Chempakaraman Pillai - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 23:25, 5 October 2022
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	{{EngvarB\|date=October ~~2013~~}}		{{EngvarB\|date=October 2022}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=October ~~2013~~}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2022}}
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\|name= Chempaka Raman Pillai		\|name= Chempaka Raman Pillai
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	{{Reformation in Kerala}}		{{Reformation in Kerala}}

	'''Chempakaraman Pillai''', alias '''Venkidi''',<ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927">{{cite news \|last=Indugopan \|first=G.R. \|title=Chempaka Raman Pillai: The freedom fighter who coined 'Jai Hind' \|url=https://www.onmanorama.com/lifestyle/news/chempaka-raman-pillai-indian-revolutionary-freedom-fighter.html \|date=27 September 2016 \|website=[[Malayala Manorama\|Onmanorama]] \|access-date=7 October ~~2020~~}}</ref> (15 September 1891 – 26 May 1934) was an Indian-born political activist and revolutionary.<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817">{{cite news \|last=Krishnan \|first=Sairam \|title=Did a Tamil man from Trivandrum mastermind the bombing of British Madras during World War I? \|url=https://scroll.in/article/803179/did-a-tamil-man-from-trivandrum-mastermind-the-bombing-of-british-madras-during-world-war-i \|date=17 August 2016 \|website=[[Scroll.in]] \|access-date=7 October ~~2020~~}}</ref> Born in [[~~Trivandrum~~]], [[~~Kerala~~]]~~, to~~ [[~~Tamils~~\|~~Tamil~~]] parents, he left for Europe as a youth, where he spent the rest of his active life as an Indian nationalist and revolutionary.<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Mathew \|first1=K. M. \|last2=Mammen \|first2=Matthew \|title=Malayala Manorama Yearbook \|date=2009 \|page=301 \|location=Kottayam \|publisher=Malayala Manorama Co. \|language=ta \|isbn=978-8-189-00412-5}}</ref>		'''Chempakaraman Pillai''', alias '''Venkidi''',<ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927">{{cite news \|last=Indugopan \|first=G.R. \|title=Chempaka Raman Pillai: The freedom fighter who coined 'Jai Hind' \|url=https://www.onmanorama.com/lifestyle/news/chempaka-raman-pillai-indian-revolutionary-freedom-fighter.html \|date=27 September 2016 \|website=[[Malayala Manorama\|Onmanorama]] \|access-date=7 October 2022}}</ref> (15 September 1891 – 26 May 1934) was an Indian-born political activist and revolutionary.<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817">{{cite news \|last=Krishnan \|first=Sairam \|title=Did a Tamil man from Trivandrum mastermind the bombing of British Madras during World War I? \|url=https://scroll.in/article/803179/did-a-tamil-man-from-trivandrum-mastermind-the-bombing-of-british-madras-during-world-war-i \|date=17 August 2016 \|website=[[Scroll.in]] \|access-date=7 October 2022}}</ref> Born in [[Thiruvananthapuram]], to [[Tamils\|Tamil]] [[Pillai (surname)\|Pillai]] parents, he left for Europe as a youth, where he spent the rest of his active life as an Indian nationalist and revolutionary.<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Mathew \|first1=K. M. \|last2=Mammen \|first2=Matthew \|title=Malayala Manorama Yearbook \|date=2009 \|page=301 \|location=Kottayam \|publisher=Malayala Manorama Co. \|language=ta \|isbn=978-8-189-00412-5}}</ref>

	Although his life was mired in controversies, including a squabble with [[Adolf Hitler]], information on his life in Europe was sketchy in the immediate years after his death. More information has come out in recent years.<ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927" />		Although his life was mired in controversies, including a squabble with [[Adolf Hitler]], information on his life in Europe was sketchy in the immediate years after his death. More information has come out in recent years.<ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927" />
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	==Early life==		==Early life==
	Pillai was born into a [[Tamil people\|Tamil]] family in [[Thiruvananthapuram~~\|Trivandrum~~]], capital of the former kingdom of [[Travancore]] in the modern state of [[Kerala]]. His parents, Chinnaswami Pillai and Nagammal, hailed from [[Nanjilnadu]] (in present-day [[Kanyakumari District]]).<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" />		Pillai was born into a [[Tamil people\|Tamil]] [[Pillai (surname)\|Pillai]] family in [[Thiruvananthapuram]], capital of the former kingdom of [[Travancore]] in the modern state of [[Kerala]]. His parents, Chinnaswami Pillai and Nagammal, hailed from [[Nanjilnadu]] (in present-day [[Kanyakumari District]]).<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" />

