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V. O. Chidambaram Pillai founds the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company

· Thoothukudi

V. O. Chidambaram Pillai founds the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company
hindu, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

To compete with British lines on the Tuticorin-Colombo route, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai registered an Indian-owned shipping firm.

On 16 October 1906 V. O. Chidambaram Pillai registered the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, whose capital of 10 lakh rupees came from 40,000 shares. Among the earliest shipping enterprises owned by Indians, it took on the British India Steam Navigation Company on the run between Tuticorin and Colombo. Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Aurobindo Ghose helped buy its first vessel, the SS Galia, which reached Tuticorin in 1907. Chidambaram Pillai's arrest and relentless competition took their toll, and the company was wound up in 1911.

Related events

  1. 1872

    1. 5 Sep 1872OttapidaramPolitics

      Birth of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

      V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, later the founder of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, was born at Ottapidaram in Tirunelveli district.

  2. 1908

    1. 27 Feb 1908ThoothukudiProtest

      Coral Mill strike in Tuticorin

      Led by V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Siva, Coral Mill workers in Tuticorin struck against poor pay and harsh conditions.

    2. 12 Mar 1908 to 12 Dec 1912TirunelveliProtest

      Arrest of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Tirunelveli unrest

      The arrest of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Siva on sedition charges set off unrest in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.

  3. 1921

    1. 11 May 1921ThoothukudiEconomy

      Nadar Bank founded at Thoothukudi

      Founded at Thoothukudi, the Nadar Bank was later renamed Tamilnad Mercantile Bank.

  4. 1936

    1. 18 Nov 1936ThoothukudiPolitics

      Death of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

      Nationalist pioneer V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, who had started the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, died in Thoothukudi.

  5. 1974

    1. 1974ThoothukudiInfrastructure

      Tuticorin major port opened

      The new all-weather harbour at Tuticorin began operations as a major port, now known as V. O. Chidambaranar Port.

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