Bhikaiji Cama
Indian activist (1861-1936)
Bhikhaiji Rustom Cama (24 September 1861 – 13 August 1936), also known as Madam Cama, was one of the prominent figures in the Indian independence movement. She unfurled one of the earliest versions of the flag of independent India on August 22, 1907, and she was the first person to hoist an Indian flag in a foreign nation, at the International Socialist Conference at Stuttgart.
Early life
Bhikaiji Cama was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in a large, affluent Parsi Zoroastrian family. 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.
Like many Parsi girls of the time, Bhikhaiji attended Alexandra Girls' English Institution. Bhikhaiji was by all accounts a diligent, disciplined child with a flair for languages. She also excelled at cricket.
On 3 August 1885 at Bombay, she married Rustomji Cama, who was the son of K. R. Cama, and from a loyalist family. Her husband was a wealthy, pro-British lawyer who aspired to enter politics. It was not a compatible or happy marriage, and Bhikhaiji spent most of her time and energy in philanthropic activities and social work.
The public source identifies “Bhikaiji Cama” as indian activist (1861-1936). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Bhikaiji, Cama and Indian.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2768981. VIAF identifies the subject as 67555881. The Library of Congress control number is n88147537. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1861, 1936, 1907 and 1885.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bhikaiji Cama” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.