| Freedom Fighters |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
MADAME CAMA |
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| 'Salute This
Flag' It was the third week of August 1907. She learnt that the International Socialist Conference would be held in Stuttgart 'in Germany. Madame Cama got a golden opportunity to expose to worldview the conditions in enslaved India. A thousand representatives from several countries of the world attended the Conference. When India's turn came, Madame Cama ascended the rostrum. She was wearing a colorful saree. She had an attractive personality. Dignity shone in the face. The representative’s thought: 'She is an Indian princess.' Madame Cama spoke about the sorrows and the poverty of lakes of Indians who were suffering silently. 'One-fifth of mankind lives in India. All lovers of freedom should cooperate to free these people from subjection.' This was the gist of the resolution, she boldly placed before the conference. She condemned the British Government which was looting from India thirty-five million pounds every year. She explained how the Indian economy was growing weaker day by day because of the lawless imperialists sucking the blood of India. At the end of her speech she unfurled the Indian flag and said: "This flag is of Indian Independence. Behold it is born! It has been made sacred by the blood of young Indians who sacrificed their lives.I call upon you, gentle men, to rise and salute this flag of Indian Independence. In the name of this flag I appeal to lovers of freedom all over the world to cooperate with this flag." As if held by magic, the whole assembly stood up and honored the flag. Madame Cama was the lady who first unfurled the Indian flag, in a foreign land, in the presence of representatives of many countries! "It is my practice to speak under the flag of my country" - she would say and unfurl the flag before she spoke at any function. |
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