VOC in Madras: A shipping baron’s years in struggle

“All honour to Chidambaram Pillai for having shown us the first complete example of an Aryan reborn, and all honour to Madras which has produced such a man," said Aurobindo, who had one leg in nationalism and one in spiritualism then. VO Chidambaram of Tuticorin was a blend of many qualities - on one side, he was an entrepreneur with lofty business ideas and on the other side, he was a labour leader. He was a writer with a deep interest in Tamil and wanted to see his country free as well

In 1906, VOC started the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, one of the earliest Indian shipping companies. He sailed two ships between Colombo and Tuticorin and in its years of existence he offered stiff competition to the British India Steam Navigation Company. There was a price war between the competitors, with each cutting fares and finally the rivals even offering every customer a free umbrella.

Not restricting himself to managing his ships, VOC concentrated on labour rights as well. When the Coral Mills workforce decided to strike because of the harsh working conditions, VOC, a lawyer decided to get involved. The strike was path-breaking and a report was sent to the czar in Moscow (who for sure was as much worried about labour relations) by a Russian diplomat.

VOC was arrested and sentenced to two life terms for sedition. The unjust verdict was widely condemned and the district erupted. This culminated with the acting collector of Tinnevely District, Robert Ashe, being shot dead at Maniyachi Railway Station by Vanchinathan. VOC spent a torturous jail term and was released in an appeal after 4 years but only a couple of people waited at the jail gates. The land had forgotten him. An equally bitter blow was that he had lost his Sanad to practice law.

VOC relocated to Madras where he ran a provisions store selling ghee and kerosene, but his family led an impoverished life. Gandhian supremacy in Congress sidelined many of tilaks followers. VOC while believing that insistence on non-violence would derail independence found himself just a bystander to historical events, all his previous deeds largely forgotten. He visited poet Bharathi who was exiled in Pondicherry secretly. If known to the authorities he might have been in serious trouble again.

VOC lived in Chennai till 1932. He worked with employees of the postal department to establish a union. He also worked on Tamil literature penning commentaries on Thirukkural and Sivagnana Potham. James Allen was a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and VOC translated many of Allen’s books to Tamil, thus being the pioneer of the Tamil self-help style of publishing. He might have as well started his autobiography written in verse form while in Madras.

However, abject poverty had held him with unrelenting tightness. There is a record of him writing to Periyar to use his good offices to secure a government job for his son to rescue from poverty (allow us to eat 2 meals a day he said)

When Gandhi visited Madras, VOC stood among thousands to see Gandhi and Kasturba arriving. Requesting a private interview, VOC addressed his letter as “Dear Brother”. VOC was given ‘a few minutes’ at six in the morning by Gandhi. VOC, a shipping baron not far in the past, could now only manage a tram trip (service starting at 5.30 am) excused himself ‘for having intruded upon Gandhi’s precious time’. Gandhi understood the slight he had done to a freedom fighter and said: "If you do not want to see me I would like to see you. Will you kindly call on Friday or Saturday at 6 am and give me a few minutes?".

Gandhi wrote to VOC saying he remembered having collected some money in South Africa for VOC defence and whether it had been handed over. A surprised VOC hadn’t received it. Over a year, a desperate VOC kept on requesting Gandhi to speed up the process of remitting the finances and Gandhi tried to cool him down by even writing a letter in chaste Tamil. Finally the amount of Rs 347-12-0 reached VOC, but most went to settling his debts.

VOC wanted to try his hand at the law again but he had lost his Sanad during his imprisonment. He appealed to a judge of Madras high court EH Wallace, who had initially heard his case in Tuticorin. Wallace felt some remorse and restored VOC's right to practice. A grateful VOC would name his son Walleshwaran.

His Madras sojourn being economically and socially unproductive, VOC returned south where he would live his last years in anonymity.

History has been kinder to VOC than actual life. Ma. Po. Sivanganam, who was responsible for the remembrance of several freedom fighters, wrote in his biography calling VOC Kappalotiya Tamilan (the Tamil helmsman). The TKS brothers made a play on VOC for the radio and later the stage.

The centenary of the sepoy mutiny spurred on a spurt of nationalism and Shivaji Ganesan acted in a biopic of VOC titled Kappalotiya Tamilan. The movie flopped inspite of its splendid screenplay and Bharathi's songs. It was re-released with an entertainment tax exemption (the first Tamil movie to get it) and did better in re-runs.

VOC’s statue was placed opposite the then custom house on Beach Road for the international Tamil conference of 1968. The Tuticorin port out of which VOC was hounded out is now named after him. His statue stands where the real Chidambaram, the ‘Aryan reborn’ stood gazing at his two ships on the seas with the Vande Mataram slogan written on their flags.

— The writer is a historian and an author