Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company

In the early 20th century, the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC) had a monopoly over trade in the Indian Ocean region. The merchants of Tuticorin, a port city in South India, decided to break the monopoly. They hired a ship from the Shawline Steam Company to run between Tuticorin and Colombo, the capital of Ceylon. After the intervention of the British Raj, the hired company withdrew the lending. During this time, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, a pleader from Tuticorin who was involved in the Swadeshi movement, which argued for self-reliance, started a navigation company as an act of political and financial opposition to the British. ==Company==

Pillai registered the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company on 16 October 1906 with a capital of bought from the issue of 40,000 shares. Thevar became the president and Pillai became the assistant secretary. while poet Subramanya Bharathi wrote essays about its importance. The first ship, the SS Galia, was purchased from France and arrived in Tuticorin in 1907. The ship travelled between Tuticorin and Colombo and could carry 1300 passengers and 40,000 bags of cargo. The ship bore a flag with the slogan "Vande mataram". Due to nationalist sentiment, the SSNC received support from traders and passengers even when the BISNC offered free service. and delaying the medical and customs clearance of SSNC passengers. In response, on 12 March 1908, the British arrested Subramania Siva and Pillai on charges of sedition for organising meetings against the government. Pillai was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment (40 years). During his jail term, the British Raj further suppressed the activities of the company, and shareholders withdrew following harassment from the authorities. The SSNC liquidated in 1911, and one of the ships was sold to its rival British company. ==Impact==

On 17 June 1911, the collector of Tinnevely District, Robert Ashe, was shot dead at Maniyachchi Junction railway station by Vanchinathan, a member of a secret society. The Government of India changed the name of the Tuticorin Port Trust to the V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust to honour Pillai's contribution towards the Indian independence movement. ==References==