NEW DELHI: The Union Government on Thursday renamed the Tuticorin Port Trust after V O Chidambaranar, noted freedom fighter who ran an indigenous Indian shipping service between Thoothukudi and Colombo in 1906 against the British rule.
This decision comes ahead of assembly elections in Tamil Nadu this year.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the proposal to rename the Tuticorin Port Trust as V O Chidambaranar Port Trust. “Ports in India are generally named after the city or the town where they are situated...However, the government, in special cases, after due consideration have renamed ports after great leaders in the past,” an official spokesperson said.
There have been frequent demands from various quarters to rechristen the port after Chidambaranar, popularly known as Kappalottiya Thamizhan. As part of the Swadeshi Movement, he started the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company and procured two ships to launch the first Indian shipping service between Thoothukudi and Colombo. He was an erudite scholar in Tamil, a prolific writer, a fiery speaker, a trade union leader of unique calibre and a dauntless freedom fighter.