Nair faced a suit against a British man in a British court, presided over by a British judge and a British jury. All cards were stacked against him - yet he fought valiantly. The trial was the longest civil case London had seen until that time and lasted five and a half weeks. It laid threadbare the British atrocities in India and got extensive press coverage, something neither Nair nor O'Dwyer could have imagined. The British public, for the first time, understood that the call for Indian Swarajya wasn't rebellious or seditious.
Sadly, Nair lost the case 11 to 1 and had to pay a fine of 500 pounds. O'Dwyer said he would forgo that amount if Nair apologises to which Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair said, "I would rather pay 500 pounds than say something I don't believe in. Besides what's the guarantee that the next 12 shopkeepers in a British court wouldn't side with their own?
His fearless nature ensured that people all over the world heard about Jallianwala Bagh massacre. From New York to Paris, from Berlin to Moscow, Nair shook the image of the mighty British Empire, if only for five weeks.
Some battles aren't fought to be won but to show the world that a man stood his ground on the battlefield. The greatest tragedy such a warrior can face is being forgotten, erased from the history books of the very nation he fought for. The least we can do to correct such historic wrongs is to tell our children about the courage and conviction of our heroes.
.....concluded.
Tailpiece.
Got up at 5, the chores and we were ready well before 7 to receive the Rajah Medical team that was coming to collect our samples. The post prandials were carried out after two hours of the initial draw.
By evening, we'd instructed Selvam, the dhobhi, to come by in the morning to press a sizeable number of clothes. Helped Lekha water the plants and we washed down the Chevy.
A quiet evening thereafter.
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