	==In Europe==		==In Europe==
	Pillai attended [[ETH Zurich]] from October 1910 until 1914, pursuing a diploma in Engineering. After the outbreak of the [[First World War]], he founded the International Pro-India Committee and based its headquarters in [[Zürich]], appointing himself president in September 1914. During the same period an [[Berlin Committee\|Indian Independence Committee]] was formed in Berlin by a group of Indian expatriates in Germany. This latter group was composed of [[Virendranath Chattopadhyaya]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Bhupendranath Dutta]], [[A. R. Pillai\|A. Raman Pillai]], [[Taraknath Das]], [[Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah\|Maulavi Barkatullah]], Chandrakant Chakravarty, M. Prabhakar, Birendra Sarkar, and Heramba Lal Gupta.{{citation needed\|date=August ~~2020~~}}		Pillai attended [[ETH Zurich]] from October 1910 until 1914, pursuing a diploma in Engineering. After the outbreak of the [[First World War]], he founded the International Pro-India Committee and based its headquarters in [[Zürich]], appointing himself president in September 1914. During the same period an [[Berlin Committee\|Indian Independence Committee]] was formed in Berlin by a group of Indian expatriates in Germany. This latter group was composed of [[Virendranath Chattopadhyaya]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Bhupendranath Dutta]], [[A. R. Pillai\|A. Raman Pillai]], [[Taraknath Das]], [[Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah\|Maulavi Barkatullah]], Chandrakant Chakravarty, M. Prabhakar, Birendra Sarkar, and Heramba Lal Gupta.{{citation needed\|date=August 2022}}

	In October 1914, Pillai moved to Berlin and joined the [[Berlin Committee]], merging it with his International Pro-India Committee as the guiding and controlling institution for all pro-Indian revolutionary activities in Europe. [[Lala Har Dayal]] was also persuaded to join the movement. Both of them cooperated with the German [[Intelligence Bureau for the East]] and helped creating German propaganda directed at Indian [[Prisoner of war\|PoWs]] in German camps, particularly the [[Halbmondlager]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal\|last=Liebau\|first=Heike\|date=2019\|title=„Unternehmungen und Aufwiegelungen“: Das Berliner Indische Unabhängigkeitskomitee in den Akten des Politischen Archivs des Auswärtigen Amts (1914–1920)\|url=https://www.projekt-mida.de/reflexicon/unternehmungen-und-aufwiegelungen-das-berliner-indische-unabhaengigkeitskomitee-in-den-akten-des-politischen-archivs-des-auswaertigen-amts-1914-1920/\|journal=MIDA Archival Reflexicon\|pages=2–4}}</ref> Soon branches sprang up in [[Amsterdam]], [[Stockholm]], and [[Washington, D.C.\|Washington]], as well as in many other parts of [[Europe]] and the [[Americas]].{{citation needed\|date=August ~~2020~~}}		In October 1914, Pillai moved to Berlin and joined the [[Berlin Committee]], merging it with his International Pro-India Committee as the guiding and controlling institution for all pro-Indian revolutionary activities in Europe. [[Lala Har Dayal]] was also persuaded to join the movement. Both of them cooperated with the German [[Intelligence Bureau for the East]] and helped creating German propaganda directed at Indian [[Prisoner of war\|PoWs]] in German camps, particularly the [[Halbmondlager]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal\|last=Liebau\|first=Heike\|date=2019\|title=„Unternehmungen und Aufwiegelungen“: Das Berliner Indische Unabhängigkeitskomitee in den Akten des Politischen Archivs des Auswärtigen Amts (1914–1920)\|url=https://www.projekt-mida.de/reflexicon/unternehmungen-und-aufwiegelungen-das-berliner-indische-unabhaengigkeitskomitee-in-den-akten-des-politischen-archivs-des-auswaertigen-amts-1914-1920/\|journal=MIDA Archival Reflexicon\|pages=2–4}}</ref> Soon branches sprang up in [[Amsterdam]], [[Stockholm]], and [[Washington, D.C.\|Washington]], as well as in many other parts of [[Europe]] and the [[Americas]].{{citation needed\|date=August 2022}}

