V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, freedom fighter from Tamil Nadu, has been celebrated as the man who took on the mercantile might of the British in the early 20th century by starting a shipping company under colonial rule. How did he pull off this audacious act?
In his new book, Swadeshi Steam, historian A.R. Venkatachalapathy gives a detailed account of how VOC (as he was known) did it and what happened subsequently.
