HP CM Sukhu pays tribute to Bhikaji Cama on her birth anniversary
Synopsis
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu honoured freedom fighter Bhikaji Cama on her birth anniversary, spotlighting her 1907 act of unfurling the Indian flag at an international congress in Stuttgart, Germany, as a landmark moment in the independence movement.
Key Takeaways
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh paid tribute to freedom fighter Bhikaji Cama on her birth anniversary, 24 September 2026 .
The tribute specifically cited Cama's act of unfurling an early Indian flag at the International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1907 .
Bhikaji Cama was born on 24 September 1861 in Bombay and spent decades in Europe advancing India's independence cause.
The tribute was posted by the Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh on X, signed by CM Sukhu.
Indian state governments routinely mark such birth anniversaries to preserve institutional memory of freedom fighters, particularly those whose contributions were made abroad.
A woman who carried India's cause to the heart of Europe — long before the world was ready to listen. On her birth anniversary, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh paid solemn tribute to freedom fighter Bhikaji Cama, honouring her courage, patriotism, and sacrifice on Thursday, 24 September 2026.
The Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh posted the tribute on X, with CM Sukhu stating: 'स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानी भीकाजी कामा जी की जयंती पर उन्हें सादर नमन' ('Respectful salutations to freedom fighter Bhikaji Cama on her birth anniversary'). He specifically recalled how, in 1907 in Germany, she unfurled the Indian flag and carried the message of India's freedom to the world stage.
The 1907 Stuttgart moment that echoed across continents
Bhikaji Cama's most defining act came at the International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany, in August 1907, where she unfurled an early version of the Indian national flag before a global audience — one of the first times the symbol of a free India was raised on foreign soil. It was an act of extraordinary audacity: a colonised nation's daughter demanding sovereignty in the language the world's democrats understood best.
Born on 24 September 1861 in Bombay, Cama spent decades in Europe — particularly in Britain and France — building networks among revolutionary nationalists and socialist intellectuals. She co-founded and contributed to publications that smuggled anti-colonial ideas back into India, earning the suspicion of British authorities and the admiration of independence seekers everywhere. She died in 1936, having spent her final years in India after being permitted to return.
Why state governments mark this date every year
Tribute posts from chief ministers' offices on freedom fighters' birth anniversaries are a settled part of Indian political and civic culture — a formal act of institutional memory. For figures like Cama, whose work unfolded largely overseas and outside mainstream colonial records, such commemorations carry an added weight: they keep alive a strand of the independence movement that is easily overlooked in school-textbook histories.
CM Sukhu's tribute closed with words that cut to the core: her courage, love of the nation, and sacrifice, he said, 'will always be remembered.' Simple words — but for a woman who once stood before an international assembly and dared the British Empire to look away, they feel earned.
Point of View
CM Sukhu signals awareness of the transnational dimension of India's independence movement, a thread that often gets compressed in domestic retellings. Such commemorations also function as soft political communication, projecting values of sacrifice and national pride ahead of any electoral cycle. For Bhikaji Cama in particular — a woman, a social reformer, and a figure who operated primarily outside India — the annual recall by official offices helps cement her place in a mainstream national memory she was long excluded from.
NationPress
24 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Bhikaji Cama and why is she famous?
Bhikaji Cama was an Indian independence activist born on 24 September 1861 in Bombay. She is most famous for unfurling an early version of the Indian national flag at the International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1907 , bringing India's demand for freedom to an international audience.
What did Bhikaji Cama do in Germany in 1907?
At the International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart in August 1907 , Bhikaji Cama unfurled an early version of the Indian national flag — one of the first times such a symbol of a free India was raised on foreign soil — to highlight the cause of Indian independence before a global gathering.
Why did CM Sukhu pay tribute to Bhikaji Cama?
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh paid tribute to mark Bhikaji Cama's birth anniversary on 24 September , honouring her courage, patriotism, and sacrifice as part of the broader national practice of commemorating freedom fighters on their birth anniversaries.
When was Bhikaji Cama born and when did she die?
Bhikaji Cama was born on 24 September 1861 in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) and died in 1936 , having spent much of her active life in Europe before returning to India in her final years.
What is the Chief Minister's Office of Himachal Pradesh?
The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) of Himachal Pradesh is the official administrative office of the state's chief minister, currently Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu . It handles official communications, policy coordination, and public statements on behalf of the Himachal Pradesh government.
