CHENNAI: Commemorating the 85th anniversary of German naval curiser SMS Emden’s attack on the Madras coast during World War I, a group of students and lawyers paid homage to Dr Shengbagaraman Pillai, the Indian who was on board the war ship when it stealthily entered the Madras port on the night of September 22, 1914.
After placing a wreath at the spot where one of the salvos fired from the ship landed — near the eastern gate of the Madras High Court — the group paid tributes to Shenbagaraman, who was with the Germans during World War I by holding a remembrance meeting at the Madras Bar Association building in the court premises.
Organised by the Bharath Yuvak Samaj and attended by college students, the meeting saw speakers like Kapilan, additional government chief advocate and J V Samy, president of Shenbagaraman Memorial Association paying encomiums to Shenbagaraman.
During that attack by Emden, a shell landed at Fort St. George Fort and another one set a fuel tank near the harbour on fire.
It created a great sensation in Madras then for it was the only attack that the city saw during the war.
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