Tamil Nadu. (b) V.O.C. and Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) The Swadeshi movement in Tamil Nadu came to national attention in when V.O. Chidambaram mooted the idea of launching a swadeshi shipping venture in opposition to monopoly of the British in navigation through the coast.
In , V.O.C. registered a joint stock company called The Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) with a capital of Rs Lakh, divided into , shares of Rs. each. V.O.
Chidambaram Beside this, revolutionary terrorism suffered from certain social limitations too as most of the revolutionaries were drawn from the three upper castes – Brahmin, Kayastha, and Vaishya. (b) British Repression In December the Morley-Minto constitutional reforms were announced. The moderates welcomed the reforms. However, they soon realised that there was hardly any shift of power.
In fact, measures taken by Minto were highly divisive as it institutionalised communal electorates creating Hindu-Muslim divide. Beside this, the colonial government also introduced certain repressive laws such as: The Newspapers (Incitement to Offence) Act, . This act empowered the magistrate to confiscate press property which published objectionable material making it difficult to publish anything critical of British rule. Indian Press Act made it mandatory for publishers and the printers to deposit a security that could be seized in case they printed ‘obnoxious material’.
The Indian Criminal Law Amendment Act allowed summary trails and also imposed the prohibition of ‘association dangerous to the public peace’. Even with the widespread repression, the charm of revolutionary action never disappeared from the Indian national movement. The centre of activities moved from Bengal to Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.