	==SMS ''Emden'' bombing of British Madras==		==SMS ''Emden'' bombing of British Madras==
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	{{Main\|Berlin Committee\|Hindu–German Conspiracy}}		{{Main\|Berlin Committee\|Hindu–German Conspiracy}}

	The Indian Independence Committee ultimately became involved in the ~~so-called~~ [[Hindu–German Conspiracy]] along with the [[Ghadar Party]] in the United States. The German foreign office under [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] funded the Committee's anti-British activities. Chempakaraman and A. Raman Pillai, both from Travancore and both students at German universities, worked together on the Committee. Pillai later allied with [[Indian National Army]] chief [[Subhas Chandra Bose]].		The Indian Independence Committee ultimately became involved in the [[Hindu–German Conspiracy]] along with the [[Ghadar Party]] in the United States. The German foreign office under [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] funded the Committee's anti-British activities. Chempakaraman and A. Raman Pillai, both from Travancore and both students at German universities, worked together on the Committee. Pillai later allied with [[Indian National Army]] chief [[Subhas Chandra Bose]].

	Many of Pillai's letters to A. Raman Pillai, then a student in the University of Göttingen, were kept by Raman Pillai's son [[Rosscote Krishna Pillai]]. The letters reveal some aspects of Pillai's life in Germany between 1914 and 1920, as does one of July 1914, calling upon Indian soldiers in the [[British Indian Army]] to rise in revolt and fight against the British.		Many of Pillai's letters to A. Raman Pillai, then a student in the University of Göttingen, were kept by Raman Pillai's son [[Rosscote Krishna Pillai]]. The letters reveal some aspects of Pillai's life in Germany between 1914 and 1920, as does one of July 1914, calling upon Indian soldiers in the [[British Indian Army]] to rise in revolt and fight against the British.
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	==Marriage and death==		==Marriage and death==
	In 1931, Pillai married Lakshmi Bai of [[Manipur]], whom he had met in Berlin. Unfortunately they had a short life together, as Pillai soon fell ill. There were symptoms of slow poisoning and he went to Italy for treatment. He died in Berlin on 28 May 1934. Lakshmibai brought Pillai's ashes to India in 1935 where they were later ceremonially immersed in [[Kanyakumari]] with full state honours.<ref name=Rose2007>{{cite news \|last=Rose \|first=N. Daniel \|title=A Forgotten Fighter \|url=http://orkut.google.com/c17467411-t2a31c39a3e13b67c.html \|date=4 December 2007 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312074509/http://orkut.google.com/c17467411-t2a31c39a3e13b67c.html \|archive-date=12 March 2017 \|location=[[Chennai]] \|newspaper=[[The New Indian Express]] \|access-date=4 September ~~2018~~}}</ref> It was Pillai's final wish that his ashes be sprinkled in [[Nanjilnadu]] ([[Kanyakumari]]), his family's native place.<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" />		In 1931, Pillai married Lakshmi Bai of [[Manipur]], whom he had met in Berlin. Unfortunately they had a short life together, as Pillai soon fell ill. There were symptoms of slow poisoning and he went to Italy for treatment. He died in Berlin on 28 May 1934. Lakshmibai brought Pillai's ashes to India in 1935 where they were later ceremonially immersed in [[Kanyakumari]] with full state honours.<ref name=Rose2007>{{cite news \|last=Rose \|first=N. Daniel \|title=A Forgotten Fighter \|url=http://orkut.google.com/c17467411-t2a31c39a3e13b67c.html \|date=4 December 2007 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312074509/http://orkut.google.com/c17467411-t2a31c39a3e13b67c.html \|archive-date=12 March 2017 \|location=[[Chennai]] \|newspaper=[[The New Indian Express]] \|access-date=4 September 2022}}</ref> It was Pillai's final wish that his ashes be sprinkled in [[Nanjilnadu]] ([[Kanyakumari]]), his family's native place.<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" />

	==References==		==References==
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	[[Category:History of Kerala]]		[[Category:History of Kerala]]
	[[Category:Indian independence activists from Kerala]]		[[Category:Indian independence activists from Kerala]]
			[[Category:Emigrants from British India to Germany]]

