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Bhikaiji Cama: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Indian | {{Short description|Indian Warrior For Freedom Struggle}}{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}} | ||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
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|movement=[[Indian independence movement]] | |movement=[[Indian independence movement]] | ||
|organisation = [[India House]],<br />[[Paris Indian Society]],<br />[[Indian National Congress]] | |organisation = [[India House]],<br />[[Paris Indian Society]],<br />[[Indian National Congress]] | ||
| spouse = {{marriage|Rustom Cama|1885}} | |||
}} | }} | ||
[[File:Flag of India 1907 (Nationalists Flag).svg|thumb|220px|Design of the "Flag of Indian Independence" raised by Bhikhaiji Cama on 22 August 1907, at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany.<br />Based on the [[Calcutta Flag]], the green, yellow and red fields represent Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism respectively. The crescent moon and the sun again represent Islam and Hinduism, respectively. The eight lotuses in the upper register represent the eight provinces of [[British India]]. The words in the middle are in Devanagri script and read ''[[Vande Mataram]]'' "[We] Bow to thee Mother [India]", the slogan of the Indian National Congress.<br />The design was adopted in 1914 as the emblem of the [[Berlin Committee]] (later known as the Indian Independence Committee). The original "Flag of Indian Independence" raised by Cama in Stuttgart is now on display at the [[Kesari (newspaper)|Maratha and Kesari Library]] in [[Pune]].]] | [[File: Flag of India 1907 (Nationalists Flag).svg|thumb|220px|Design of the "Flag of Indian Independence" raised by Bhikhaiji Cama on 22 August 1907, at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, Germany.<br />Based on the [[Calcutta Flag]], the green, yellow and red fields represent Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism respectively. The crescent moon and the sun again represent Islam and Hinduism, respectively. The eight lotuses in the upper register represent the eight provinces of [[British India]]. The words in the middle are in Devanagri script and read ''[[Vande Mataram]]'' "[We] Bow to thee Mother [India]", the slogan of the Indian National Congress.<br />The design was adopted in 1914 as the emblem of the [[Berlin Committee]] (later known as the Indian Independence Committee). The original "Flag of Indian Independence" raised by Cama in Stuttgart is now on display at the [[Kesari (newspaper)|Maratha and Kesari Library]] in [[Pune]].]] | ||
''' | '''Bhikaji Rustom Cama'''<ref group="n">Bhi''<span style="border-bottom:1px double purple;">kh</span>ai''- (with aspirated ''-k<sup>h</sup>-'') is the name as it appears in the biographies. Another common form is Bhi''<span style="border-bottom:1px double purple;">k</span>ai''- (with unaspirated ''-k-''), as it appears on the postage stamp. The name is also frequently misspelled 'Bhikh''<span style="border-bottom:1px double green;">a</span>''-' (with missing ''-i-''), which is a male name (unlike the feminine Bhikh''<span style="border-bottom:1px double green;">ai</span>''-).</ref> (24 September 1861– 13 August 1936) or simply as, '''Madam Cama''', was one of the prominent figures in the [[Indian independence movement]]. | ||
Bhikaiji Cama was born in [[Bombay]] (now [[Mumbai]]) in a large, affluent [[Parsi]] [[Zoroastrian]] family.<ref name="YājñikaSheth2005">{{cite book|author1=Acyuta Yājñika|author2=Suchitra Sheth|title=The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva, and Beyond|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wmKIiAPgnF0C&pg=PA152|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-400038-8|pages=152–}}</ref> Her parents, Sorabji Framji Patel and Jaijibai Sorabji Patel, were well known in the city, where her father [[Sorabji]]—a lawyer by training and a [[merchant]] by profession—was an influential member of the Parsi community. | Bhikaiji Cama was born in [[Bombay]] (now [[Mumbai]]) in a large, affluent [[Parsi]] [[Zoroastrian]] family.<ref name="YājñikaSheth2005">{{cite book|author1=Acyuta Yājñika|author2=Suchitra Sheth|title=The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva, and Beyond|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wmKIiAPgnF0C&pg=PA152|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-400038-8|pages=152–}}</ref> Her parents, Sorabji Framji Patel and Jaijibai Sorabji Patel, were well known in the city, where her father [[Sorabji]]—a lawyer by training and a [[merchant]] by profession—was an influential member of the Parsi community. | ||
