Bhikaiji Cama

Bhikaiji Cama Biography

Bhikaiji Cama was a freedom fighter and social worker from Mumbai. Bhikaiji, also pronounced as Bhikhaiji Rustom Cama was born as Bhikai Sorab Patel on 24 September 1861 in Mumbai. She was born in a large Parsi family to Sorabji Framji Patel and Jaijibai Sorabji Patel. 

Bhikalji’s father was a lawyer and trader and was an influential member of the Parsi community. Her schooling was done at Alexandra Native Girl's English Institution. She was married to Rustom Cama, son of Kharshedji Rustomji Cama, a Parsi scholar and reformer from Mumbai. Her husband was rich and engaged in political work of British. She didn’t have a happy marriage and hence devoted her full time in social service. She joined in a team of Grant Medical College who did social work during bubonic plague affected Bombay presidency in 1896. But she contracted the plague herself and was severely ill. She was sent to Britain in 1901 for medical care and was survived. 

When she was to return to India in 1908 when she came in contact with Shyamji Krishna Varma, an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter. Through him, she met Dadabhai Naoroji, then president of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress and became his private secretary. She supported Krishna Varma's Indian Home Rule Society in February 1905. She was asked to sign a statement promising not to participate in nationalist activities, if she wants to return to her motherland. She refused and Cama relocated to Paris very soon where she co-founded the Paris Indian Society.

Cama wrote, published and distributed revolutionary literature for the movement, including Bande Mataram and later Madan's Talwar. On 22 August 1907, Cama attended the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart where she described the devastating effects of a famine that effected Indian sub-continent and unfurled what she called the "Flag of Indian Independence”. Cama remained in exile in Europe until 1935 and arrived in Mumbai in November 1935 and died nine months later, aged 74.

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Updated: January 10, 2014