->Colonies Chris: /* SMS Emden Bombing of British Madras */

2021-09-29T20:00:47Z

SMS Emden Bombing of British Madras

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:30, 30 September 2021
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	In October 1914, Pillai moved to Berlin and joined the [[Berlin Committee]], merging it with his International Pro-India Committee as the guiding and controlling institution for all pro-Indian revolutionary activities in Europe. [[Lala Har Dayal]] was also persuaded to join the movement. Both of them cooperated with the German [[Intelligence Bureau for the East]] and helped creating German propaganda directed at Indian [[Prisoner of war\|PoWs]] in German camps, particularly the [[Halbmondlager]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal\|last=Liebau\|first=Heike\|date=2019\|title=„Unternehmungen und Aufwiegelungen“: Das Berliner Indische Unabhängigkeitskomitee in den Akten des Politischen Archivs des Auswärtigen Amts (1914–1920)\|url=https://www.projekt-mida.de/reflexicon/unternehmungen-und-aufwiegelungen-das-berliner-indische-unabhaengigkeitskomitee-in-den-akten-des-politischen-archivs-des-auswaertigen-amts-1914-1920/\|journal=MIDA Archival Reflexicon\|pages=2–4}}</ref> Soon branches sprang up in [[Amsterdam]], [[Stockholm]], and [[Washington, D.C.\|Washington]], as well as in many other parts of [[Europe]] and the [[Americas]].{{citation needed\|date=August 2020}}		In October 1914, Pillai moved to Berlin and joined the [[Berlin Committee]], merging it with his International Pro-India Committee as the guiding and controlling institution for all pro-Indian revolutionary activities in Europe. [[Lala Har Dayal]] was also persuaded to join the movement. Both of them cooperated with the German [[Intelligence Bureau for the East]] and helped creating German propaganda directed at Indian [[Prisoner of war\|PoWs]] in German camps, particularly the [[Halbmondlager]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal\|last=Liebau\|first=Heike\|date=2019\|title=„Unternehmungen und Aufwiegelungen“: Das Berliner Indische Unabhängigkeitskomitee in den Akten des Politischen Archivs des Auswärtigen Amts (1914–1920)\|url=https://www.projekt-mida.de/reflexicon/unternehmungen-und-aufwiegelungen-das-berliner-indische-unabhaengigkeitskomitee-in-den-akten-des-politischen-archivs-des-auswaertigen-amts-1914-1920/\|journal=MIDA Archival Reflexicon\|pages=2–4}}</ref> Soon branches sprang up in [[Amsterdam]], [[Stockholm]], and [[Washington, D.C.\|Washington]], as well as in many other parts of [[Europe]] and the [[Americas]].{{citation needed\|date=August 2020}}

	==SMS Emden ~~Bombing~~ of British Madras==		==SMS ''Emden'' bombing of British Madras==

	On 22 September 1914, The [[SMS Emden]], a German warship commanded by Captain Karl von Muller entered the waters off the coast of [[Madras]], and bombed the facilities near the [[Madras]] harbour and slipped back into the ocean. The British were taken aback in this sudden attack. His family stated that Pillai coordinated the German attack with his personal presence in the [[SMS Emden]], though this is not the official view. In any case, it is widely believed that Pillai and some Indian revolutionaries had a hand in the [[SMS Emden]] bombing of [[Madras]].<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" /><ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927" />		On 22 September 1914, The {{SMS\|Emden}}, a German warship commanded by Captain Karl von Muller entered the waters off the coast of [[Madras]], and bombed the facilities near the Madras harbour and slipped back into the ocean. The British were taken aback in this sudden attack. His family stated that Pillai coordinated the German attack with his personal presence in the SMS ''Emden'', though this is not the official view. In any case, it is widely believed that Pillai and some Indian revolutionaries had a hand in the SMS ''Emden'' bombing of Madras.<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" /><ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927" />

	==War activities==		==War activities==
	{{Main\|Berlin Committee\|~~Hindu-German~~ Conspiracy}}		{{Main\|Berlin Committee\|Hindu–German Conspiracy}}

