Khordad Saal, the birthday of Prophet Zarathushtra, occurs five days after the New Year and fell on August 22 this year as per the Shahenshahi calendar. But for all Indians, August 22 is also a day of great but little known significance in our struggle for freedom from the British rule.
On this day a young, petite Parsi woman, Madam Bhikaiji Rustom Cama, dressed in a traditional Parsi sari, waved the first prototype of the national flag designed by her in Stuttgart, Germany. The occasion was the International Socialist Congress where she delivered a fiery speech before a thousand delegates. She is reported to have announced: "This flag is of Indian Independence. Behold it is born.”
This declaration came more than two decades before the Indian National Congress call for Swaraj (freedom).
It is a pity that our community media did not find this historical event worthy of mention. However, Nergish Sunavala of The Times of India is to be thanked for reminding us of this historical event in that newspaper.
Cmde MEDIOMA BHADA (Retd)
mrbhadha@gmail.com
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