Madam Bhikaiji Rustom Cama (September 24, 1861 – August 13, 1936) was a leading and prominent figure in the Indian Independence Movement. 13^th August, 2023 marks the Remembrance Day of this fearless Indian brave-heart – a nationalist, political activist, and staunch advocate for women’s rights. She is also remembered as the first person to hoist the Indian national flag (a tricolour of green, saffron and red stripes, which she co-designed with Shyamji Krishna Varma), in a foreign nation, during the International Socialist Conference, which was being held at Stuttgart, Germany, on 21^st August, 1907.

In the presence of over a thousand global representatives, she proudly proclaimed, “Behold, the flag of independent India is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives in its honour. In the name of this flag, I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to support this struggle.”

This version of the Indian flag displayed eight blooming lotuses within the top green stripe, representing pre-Independence India’s eight provinces. ‘Bande Mataram’ was written across the central saffron stripe in Hindi. The bottom red stripe had a half moon to the right and a rising sun to the left, indicating the Hindu and Muslim faith. The same flag was later smuggled into India by socialist leader Indulal Yagnik and is now on display at the Maratha and Kesari Library in Pune. This first flag served as a template for the final version of the flag that we now revere, our beloved Tiranga.

Revered as the ‘First Lady Of Indian Independence’, Madam Cama endeavoured to highlight to the world, India’s freedom struggle and the poverty, starvation and oppression that Indians faced, under the British Raj. She appealed for global support in India’s struggle for autonomy, at a time when the British were clamping down on revolutionaries. They charged her with treason and exiled her to Europe for 33 years.

A strong advocate of gender equality and equal women’s rights in independent India, Bhikaiji Cama famously quoted, “Do not forget the important role that women play in building a nation.” Once, while speaking at a National Conference in Cairo, Egypt (1910), she asked, “Where is the other half of Egypt? I see only men who represent half the country! Where are the mothers? Where are the sisters? You must not forget that the hands that rock cradles, also build persons!”

She returned to India in 1935, after her exile and suffered a paralytic stroke. 74-year-old Bhikaiji breathed her last on 13^th August, 1936. Selfless to the very end, she bequeathed most of her personal assets to the Avabai Petit Orphanage for girls.

India paid tribute to this unsung heroine of the freedom struggle and on 26^th January, 1962, India’s 11^th Republic Day, the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department issued a commemorative stamp in her honour. In 1997, the Indian Coast Guard also commissioned a Priyadarshini-class fast patrol vessel, named the ICGS Bhikaji Cama.

While she did not get the opportunity to see her vision of free India come to fruition, her legacy and extraordinary contribution towards India’s struggle for Independence will always be respected and cherished by the community and the country.

The Indian National Flag – India’s Pride

The Indian National Flag is a symbol of India’s rich cultural heritage, its hard-fought freedom struggle and the undying aspirations of its people for a united, prosperous and autonomous nation. Over the last five decades, several people including members of armed forces have ungrudgingly laid down their lives to keep the tricolour flying in its full glory. National Flag Day is observed annually on 22^nd July to commemorate the adoption of the tricolour designed by Pingali Vekayya, as the flag of India.

The top band of our national flag is of Saffron colour, indicating the strength and courage of the country. The white, middle band indicates peace and truth with the Dharma Chakra, which depicts the ‘wheel of the law’ in the Sarnath Lion Capital made by the 3^rd century BC Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. The last green band is representative of the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of this blessed land. The Indian National Flag is usually made of khadi, a hand-spun and handwoven fabric, to symbolize the importance of rural self-reliance and support for indigenous industries. One of the largest Indian flags in the world is hoisted at the India-Pakistan border at the Attari-Wagah border crossing, measuring 110 meters by 24 meters.

The history and journey of the Indian flag is one of great interest. India did not have a national flag till the partition of Bengal was announced. That day was declared as the National Day Of Mourning. A year later, in 1906, on the anniversary of anti-partition movement, a flag, designed by Sachindra Prasad Bose, was unfurled. Once the partition was annulled, this flag was forgotten.

In August 1907, Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama, unfurled the Indian flag at the International Socialist Congress in Germany, designed by her and Hem Chandra Das. Years later, in 1917, during the Home Rule Movement, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant also designed a flag.

Four years later, in 1921, Gandhiji asked Pingley Venkayya to design a national flag, for the Freedom Movement , which should have a ‘Charkha’, as it represented self-reliance, progress and the common man. It was also called the Swaraj flag, the Gandhi flag and the Charkha Flag. However, in 1931, a seven-member flag committee was established in Karachi to modify the flag and they gave it a new design.

On the big day when Lord Mountbatten announced the decision to free India, a flag acceptable to all parties was realized and an ad-hoc flag committee was headed by Dr. Rajendra Prasad to design the flag for free India. Gandhiji’s consent was taken and Pingley Venkayya’s flag was modified. Instead of the Charkha, the emblem of Ashoka’s Sarnath pillar, the wheel, was chosen. None of the colours had any communal significance. The National Flag was finally adopted on 22^nd July, 1947, that we celebrate as National Flag Day.