	The Indian Independence Committee ultimately became involved in the so-called [[~~Hindu-German~~ Conspiracy]] along with the [[Ghadar Party]] in the [[United States]]. The German foreign office under [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] funded the Committee's anti-British activities. Chempakaraman and A. Raman Pillai, both from Travancore and both students at German universities, worked together on the Committee. Pillai later allied with [[Indian National Army]] chief [[~~Subhash~~ Chandra Bose]].		The Indian Independence Committee ultimately became involved in the so-called [[Hindu–German Conspiracy]] along with the [[Ghadar Party]] in the United States. The German foreign office under [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] funded the Committee's anti-British activities. Chempakaraman and A. Raman Pillai, both from Travancore and both students at German universities, worked together on the Committee. Pillai later allied with [[Indian National Army]] chief [[Subhas Chandra Bose]].

	Many of Pillai's letters to A. Raman Pillai, then a student in the University of Göttingen, were kept by Raman Pillai's son [[Rosscote Krishna Pillai]]. The letters reveal some aspects of Pillai's life in Germany between 1914 and 1920, as does one of July 1914, calling upon Indian soldiers in the [[British Indian Army]] to rise in revolt and fight against the British.		Many of Pillai's letters to A. Raman Pillai, then a student in the University of Göttingen, were kept by Raman Pillai's son [[Rosscote Krishna Pillai]]. The letters reveal some aspects of Pillai's life in Germany between 1914 and 1920, as does one of July 1914, calling upon Indian soldiers in the [[British Indian Army]] to rise in revolt and fight against the British.
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	{{Main\|Provisional Government of India}}		{{Main\|Provisional Government of India}}
	{{See also\|~~Niedermayer-Hentig Mission~~}}		{{See also\|Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition}}
	Pillai was the foreign minister of the [[Provisional Government of India]] set up in [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] on 1 December 1915, with [[Raja Mahendra Pratap]] as President and [[Maulana Barkatullah]] as Prime Minister. However, the defeat of the Germans in the war shattered the hopes of the revolutionaries, and the British forced them out of Afghanistan in 1919.		Pillai was the foreign minister of the [[Provisional Government of India]] set up in [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] on 1 December 1915, with [[Raja Mahendra Pratap]] as President and [[Maulana Barkatullah]] as Prime Minister. However, the defeat of the Germans in the war shattered the hopes of the revolutionaries, and the British forced them out of Afghanistan in 1919.

imported>Dhtwiki: Reverted good faith edits by Sabarish sab (talk): He's referred to as just "Pillai" throughout much of the article

2021-08-15T08:37:06Z

Reverted good faith edits by Sabarish sab (talk): He's referred to as just "Pillai" throughout much of the article

New page

{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox person
|name= Chempaka Raman Pillai
|birth_date= 15 September 1891
|death_date= 26 May 1934
|image=Champakraman Pillai.jpg
|caption=
|other_names =Champak
|birth_place= [[Trivandrum]], [[India]]
|death_place= [[Nazi Germany]]
|movement=[[Indian Independence movement]], [[Indo-German Conspiracy]]
|organization = [[Berlin Committee]], [[Provisional Government of India]]
}}
{{Reformation in Kerala}}

'''Chempakaraman Pillai''', alias '''Venkidi''',<ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927">{{cite news |last=Indugopan |first=G.R. |title=Chempaka Raman Pillai: The freedom fighter who coined 'Jai Hind' |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/lifestyle/news/chempaka-raman-pillai-indian-revolutionary-freedom-fighter.html |date=27 September 2016 |website=[[Malayala Manorama|Onmanorama]] |access-date=7 October 2020}}</ref> (15 September 1891 – 26 May 1934) was an Indian-born political activist and revolutionary.<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817">{{cite news |last=Krishnan |first=Sairam |title=Did a Tamil man from Trivandrum mastermind the bombing of British Madras during World War I? |url=https://scroll.in/article/803179/did-a-tamil-man-from-trivandrum-mastermind-the-bombing-of-british-madras-during-world-war-i |date=17 August 2016 |website=[[Scroll.in]] |access-date=7 October 2020}}</ref> Born in [[Trivandrum]], [[Kerala]], to [[Tamils|Tamil]] parents, he left for Europe as a youth, where he spent the rest of his active life as an Indian nationalist and revolutionary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mathew |first1=K. M. |last2=Mammen |first2=Matthew |title=Malayala Manorama Yearbook |date=2009 |page=301 |location=Kottayam |publisher=Malayala Manorama Co. |language=ta |isbn=978-8-189-00412-5}}</ref>

Although his life was mired in controversies, including a squabble with [[Adolf Hitler]], information on his life in Europe was sketchy in the immediate years after his death. More information has come out in recent years.<ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927" />

Chempakaraman Pillai is credited with the coining of the salutation and slogan "[[Jai Hind]]"<ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927" /> in the pre-independence days of India. The slogan is still widely used in India.

