கப்பலோட்டிய தமிழன் - வ.உ.சிதம்பரனார் நினைவு நாள் இன்று. எல்லோருக்கும் புரியும் வகையில், முக்கியமாய் ஆங்கிலேயருக்கு நினைவூட்ட - ஆங்கிலத்தில். V.O.CHIDAMBARANAR (SEPTEMBER 5, 1872 – NOVEMBER 18, 1936) Aurobindo Ghosh, acclaimed him in Bande Mataram (March 27, 1908) - Well Done, Chidambaram! A true feeling of comradeship is the salt of political life; it binds men together and is the cement of all associated action. When a political leader is prepared to suffer for the sake of his followers, when a man, famous and adored by the public, is ready to remain in jail rather than leave his friends and fellow-workers behind, it is a. sign that political life in India is becoming a reality. Srijut Chidambaram Pillai has shown throughout the Tuticorin affair a loftiness of character, a practical energy united with high moral idealism which show that he is a true Nationalist. His refusal to accept release on bail if his fellow-workers were left behind, is one more count in the reckoning. Nationalism is or ought to be not merely a political creed but a religious aspiration and a moral attitude. Its business is to build up Indian character by educating it to heroic self-sacrifice and magnificent ambitions, to restore the tone of nobility which it has lost and bring back the ideals of the ancient Aryan gentleman. The qualities of courage, frankness, love and justice are the stuff of which a Nationalist should be made. 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. After his release in 1912 he completed his autobiography which he had started writing in prison. It was in Tamil in a verse form. He wrote a commentary onThirukural and edited the Tamil work of grammar, Tolkappiam. His Tamil works like Meyyaram and Meyyarivu reflect a creative mind, restless for uninhibited expression. V.O.C. attended the Calcutta Congress in 1920.V.O.C. showed the way for organized effort and sacrifice. Today when anybody utters the name of VOC, immediately comes to mind is his achievement as the first Indian to launch a ship service. During his days in prison, V O Chidambaram Pillai did not receive the treatment shown to other political prisoners; rather he was made to engage in hard labor in prison just like other convicts. The hard work took a toll on his health and the gradual deterioration of his condition forced the British authorities to release him from prison on December 12, 1912. While in prison, V O Chidambaram Pillai continued with his Swadeshi activities through legal petitions. Cruel circumstances struck him when V O Chidambaram Pillai was released from prison. Instead of a large gathering of supporters which he had expected in front of the jail gates, there was an eerie silence. The title of barrister was taken away from him, meaning that V.O.C could not practice law anymore. The Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company was also liquidated in the year 1911, so V.O.C was left a poor man. V O Chidambaram Pillai settled in Madras with his wife and two children and became the leader of various trade unions and labor welfare organizations in Madras. In the year 1920, V O Chidambaram Pillai presided over the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. Literary Works Apart from his works as an eminent lawyer and a politician, V O Chidambaram Pillai was also a scholar. He started his autobiography while in prison and completed it soon after his release in the year 1912. V O Chidambaram Pillai was the author of a couple of novels; he translated several James Allen works in Tamil and made compilations of important Tamil works like the Thirukural and the Tolkappiam. Personal Life V O Chidambaram Pillai married Valliammai in the year 1895, but she died prematurely in the year 1901. He married Meenakshi Ammiar a few years later. The couple had four sons and four daughters. His eldest son died when still a child, the second son was a politician, the third son was the employee of the American Embassy in Madras and the fourth son, still alive is settled in Madurai. All his daughters had been married in Madras. The descendants of V.O.C Pillai still live in various places across Tamil Nadu. Death V O Chidambaram Pillai spent such an impoverished lifestyle after he was released from prison that Justice Wallace who sentenced V O C to prison restored his bar license. But V O C was never successful in repaying his debts and lived in poverty till the end of his life on November 18, 1936. V O Chidambaram Pillai breathed his last at the Indian National Congress office in Tuticorin.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 06:36:00 +0000
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