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She was preparing to return to India in 1904 when she came in contact with [[Shyamji Krishna Varma]],<!-- Yadav, p. 9 --> who was well known in London's Indian community for fiery nationalist speeches he gave in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]]. Through him, she met [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], then [[president (corporate title)|president]] of the [[History of the Indian National Congress|British Committee of the Indian National Congress]], and for whom she came to work as private secretary. Together with Naoroji and [[Sardar Singh Rana|Singh Rewabhai Rana]], Cama supported the founding of Varma's [[Indian Home Rule Society]] in February 1905. In [[London]], she was told that her return to India would be prevented unless she would sign a statement promising not to participate in nationalist activities. She refused.{{dubious|date=March 2016}}{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} That same year Cama relocated to Paris, where—together with [[S. R. Rana]] and [[Munchershah Burjorji Godrej]]—she co-founded the [[Paris Indian Society]]. Together with other notable members of the movement for Indian [[sovereignty]] living in exile, Cama wrote, published (in the Netherlands and Switzerland) and distributed revolutionary literature for the movement, including ''[[Bande Mataram (Paris publication)|Bande Mataram]]'' (founded in response to the [[The Crown|Crown]] ban on the poem ''[[Vande Mataram]]'') and later ''[[Talvar|Madan's Talwar]]'' (in response to the execution of [[Madan Lal Dhingra]]).<ref>{{citation|editor-last=Gupta|editor-first=K.|editor2-last=Gupta|editor2-first=Amita|title=Concise Encyclopaedia of India|volume=3|year=2006|page=1015|location=New Delhi|publisher=Atlantic|isbn=81-269-0639-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dNOT9iYxcMC}}.</ref> These weeklies were smuggled into India through the French colony of [[Pondicherry district|Pondichéry]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} | She was preparing to return to India in 1904 when she came in contact with [[Shyamji Krishna Varma]],<!-- Yadav, p. 9 --> who was well known in London's Indian community for fiery nationalist speeches he gave in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]]. Through him, she met [[Dadabhai Naoroji]], then [[president (corporate title)|president]] of the [[History of the Indian National Congress|British Committee of the Indian National Congress]], and for whom she came to work as private secretary. Together with Naoroji and [[Sardar Singh Rana|Singh Rewabhai Rana]], Cama supported the founding of Varma's [[Indian Home Rule Society]] in February 1905. In [[London]], she was told that her return to India would be prevented unless she would sign a statement promising not to participate in nationalist activities. She refused.{{dubious|date=March 2016}}{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} That same year Cama relocated to Paris, where—together with [[S. R. Rana]] and [[Munchershah Burjorji Godrej]]—she co-founded the [[Paris Indian Society]]. Together with other notable members of the movement for Indian [[sovereignty]] living in exile, Cama wrote, published (in the Netherlands and Switzerland) and distributed revolutionary literature for the movement, including ''[[Bande Mataram (Paris publication)|Bande Mataram]]'' (founded in response to the [[The Crown|Crown]] ban on the poem ''[[Vande Mataram]]'') and later ''[[Talvar|Madan's Talwar]]'' (in response to the execution of [[Madan Lal Dhingra]]).<ref>{{citation|editor-last=Gupta|editor-first=K.|editor2-last=Gupta|editor2-first=Amita|title=Concise Encyclopaedia of India|volume=3|year=2006|page=1015|location=New Delhi|publisher=Atlantic|isbn=81-269-0639-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dNOT9iYxcMC}}.</ref> These weeklies were smuggled into India through the French colony of [[Pondicherry district|Pondichéry]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} | ||
