Today is the Jayanti of Madame Bhikaji Cama, who designed one of our early national flags, unfurled it on foreign soil, revolutionary, close associate of Veer Savarkar, one of the most courageous Indian women.

Bhikaji Cama was born on September 24, 1861 into a well to do, Paris family in Mumbai. Her father Sorabji Patel, was one of the city's leading merchants, also an educationist. She was drawn into the nationalist movement from a very early age.

At the age of 24, Bhikaji Cama married Rustomji, a well known lawyer in Mumbai's elite circle. However her husband's pro British, Anglophile sympathies, clashed with her own nationalist feelings, and their marriage was quite a troubled, unhappy one.

Faced with a rather troubled marriage, Bhikaji Cama spent most of her time doing social work. When Mumbai was hit by plague in 1896, she volunteered her services. Unfortunately she too was affected by the deadly disease and her health broke down.

With her health deteriorating, Bhikaji Cama was advised to go abroad to recover. And she left for London in 1902, which would also be her home for quite a long time, before she returned back. It also ended her rather troubled, unhappy marriage too in a way.

It was in London that Bhikaji Cama met Dadabhai Naoroji and inspired by his ideals plunged into the freedom movement. She also began to meet with other Indian nationalists like Shyamji Varma, Lala Hardayal, and was soon one of the active members of the movement.

When the British asked Bhikaji Cama to give an undertaking that she would be allowed to return to India only if she stopped taking part in nationalist activities, she refused point blank. And preferred to stay in exile, and fight for India's freedom from abroad.

Bhikaji Cama shifted to Paris, where along with Singh Rewabhai Rana and Munchershah Burjorji Godrej, she founded the Paris Indian Society and began to mobilize the Indian expats living in Europe for the cause of Indian freedom.

Bhikaji Cama also wrote a lot of revolutionary articles, poems that were often published secretly. Two of her notable works were Bande Mataram, when British banned that poem, and Madan's Talwar, when Madan Lal Dhingra was hanged by the British.

Though banned in India and UK, Bhikaji Cama neverthless managed to smuggle her works to Indian revolutionaries and leaders who were in Europe. She also helped the revolutionaries with shelter, money, material, ideas. The British could not stop her, inspite of their best efforts.

August 22, 1907- Madame Bhikaji Cama became the first person to hoist the Indian flag on foreign soil, during an International Socialist Conference at Stuttgart in Germany. It was also her way of drawing global attention to the British oppresion in India.

This was the national flag which Bhikaji Cama co designed along with Shyamji Krishna Varma and Veer Savarkar. 8 lotuses representing 8 different provinces then, Vande Mataram written in Hindi in the center. This flag now is at the Maratha-Kesari library in Pune.

When Savarkar was arrested by the British and deported to India, she planned his daring escape at Marseilles. However a delay in reaching the port, meant Savarkar was caught by the police and sent back. The British requested the French to extradite her, who however refused.

The British reprisal on Madame Bhikaji Cama for her assistance to Veer Savarkar and in his atttempted escape was swift, they seized all her property in England, and she had to live in exile. Lenin invited her to the Soviet Union, but she refused.

However inspite of all the British harassment, Madame Bhikaji Cama never wavered in her stand at all. When WWI broke out, she refused to support em, and asked the Indian soldiers-" Would you fight for some one who chained your motherland? "

But with France now becoming an ally to Britian in WWI, it meant Madame Bhikaji Cama had no safe haven, and exiled outside of Paris, made to report to the police station every week. The French Govt too cracked down on the Paris India Society.

Rana and his whole family were deported to Martinique, the Paris India Society was forcibly disbanded by the French Govt, and Bhikaji Cama herself was placed under house arrest in Bordeaux, where she had to report to the local police station daily till end of WWI.

Madame Bhikaji Cama was also a vocal advocate of women's rights, she felt that women had an equally important role in nation building.
" You must not forget that the hands that rock cradles also build persons. Do not forget the important role of women in nation building"

However for Bhikaji Cama, women's rights were secondary compared to India's independence. She felt that once freedom was obtained, women's rights wud come by themselves and could wait.
"When India is independent, women will not only have the right to vote, but other rights too"

Bhikaji Cama's later years were painful, spent most of her time in exile in Europe till 1935, until a paralytic stroke, forced her to come back to India with the help of Sir Jahangir Cowasji, and finally passed away on August 13, 1936 at the Parsi General Hospital.

A truly selfless patriot, Madame Bhikaji Cama bequeathed most of her personal inheritance to the Avabai Petit Orphanage for Girls in Mumbai. In 1997, the Indian Coast Guard named a fast patrol vessel in her honor. There is also a place in Delhi named after her.

Madame Bhikaji Cama, a selfless nationalist, who put the country's interests always above her own. Close associate of Shyamji Varma, Veer Savarkar. A true representation of Nari Shakti, #Naman to a great lady on her Jayanti.