Kesari Chapter 2: Before Akshay Kumar, this OTT actor played lawyer CS Nair, who troubled British Empire

Waking Of A Nation was also based on the similar incident

SonyLIV's last release Waking Of A Nation is also based on a similar foreground, where a lawyer looks deep into the aftermath and events leading to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The show is headed by Taaruk Raina and it also features Bhawsheel Singh, Nikita Dutta and Sahil Mehta in pivotal roles. While the series was not much appreciated due to its overdramatic and sloppy. However, people have a lot of expectations from Kesari Chapter 2. 

In the film, Akshay Kumar plays the role of the famous lawyer Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, who not only raised his voice against the killings but also shook the British Empire. He not only resigned from his prestigious position in the Viceroy's Executive Council but also raised his voice against British atrocities. 

Sir CS Nair, first Indian to be appointed as Advocate General

Born in an aristocratic family in Manakara village of Palakkad, Kerala in 1857, he received his schooling in an English medium school in his hometown. After his schooling, he joined Presidency College, Madras. In the 1870s, Nair earned a law degree from Madras Law College and began his career in the Madras High Court. In 1887, he was elected President of the Indian National Congress. He became the first Indian to be appointed Advocate General of the Madras Government in 1907 and later became a judge in the same court.

CS Nair had resigned from the post of Viceroy's Executive Council

At the time of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, CS Nair was serving as the Education Minister and the only Indian representative in the Viceroy's Executive Council, a great honour for any Indian. When the massacre took place, press freedom was curtailed in Punjab. The British distorted many facts about the events. But when the news reached CS Nair, he was deeply upset. Angered by this act, CS Nair decided to resign from the Executive Council as a protest. In his letter, he wrote, 'If a country is to be governed, it is necessary to massacre innocent people…and if any civil official can call in the army at any time and together they can massacre people like Jallianwala Bagh, the country is not worth living in.'

CS Nair refused to apologise to Michael O’Dwyer

CS Nair’s resignation shocked the British, which led to the lifting of martial law in Punjab. In 1922, CS Nair wrote a book called Gandhi and Anarchy, in which he accused Michael O’Dwyer of promoting atrocities during the massacre. Michael O’Dwyer was a lieutenant of the Punjab government, and by that time he had been dismissed and returned to England.

Nair’s accusation led to Michael O’Dwyer suing him for defamation, which was heard in the High Court of London. The judge hearing the case was biased against the Indian defendant. The case lasted for five weeks and was the longest in the history of the court. Since there was no unanimous verdict in the case, Nair was faced with two options: apologise to O'Dwyer or pay a sum of 7,500 pounds, and he chose the second option. The film Kesari Chapter 2 is based on this case.

Though the case did not go in CS Nair's favour, his efforts to bring the massacre to light had an immediate impact. From the abolition of press censorship and martial law to the investigation of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the fight of lawyer CS Nair made him a poignant figure in our history books.