Valliyappan Olaganathan Chidambaram Pillai (5 September 1872 - 18 November 1936) also known as Kappalottiya Tamizhan (Tamil Helmsman) was an Indian freedom fighter and former leader of the Indian National Congress. He founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 to compete against the monopoly of the British India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC). He launched the first indigenous Indian shipping service between Tuticorin (India) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) with the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (SSNC) competing against British ships. Tuticorin Port Trust, one of India's thirteen major ports is named after him. At one time a member of the Indian National Congress he was later charged with sedition by the British government and sentenced to life imprisonment and his barrister license was revoked.
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