V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, also known as 'Kappalottiya Thamizhan', was a pioneer of the Swadeshi movement who started which enterprise?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company.
V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (VOC) founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNCo) in 1906 to challenge the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company. By launching indigenous ships like the S.S. Galia and S.S. Lavo between Tuticorin and Colombo, he turned the Swadeshi movement into a powerful maritime struggle. His enterprise was not just a business but a symbolic act of Indian self-reliance and resistance against colonial economic exploitation, earning him the title 'Kappalottiya Thamizhan' (The Tamil Helmsman).