On 22 August 1907, Cama attended the [[International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart 1907|second Socialist Congress at Stuttgart]], [[Germany]], where she described the devastating effects of a famine that had struck the Indian subcontinent. In her appeal for human rights, equality and | On 22 August 1907, Cama attended the [[International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart 1907|second Socialist Congress at Stuttgart]], [[Germany]], where she described the devastating effects of a famine that had struck the Indian subcontinent. In her appeal for human rights, equality and autonomy from Great Britain, she unfurled what she called the "Flag of Indian Independence".<ref group="n">"This flag is of India's [[independence]]. Behold, it is born. It is already sanctified by the blood of martyred Indian youth. I call upon you, gentlemen, to rise and salute the flag of Indian independence. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to cooperate with this flag in freeing one-fifth of the human race."</ref> It has been speculated that this moment may have been an inspiration to African American writers and intellectuals [[W. E. B. Du Bois]] in writing his 1928 novel ''[[Dark Princess]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bhabha|first=Homi K.|title=The Black Savant and the Dark Princess|journal=ESQ|year=2004|volume=50|issue=1st–3rd|pages=142–143}}</ref> Cama's flag, a modification of the ''Calcutta Flag'', was co-designed by Cama, and [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]], and would later serve as one of the templates from which the current [[Flag of India|national flag of India]] was created. | ||
In 1909, following Madan Lal Dhingra's [[assassination]] of [[William Hutt Curzon Wyllie]], an aide to the [[Secretary of State for India]], [[Scotland Yard]] arrested several key activists living in Great Britain, among them Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. In 1910, Savarkar was ordered to be returned to India for trial. When the ship Savarkar was being transported on docked in [[Marseilles]] harbour,<!--8 July 1910--> he squeezed out through a porthole window and jumped into the sea. Reaching shore, he expected to find Cama and others who had been told to expect him (who got there late) but ran into the local constabulary instead. Unable to communicate his predicament to the French authorities without Cama's help, he was returned to British custody. The British [[Government]] requested Cama's [[extradition]], but the French Government refused to cooperate. In return, the British Government seized Cama's inheritance. [[Lenin]] reportedly<ref>{{Citation|editor-last=Mody|editor-first=Nawaz B.|year=1998|title=The Parsis in western India, 1818 to 1920 (conference proceedings)|publisher=Allied Publishers|location=Bombay|isbn=81-7023-894-3}}</ref> invited her to reside in the Soviet Union, but she did not accept. | In 1909, following Madan Lal Dhingra's [[assassination]] of [[William Hutt Curzon Wyllie]], an aide to the [[Secretary of State for India]], [[Scotland Yard]] arrested several key activists living in Great Britain, among them Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. In 1910, Savarkar was ordered to be returned to India for trial. When the ship Savarkar was being transported on docked in [[Marseilles]] harbour,<!--8 July 1910--> he squeezed out through a porthole window and jumped into the sea. Reaching shore, he expected to find Cama and others who had been told to expect him (who got there late) but ran into the local constabulary instead. Unable to communicate his predicament to the French authorities without Cama's help, he was returned to British custody. The British [[Government]] requested Cama's [[extradition]], but the French Government refused to cooperate. In return, the British Government seized Cama's inheritance. [[Lenin]] reportedly<ref>{{Citation|editor-last=Mody|editor-first=Nawaz B.|year=1998|title=The Parsis in western India, 1818 to 1920 (conference proceedings)|publisher=Allied Publishers|location=Bombay|isbn=81-7023-894-3}}</ref> invited her to reside in the Soviet Union, but she did not accept. | ||
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Influenced by [[Christabel Pankhurst]] and the [[Suffragette]] movement, Bhikhaiji Cama was vehement in her support for [[gender equality]]. Speaking in [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]] in 1910, she asked, "I see here the representatives of only half the population of Egypt. May I ask where is the other half? Sons of [[Egypt]], where are the daughters of Egypt? Where are your mothers and sisters? Your wives and daughters?" Cama's stance with respect to the vote for women was, however, secondary to her position on [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]]; in 1920, upon meeting [[Herabai Tata|Herabai]] and [[Mithan Tata]],<!-- respectively the wife and daughter of [[Jamsetji Tata]]--> two [[Parsi]] women outspoken on the issue of the right to vote, Cama is said to have sadly shaken her head and observed: "'Work for Indian's freedom and [i]ndependence. When India is independent women will not only [have] the right to [v]ote<!