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Birth of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

· Ottapidaram

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

V. O. Chidambaram Pillai was born on 5 September 1872 at Ottapidaram, then in Tirunelveli district. He became a lawyer and a leading figure of the Swadeshi movement in the Tamil region. In 1906 he founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company at Tuticorin to compete with British shipping. His arrest in 1908 led to unrest in Tirunelveli and a long prison sentence, and he is remembered as Kappalottiya Tamizhan.

Related events

  1. 1801

    1. 1801TiruchirappalliPolitics

      Jambudweep proclamation of the Maruthu brothers

      The Maruthu brothers issued a proclamation calling on all people of the peninsula, whatever their religion, to fight the British.

  2. 1884

    1. 4 Oct 1884BatlagunduPolitics

      Birth of Subramania Siva

      Subramania Siva, independence activist, writer and associate of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, was born at Batlagundu.

  3. 1906

    1. 16 Oct 1906 to 1911ThoothukudiEconomy

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

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

  4. 1908

    1. 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.

    2. 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.

  5. 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.

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