book was published by Subramaniam to condemn the British actions during the Congress Conference in Barsal. Subramania Bharati Shares were open only to Indians, Ceylonese and other Asian nationals. V.O.C. purchased two steamships, S.S.
Gallia and S.S. Lawoe. When in the other parts of India, the response to Swadeshi was limited to symbolic gestures of making candles and bangles, the idea of forging a Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company was really spectacular. V.O.C invoked the rich history of the region and the maritime glory of India’s past and used it as a reference point to galvanize the public opinion in favour of a Swadeshi venture in the sea.
The initiative of V.O.C. was lauded by the national leaders. Lokmanya Tilak wrote about the success of the Swadeshi Navigation Company in his papers Kesari and Mahratta . Aurobindo Ghose also lauded the Swadeshi efforts and helped to promote the sale of shares of the company.
The major shareholders included Pandithurai and Haji Fakir Mohamed. V.O.C. Ship The initial response of the British administration was to ignore the Swadeshi company. As patronage for Swadeshi Company increased, the European officials exhibited blatant bias and racial partiality against the Swadeshi steamship.
(c) The Coral Mill Strike After attending the session of the Indian National Congress at Surat, V.O.C. on his return decided to work on building a political organisation. While looking for an able orator, he came across Subramania Siva, a swadeshi preacher. From February to March , both the leaders addressed meetings almost on a daily basis at the beach in Tuticorin, educating the people about swadeshi and the boycott campaign.
The Rise of Extremism and Swadeshi Movement The local public, angered over the arrest of the prominent swadeshi leaders, reacted violently. Shops were closed in a general show of defiance. The municipality building and the police station in Tirunelveli were set on fire. More importantly, the mill workers came out in large numbers to protest the arrest of swadeshi leaders.
After a few incidents of confrontation with the protesting crowd, the police