==Early life==
Pillai was born into a [[Tamil people|Tamil]] family in [[Thiruvananthapuram|Trivandrum]], capital of the former kingdom of [[Travancore]] in the modern state of [[Kerala]]. His parents, Chinnaswami Pillai and Nagammal, hailed from [[Nanjilnadu]] (in present-day [[Kanyakumari District]]).<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" />

==In Europe==
Pillai attended [[ETH Zurich]] from October 1910 until 1914, pursuing a diploma in Engineering. After the outbreak of the [[First World War]], he founded the International Pro-India Committee and based its headquarters in [[Zürich]], appointing himself president in September 1914. During the same period an [[Berlin Committee|Indian Independence Committee]] was formed in Berlin by a group of Indian expatriates in Germany. This latter group was composed of [[Virendranath Chattopadhyaya]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Bhupendranath Dutta]], [[A. R. Pillai|A. Raman Pillai]], [[Taraknath Das]], [[Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah|Maulavi Barkatullah]], Chandrakant Chakravarty, M. Prabhakar, Birendra Sarkar, and Heramba Lal Gupta.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

In October 1914, Pillai moved to Berlin and joined the [[Berlin Committee]], merging it with his International Pro-India Committee as the guiding and controlling institution for all pro-Indian revolutionary activities in Europe. [[Lala Har Dayal]] was also persuaded to join the movement. Both of them cooperated with the German [[Intelligence Bureau for the East]] and helped creating German propaganda directed at Indian [[Prisoner of war|PoWs]] in German camps, particularly the [[Halbmondlager]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Liebau|first=Heike|date=2019|title=„Unternehmungen und Aufwiegelungen“: Das Berliner Indische Unabhängigkeitskomitee in den Akten des Politischen Archivs des Auswärtigen Amts (1914–1920)|url=https://www.projekt-mida.de/reflexicon/unternehmungen-und-aufwiegelungen-das-berliner-indische-unabhaengigkeitskomitee-in-den-akten-des-politischen-archivs-des-auswaertigen-amts-1914-1920/|journal=MIDA Archival Reflexicon|pages=2–4}}</ref> Soon branches sprang up in [[Amsterdam]], [[Stockholm]], and [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], as well as in many other parts of [[Europe]] and the [[Americas]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

==SMS Emden Bombing of British Madras==

On 22 September 1914, The [[SMS Emden]], a German warship commanded by Captain Karl von Muller entered the waters off the coast of [[Madras]], and bombed the facilities near the [[Madras]] harbour and slipped back into the ocean. The British were taken aback in this sudden attack. His family stated that Pillai coordinated the German attack with his personal presence in the [[SMS Emden]], though this is not the official view. In any case, it is widely believed that Pillai and some Indian revolutionaries had a hand in the [[SMS Emden]] bombing of [[Madras]].<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" /><ref name="OnmanoramaIndugopan20160927" />

==War activities==
{{Main|Berlin Committee|Hindu-German Conspiracy}}

The Indian Independence Committee ultimately became involved in the so-called [[Hindu-German Conspiracy]] along with the [[Ghadar Party]] in the [[United States]]. The German foreign office under [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] funded the Committee's anti-British activities. Chempakaraman and A. Raman Pillai, both from Travancore and both students at German universities, worked together on the Committee. Pillai later allied with [[Indian National Army]] chief [[Subhash Chandra Bose]].

Many of Pillai's letters to A. Raman Pillai, then a student in the University of Göttingen, were kept by Raman Pillai's son [[Rosscote Krishna Pillai]]. The letters reveal some aspects of Pillai's life in Germany between 1914 and 1920, as does one of July 1914, calling upon Indian soldiers in the [[British Indian Army]] to rise in revolt and fight against the British.