-- THIS IS INSIDE A LITERAL QUOTATION of a literal quotation. Accordingly, text that differs from that direct quotation must be flagged with [square brackets] -->, but all other rights.'"<ref>{{citation|last=Forbes|first=Geraldine|title=Women in Modern India|year=1999|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-65377-0|page=100}}.</ref> | Influenced by [[Christabel Pankhurst]] and the [[Suffragette]] movement, Bhikhaiji Cama was vehement in her support for [[gender equality]]. Speaking in [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]] in 1910, she asked, "I see here the representatives of only half the population of Egypt. May I ask where is the other half? Sons of [[Egypt]], where are the daughters of Egypt? Where are your mothers and sisters? Your wives and daughters?" Cama's stance with respect to the vote for women was, however, secondary to her position on [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]]; in 1920, upon meeting [[Herabai Tata|Herabai]] and [[Mithan Tata]],<!-- respectively the wife and daughter of [[Jamsetji Tata]]--> two [[Parsi]] women outspoken on the issue of the right to vote, Cama is said to have sadly shaken her head and observed: "'Work for Indian's freedom and [i]ndependence. When India is independent women will not only [have] the right to [v]ote<!-- THIS IS INSIDE A LITERAL QUOTATION of a literal quotation. Accordingly, text that differs from that direct quotation must be flagged with [square brackets] -->, but all other rights.'"<ref>{{citation|last=Forbes|first=Geraldine|title=Women in Modern India|year=1999|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-65377-0|page=100}}.</ref> | ||
Death | |||
{{refimprove section|date=March 2016}} | {{refimprove section|date=March 2016}} | ||
With the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914, France and Britain became allies, and all the members of Paris India Society except Cama and Singh Rewabhai Rana left the country (Cama had been advised by fellow-socialist [[Jean Longuet]] to go to Spain with [[M.P. Tirumal Acharya]]). She and Rana were briefly arrested in October 1914 when they tried to agitate among [[2nd Punjab Regiment|Punjab Regiment]] troops that had just arrived in Marseilles on their way to the [[Front (military)|front]]. They were required to leave Marseilles, and Cama then moved to Rana's wife's house in [[Arcachon]]<!-- misspelled "Archon" in Yadav-->, near [[Bordeaux]]. In January 1915, the French government deported Rana and his whole family to the [[Caribbean]] island of [[Martinique]], and Cama was sent to [[Vichy]], where she was interned. In bad health, she was released in November 1917 and permitted to return to [[Bordeaux]] provided that she report weekly to the local police. Following the war, Cama returned to her home at 25, Rue de Ponthieu in Paris. | With the outbreak of [[World War I]] in 1914, France and Britain became allies, and all the members of Paris India Society except Cama and Singh Rewabhai Rana left the country (Cama had been advised by fellow-socialist [[Jean Longuet]] to go to Spain with [[M.P. Tirumal Acharya]]). She and Rana were briefly arrested in October 1914 when they tried to agitate among [[2nd Punjab Regiment|Punjab Regiment]] troops that had just arrived in Marseilles on their way to the [[Front (military)|front]]. They were required to leave Marseilles, and Cama then moved to Rana's wife's house in [[Arcachon]]<!-- misspelled "Archon" in Yadav-->, near [[Bordeaux]]. In January 1915, the French government deported Rana and his whole family to the [[Caribbean]] island of [[Martinique]], and Cama was sent to [[Vichy]], where she was interned. In bad health, she was released in November 1917 and permitted to return to [[Bordeaux]] provided that she report weekly to the local police. Following the war, Cama returned to her home at 25, Rue de Ponthieu in Paris. | ||
Cama remained in exile in Europe until 1935, when, gravely ill and | Cama remained in exile in Europe until 1935, when, gravely ill and paralyzed by a stroke that she had suffered earlier that year, she petitioned the British government through [[Cowasji Jehangir|Sir Cowasji Jehangir]] to be allowed to return home. Writing from <!--Hotel Delft in--> Paris on 24 June 1935, she acceded to the requirement that she renounce seditionist activities.<!-- Mody 69 --> Accompanied by Jehangir, she arrived in Bombay in November 1935<!-- Yadav 261 --> and died nine months later, aged {{age|1861|9|24|1936|8|13}}, at Parsi General Hospital on 13 August 1936.<ref>{{citation|last=Taraporevala|first=Sooni|title=Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India: A Photographic Journey|location=New York City|publisher=Overlook Press|isbn=1-58567-593-8}}<!-- same text as in Taraporevala book: http://www.the-south-asian.com/April2001/Parsis-pioneers%20of%20Modern%20India%201.htm Parsis: Pioneers of Modern India. --></ref> | ||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
