Shekhawat Pays Tribute to Bhikaji Cama on Her Birth Anniversary
Synopsis
Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat paid tribute to Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama on her birth anniversary, honouring the revolutionary who famously unfurled an early Indian national flag at the 1907 Stuttgart Congress.
Key Takeaways
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat , Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, posted a tribute to Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama on her birth anniversary on 24 September 2026 .
Bhikaji Cama was a pioneering Indian independence activist who spent years in exile in Europe, agitating against British colonial rule.
She famously unfurled an early version of the Indian national flag at the 1907 International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany .
The tribute aligns with the Ministry of Culture's ongoing practice of commemorating freedom fighters on significant anniversaries through official social media.
Cama, born into a Parsi family in Bombay , returned to India before her death in 1936 after decades of revolutionary activity abroad.
A woman who defied an empire from a continent away, Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama unfurled a version of India's national flag on European soil nearly four decades before independence — and on Thursday, 24 September 2026, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat marked her birth anniversary with a heartfelt tribute on X.
Posting in Hindi, Shekhawat wrote: 'प्रसिद्ध महिला क्रांतिकारी मैडम भीकाजी रूस्तम कामा जी की जन्म जयंती पर शत्-शत् नमन' — 'A hundred salutes to the renowned woman revolutionary Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama on her birth anniversary.'The Woman Who Flew the Flag at Stuttgart
Bhikaji Cama occupies a singular chapter in India's freedom struggle. Born into a prominent Parsi family in Bombay, she eventually settled in Europe, where she became a fierce voice for Indian independence among international socialist and nationalist circles. Her defining moment came at the 1907 International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany, where she unfurled an early design of the Indian national flag — a radical act of defiance that electrified the global anti-colonial movement. She spent decades in exile, writing, organising, and fundraising for the cause, before returning to India shortly before her death in 1936.Culture Ministry's Habit of Keeping Freedom Fighters in the Spotlight
Shekhawat's tribute is part of a well-established pattern: the Ministry of Culture and its ministers regularly use social media to commemorate birth and death anniversaries of independence-era figures, with a growing emphasis on women revolutionaries whose contributions were long overshadowed in mainstream historical memory. The gesture carries particular weight coming from the Culture portfolio, which oversees museums, archives, and national commemorations that shape how India tells its own story.Point of View
Broadening the nationalist canon beyond the familiar Nehru-Gandhi axis. Honouring Bhikaji Cama — a Parsi, a diaspora activist, a socialist-aligned internationalist — signals a capacious, cross-community framing of India's independence story. For a minister who controls heritage institutions, museums, and commemorative calendars, these social media moments are soft policy signals about whose history gets amplified. The question is whether the digital tribute translates into deeper institutional recognition, such as dedicated exhibitions or curriculum integration.
NationPress
24 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Madam Bhikaji Cama?
Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama was a prominent Indian independence activist born into a Parsi family in Bombay. She spent much of her life in exile in Europe, where she organised support for Indian independence and famously unfurled an early version of the Indian national flag at the 1907 International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany.
Why is Bhikaji Cama famous?
Bhikaji Cama is best known for unfurling an early design of the Indian national flag at the 1907 Stuttgart Congress — one of the boldest symbolic acts of the anti-colonial movement on European soil. She was also a prolific writer and organiser for Indian independence from exile.
When is Bhikaji Cama's birth anniversary?
Bhikaji Cama's birth anniversary falls on 24 September , which is observed annually as a day of tribute to her contributions to India's freedom movement.
What did Gajendra Singh Shekhawat post about Bhikaji Cama?
Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat posted a tribute in Hindi on X, offering 'a hundred salutes' to Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama on her birth anniversary, describing her as a renowned woman revolutionary.
What is the Ministry of Culture's role in commemorating freedom fighters?
The Ministry of Culture oversees museums, archives, and national commemorative events in India. Its ministers regularly mark birth and death anniversaries of independence-era figures on social media, as part of broader efforts to keep the freedom struggle in public memory.