After the end of World War I and Germany's defeat, Pillai stayed in Germany, working as a technician in a factory in Berlin; when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose visited [[Vienna]], Pillai met him and explained his plan of action.

==Foreign Minister of Provisional Government of India==
[[File:Maaveeran Senbagaraaman.JPG|right|thumb|250px|Chempakaraman statue in [[Chennai]]]]

{{Main|Provisional Government of India}}
{{See also|Niedermayer-Hentig Mission}}
Pillai was the foreign minister of the [[Provisional Government of India]] set up in [[Kabul]], [[Afghanistan]] on 1 December 1915, with [[Raja Mahendra Pratap]] as President and [[Maulana Barkatullah]] as Prime Minister. However, the defeat of the Germans in the war shattered the hopes of the revolutionaries, and the British forced them out of Afghanistan in 1919.

During this time, the Germans were helping the Indian revolutionaries from their own motives. Though the Indians made it clear to the Germans that they were equal partners in their fight against the common enemy, the Germans wanted to use the revolutionaries' propaganda work and military intelligence for their own purposes.<ref name=":0" />

In 1907, Pillai coined the term "Jai Hind",<ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Stephenson|title=Germany's Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885-1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOtCAQAAIAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Boydell Press|isbn=978-1-84383-518-9|page=233|quote=...Champakaraman Pillai, a committed anti-imperialist. He is credited with coining the phrase 'Jai Hind' meaning 'Victory for India'...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Saroja Sundararajan|title=Madras Presidency in pre-Gandhian era: a historical perspective, 1884-1915|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ExuAAAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Lalitha Publications|page=535|quote=To Champakaraman Pillai goes the credit of coining the taraka mantra "Jai Hind" in 1907...}}</ref> which was adopted as a slogan of the [[Indian National Army]] in the 1940s at the suggestion of [[Abid Hasan]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Gurbachan Singh Mangat|title=The Tiger Strikes: An Unwritten Chapter of Netaji's Life History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NiMgAAAAMAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Gagan Publishers|page=95}}</ref> After India's independence, it emerged as a national slogan.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sumantra Bose|title=Secular States, Religious Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vrxsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|year=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-47203-6|pages=49–50}}</ref>

==Marriage and death==
In 1931, Pillai married Lakshmi Bai of [[Manipur]], whom he had met in Berlin. Unfortunately they had a short life together, as Pillai soon fell ill. There were symptoms of slow poisoning and he went to Italy for treatment. He died in Berlin on 28 May 1934. Lakshmibai brought Pillai's ashes to India in 1935 where they were later ceremonially immersed in [[Kanyakumari]] with full state honours.<ref name=Rose2007>{{cite news |last=Rose |first=N. Daniel |title=A Forgotten Fighter |url=http://orkut.google.com/c17467411-t2a31c39a3e13b67c.html |date=4 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312074509/http://orkut.google.com/c17467411-t2a31c39a3e13b67c.html |archive-date=12 March 2017 |location=[[Chennai]] |newspaper=[[The New Indian Express]] |access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref> It was Pillai's final wish that his ashes be sprinkled in [[Nanjilnadu]] ([[Kanyakumari]]), his family's native place.<ref name="ScrollKrishnan20160817" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite book
|title=They Too Fought for India's Freedom: The Role of Minorities
|author=Asghar Ali Engineer
|year=2006
|publisher=Hope India Publications
|isbn=81-7871-091-9
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mOM-AQAAIAAJ
|access-date=8 November 2014
}}
*Heike Liebau: "[https://www.projekt-mida.de/reflexicon/unternehmungen-und-aufwiegelungen-das-berliner-indische-unabhaengigkeitskomitee-in-den-akten-des-politischen-archivs-des-auswaertigen-amts-1914-1920/ „Unternehmungen und Aufwiegelungen“: Das Berliner Indische Unabhängigkeitskomitee in den Akten des Politischen Archivs des Auswärtigen Amts (1914–1920)]." In: ''[https://www.projekt-mida.de/rechercheportal/reflexicon/ MIDA Archival Reflexicon]'' (2019), ISSN 2628-5029, 1–11.

{{Ghadar Conspiracy}}
{{Indian Revolutionary Movement}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, Champakaraman}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1934 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Hindu–German Conspiracy]]
[[Category:People from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:People from Kanyakumari district]]
[[Category:History of Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Kerala]]