[[File:Bhikaiji Cama 1962 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Cama on a 1962 stamp of India]] | [[File: Bhikaiji Cama 1962 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Cama on a 1962 stamp of India]] | ||
Bikhaiji Cama bequeathed most of her personal assets to the Avabai Petit Orphanage for girls, now the Bai Avabai Framji Petit Girls' High School, which established a trust in her name. Rs. 54,000 (1936: £39,300; $157,200<!-- £{{#expr:54000 / 1.374 ROUND 0}}, ${{#expr:54000 * 4 / 1.374 ROUND 0}}-->) went to her family's [[fire temple]], the Framji Nusserwanjee Patel Agiary at [[Mazgaon]], in South Bombay.<ref>{{citation|editor-last=Dastur|editor-first=Dolly|title=Mrs. Bhi<!--**kai**-->kai<!--**kai**-->ji Rustom Cama|journal=Journal of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America|year=1994|volume=4<!--Fall 1994-->|url=http://www.vohuman.org/Article/Mrs.%20Bhi%6B%61%69ji%20Rustom%20Cama.htm}}.</ref> | Bikhaiji Cama bequeathed most of her personal assets to the Avabai Petit Orphanage for girls, now the Bai Avabai Framji Petit Girls' High School, which established a trust in her name. Rs. 54,000 (1936: £39,300; $157,200<!-- £{{#expr:54000 / 1.374 ROUND 0}}, ${{#expr:54000 * 4 / 1.374 ROUND 0}}-->) went to her family's [[fire temple]], the Framji Nusserwanjee Patel Agiary at [[Mazgaon]], in South Bombay.<ref>{{citation|editor-last=Dastur|editor-first=Dolly|title=Mrs. Bhi<!--**kai**-->kai<!--**kai**-->ji Rustom Cama|journal=Journal of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America|year=1994|volume=4<!--Fall 1994-->|url=http://www.vohuman.org/Article/Mrs.%20Bhi%6B%61%69ji%20Rustom%20Cama.htm}}.</ref> | ||
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In 1997, the Indian Coast Guard commissioned a Priyadarshini-class fast patrol vessel ''ICGS Bikhaiji Cama'' after Bikhaiji Cama. | In 1997, the Indian Coast Guard commissioned a Priyadarshini-class fast patrol vessel ''ICGS Bikhaiji Cama'' after Bikhaiji Cama. | ||
A high rise office complex in the posh location of South Delhi which accommodates major companies such as Jindal Group, SAIL, GAIL, EIL etc. is named as Bhikaji Cama Place in tribute to her. | A high-rise office complex in the posh location of South Delhi which accommodates major Government Offices and companies such as EPFO [{www.epfindia.gov.in}] Jindal Group, SAIL, GAIL, EIL etc. is named as Bhikaji Cama Place in tribute to her. | ||
Following Cama's 1907 Stuttgart address, the flag she raised there was smuggled into [[British India]] by [[Indulal Yagnik]] and is now on display at the Maratha and Kesari Library in Pune. In 2004, politicians of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]], India's political party, attempted to identify a later design (from the 1920s) as the flag Cama raised in Stuttgart.<ref>{{citation|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|title=Truths about the Tricolor ur|date=26 September 2004|periodical=The Hindu|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004092600280300.htm&date=2004/09/26/&prd=mag&|access-date=1 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221101006/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004092600280300.htm&date=2004%2F09%2F26%2F&prd=mag&|archive-date=21 February 2011|url-status= | Following Cama's 1907 Stuttgart address, the flag she raised there was smuggled into [[British India]] by [[Indulal Yagnik]] and is now on display at the Maratha and Kesari Library in Pune. In 2004, politicians of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]], India's political party, attempted to identify a later design (from the 1920s) as the flag Cama raised in Stuttgart.<ref>{{citation|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|title=Truths about the Tricolor ur|date=26 September 2004|periodical=The Hindu|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004092600280300.htm&date=2004/09/26/&prd=mag&|access-date=1 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221101006/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004092600280300.htm&date=2004%2F09%2F26%2F&prd=mag&|archive-date=21 February 2011|url-status=usurped}}.</ref> The flag Cama raised – misrepresented as "original national Tricolour" – has an (Islamic) crescent and a (Hindu) sun, which the later design does not have. | ||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||