Champakaraman Pillai
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Champakaraman Pillai (September 15, 1891–May 26, 1934), was an Indian revolutionary during the Indian Independence Movement, who went abroad to organise an army to declare war against the British for India's freedom.
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[edit] Early life
Pillai was born of Tamil descent at Cochin in Kerala. His father, Chinnaswami Pillai, who was a police official, and mother Nagammal went to Trivandrum from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu and settled in Kerala. Pillai had his early education and spent his boyhood at Trivandrum. Even during his student days, he was attracted to books and periodicals preaching nationalism, and heard the speeches of all the political leaders who were in the forefront of the Indian freedom movement.
Pillai was greatly influenced by Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and his writings in his journal, Kesari, and when Tilak was arrested and sentenced to transportation, Pillai pledged lifelong dedication to the cause of India's liberation. He came to the firm conviction that the only and best way to drive the British out, was to join hands with their enemies, and with their help, organise an armed attack from outside. It was at this time that Pillai came into contact with an Englishman who was working as a spy for the Germans, and with the latter's help he left India when he was seventeen years old.
[edit] In Europe
Pillai first went to Colombo and from there to Switzerland. At Zurich he completed his education and took a Doctorate in engineering. After the outbreak of the First World War, Pillai found an opportunity to carry out his long-cherished plans. With the help of the German Embassy, he formed the International Pro-India Committee in September 1914, with Zurich as its headquarters, and himself as the President. That this committee was formed almost immediately after the declaration of War, indicates the impatience of the Indian revolutionaries abroad, who organised themselves under the leadership of Pillai to take advantage of the new situation created by the war.
It was soon recognised that they must have their centre in Berlin. Pillai moved to Berlin in October 1914 and started the Indian Independence Committee. Many prominent Indian revolutionaries abroad, including Taraknath Das, Barkatulla, Chandrakant Chakravarty, Bhupendra Nath Dutt (brother of Swami Vivekananda), Prabhakar, Virendra Chattopadhyaya, Birendra Sarkar, and Herambalal Gupta, joined him to work out the programme. Lala Har Dayal was also persuaded to join them in the movement. The International Pro-India Committee formed in Zurich was merged in the Berlin Committee, which continued as the guiding and controlling institution for all the Pro-Indian revolutionary activities in Europe. Soon the Committee's branches sprang up in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Washington, and in many other parts of Europe and America.
[edit] War activities
Pillai won the admiration of the German Kaiser, who conferred titles and honour upon Pillai. He won the confidence of the Germans to such an extent that he was allowed to lead the operations of the German Navy in the Indian Ocean, and it was on this occasion that he demonstrated his capacity as a warrior, directing the German warship, "SMS Emden", striking deep into the British naval installations and destroying British war-vessels. The British Government announced a reward of one lakh pounds to anyone who could capture Pillai and hand him over to them, but without success.
Pillai was the forerunner of Rash Behari Bose and Subhas Chandra Bose in organising an Indian Army abroad to strike against the enemies at home. He founded the Indian National Volunteer Corps during World War I, and prescribed military uniform and discipline to the volunteers, who were under the direct control of army leaders engaged in the war. In July 1914, Pillai gave a message from Berlin to the Indian soldiers that it was time for them to rise in revolt and fight the British in order to liberate India. Later in 1919, when Pillai met Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at Vienna, he explained his plan of action to him.
[edit] Prime Minister of Provisional Government of India
Pillai was among those who first gave the slogan of "Jai Hind" to the people of India and to the many Indians abroad who were struggling for the cause of Indian Independence. He had the privilege of being the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of India set up in Afghanistan in December 1915, with Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh of Kabul as President. However, the defeat of the Germans in the war shattered the hopes of the revolutionaries.
The Germans were all along helping the Indian revolutionaries with a selfish motive. Though the Indian patriots made it clear to the Germans that they were equal partners in their fight against the common enemy – British imperialism – and what was expected of them was help by way of funds, arms, and ammunition, to the revolutionaries who were abroad and at home fighting the British, the Germans wanted to exploit the revolutionaries for their propaganda work and gathering military intelligence. When they started losing the battle, the Germans lost their interest in the revolutionaries and even started looking upon many with suspicion. This strained the relationship between the Indian revolutionaries and the Germans. Pillai raised his voice against the view of Adolf Hitler that Indians were still incapable of ruling themselves, and he even forced Hitler to apologise in writing. But he fell a victim to the wrath of the Nazis. In 1931 Pillai had married Lakshmibai of Manipur, whom he had met in Berlin. The Nazis killed Champakaraman by poison on May 26, 1934.
