she saw that only men were attending the meeting and she demanded to know where the other half of Egypt was. Last days of Madam Cama: She spent the majority of her period outside of India because she was not allowed to enter India without signing the petition.
At that time British government ceased her property and that led her to face poverty. At the age of sixty, she faced a car accident which led to paralysis. In her last days, she made a petition to return to her homeland but again she had to sign that petition where she made a declaration not to be involved in any revolutionary activities. Finally, she got the permit to return to India and soon she died at the age of seventy-five. She made a long fight for freedom struggle and her participation in the revolution proves that women can come to the forefront of the revolutionary struggle and could struggle shoulder to shoulder with brother revolutionaries. After her many different women figures came to the forefront to participate in the war of freedom struggle. From Sarojini Naidu to Annie Besant, women came and participated in the Indian National Congress and it marked the acceptance of women as leaders. But Madame Cama had her credit because she was the first who spoke at Stuttgart and addressed her speech in different gatherings in Europe and America. So we could say that she was the forerunner of the national movement and others took decades to catch up with her ideas. She was the first to realize the importance of a flag as a symbol of independent India and to raise the Indian tricolour.
Conclusion
In the 19th century, diasporic women of India faced different challenges in their involvement in the freedom movement. Those women who lived outside of the country as a result communication became a challenge for them. They were not able to perform direct involvement or any day-to-day activities in the movement. Even they had to face different cultural and societal norms outside of the countries. But these obstacles could not stop them to involved in the struggle for independence. Being a diasporic woman Madam Cama contributed her intelligence and ideologies to the freedom movement. Through her writing, and speeches on those important platforms she articulated her vision of an independent India. Her contribution helped people to shape notions regarding the freedom struggle. Madam Cama helped to develop the transnational network for advancing the freedom struggle. She faced many challenges but played an important role in representing the country’s independence movement. She internationalized the movement and took global attention towards the Independence struggle. She was a huge trouble for British Imperialism and the British government pointed her as a ‘notorious lady’ and one of the Terrorist Trio’ of Paris. They considered her revolutionary work as dangerous. She was a fiery woman rebel and provocating violence against British authority. She was known for her violent revolutionary acts but on the other side, she was a warm-hearted, motherly woman, who considered some revolutionaries as her son. Savarkar respected her as the Mother of the Revolution and considered himself as her adopted son. Madame Cama devoted herself to her fellow citizens of India. She aimed to free her motherland from slavery. The people of India suffered through pain and sorrow and they faced trials and continued their lives in moments of despair. She was far ahead of her times and the significance of her contribution can be realized when it is remembered that it was only on December 31, 1929, at the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress that the tricolour was officially accepted and hoisted and the resolution for independence adopted. Madame Cama had done this in 1907, twenty-two years before the Lahore Congress. Her revolutionary works not only stand at publishing writings but she used her considerable influence in the Socialist circles of Europe. She marched with the European Press to defend Savarkar and managed to get the case referred to The Hague Tribunal. Madame Cama helped to build up the revolutionary movement in India with literature, arms and even bomb manuals smuggled in from abroad. She understood that there was no alternative left, she took it upon herself and She became the mother of the Indian revolution.
Bibliography:
Eduljee, K.E. “The Inspiring story of Bhikhaji Cama (1861-1936),” Zoroastrian Heritage Articles, 2016.
Adi Sethna,Khorshed. Madame Bhikhaiji Rustom Cama, New Delhi: Publications Division, 2013.
Mallick, Pratick. “Diaspora Hinduism and Hindutva: A Historiography of Modern Indian Politics.” In Beyond the Death of God, edited by Simone Raudino, Patricia Sohn, University of Michigan Press, 2022.
Selvi,. Chenthamarai, T. “The Role Of Madam Bhikaji Cama In The National Movement,” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 69 (2008), pp. 1269 1270
Virmani, Arundhati. “National Symbols under Colonial Domination: The Nationalization of the Indian Flag, March-August 1923”, Past & Present, no. 164 (1999), pp. 169-197.
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