“Jayalalitha ennum naan..” meaning “I am, Jayalalitha…”, when uttered by the ex-Chief Minister of Tamilnadu Ms.Jayalalitha fondly called as “Amma” meaning mother, in her assertive voice, drives lakhs and lakhs of people crazy over her. The bonding between her and the people of Tamilnadu is always known as a mother-children relationship. She is a combo of a kind-faced and lion-hearted. She is inevitable in the political history of Tamilnadu. Let us give a glance at how it all happened.
Childhood of Jayalalitha:
Jayalalitha was born to Jayaram and Vedavalli on 24th February 1948 in Mysore, Karnataka. Her grandfather was the physician in the court of Mysore kingdom, so her early days were at Mysore. She lost her father when she was two years old. So she had to move to Bengaluru to her mother’s house. Jayalalitha took her primary education in Bishop Cotton school of Bengaluru. She was a star student and excelled in all subjects.
Meanwhile, her mother got the acting opportunity in movies and she took it as her career in the star name Sandhya. Those days Madras, the present day Chennai was the mainstay of the south Indian film industry. So along with her mother, Jayalalitha too moved to Chennai and continued her education in Church Park convent. Later, she completed her graduation in Stella Maris.
Life under limelight:
The young and charming Jayalalitha also received opportunities to act in movies on the lines of her mother. Her first debut was a side role where she played the friend of Savithri in Maya Bazaar, a blockbuster of the 1950s, in both Tamil and Telugu. She made her English debut in the movie Epistle. Her Tamil debut as a lead actress was in Vennira aadai in 1965.
Her pairing with M.G.Ramachandran, popular as MGR, the hero of commoners, was an indisputable hit. The winning chemistry between the two continued in the political arena too. She also paired up with the legendary actors like Sivaji, Ravichandran, Jaishankar, Shoban Babu, Dharmendra etc. Combining all languages like Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada etc she has donned over 140 movies in her career.
Politics was a path of thorns:
Jayalalitha’s political journey started as she became the star face of MGR’s AIADMK and as the first stepping stone, she was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1984. Her political journey was not a cake walk, she faced many hurdles and fought a tough battle. It started in the same year of 1984 when MGR, her moral support fell ill and got hospitalized. Jayalalitha was removed from many important posts and was left helpless.
The strong hearted Jayalalitha managed to win the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections but her next hindrance emerged when MGR took his last breath in 1987. AIADMK saw a split where one group joined under Jayalalitha while the majority supported Janaki, wife of MGR. Janaki became the chief minister of Tamilnadu but her government lasted only for 21 days as the then Prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi imposed President rule in Tamilnadu. The 1989 assembly polls gave a landslide victory of 27 seats to Jayalalitha thus wiping Janaki out of the scene.
A leader in the making:
The pain of disrespect can be transformed into a winning energy only by courageous people. Jayalalitha was a striking example of it. She sat as the first woman leader of the opposition in the assembly but the day of 25th March 1989 ignited the fire in her to become the chief minister of Tamilnadu. In a clash of words between ruling DMK and the opposition ADMK, Jayalalitha was disrobed by a DMK minister. She took a vow in tears to come back to the assembly only as the CM.
She formed the victorious alliance with Congress and won the assembly polls in1991 to become the CM. The victory was followed by many allegations and controversies. The rain of corruption charges showed its later effects in the 1996 election which was fuelled by the game-changing campaign by the superstar Rajinikanth in support of DMK alliance. She had to face a historic defeat of winning only 4 seats and was later imprisoned for the disproportionate asset case.
Rising again:
Meanwhile, DMK also faced many controversies and corruption charges, thus losing its credentials among the public. This turned in favor of AIADMK and it once again rose to the power in the 2001 election. But Jayalalitha could not contest as the chief ministerial candidate because of the charges she was facing. In 2003, the Madras High court set her free from few of the charges which paved way for her second term as CM.
In 2014, she was convicted in the disproportionate case by the Supreme court and was sent to prison for four years. But she had to stay there only for one month after which she got absolved. Once again Jayalalitha, transformed into Amma, adorned the seat of CM. She was undergoing many health issues and on 22 September 2016 her condition got worsened and was hospitalized in Apollo hospital, Chennai.
A struggle-filled life had a struggling end too:
Amma was under continuous observation and world-famous medical experts were brought into her medication. In spite of rigorous treatment, she could not survive and left the world on 5th December 2016, creating a vacuum in Tamilnadu political leadership. Even though she was criticized for her controversies she is also equally famous for her decisive nature and commanding leadership.
Childhood of Jayalalitha:
Jayalalitha was born to Jayaram and Vedavalli on 24th February 1948 in Mysore, Karnataka. Her grandfather was the physician in the court of Mysore kingdom, so her early days were at Mysore. She lost her father when she was two years old. So she had to move to Bengaluru to her mother’s house. Jayalalitha took her primary education in Bishop Cotton school of Bengaluru. She was a star student and excelled in all subjects.
Meanwhile, her mother got the acting opportunity in movies and she took it as her career in the star name Sandhya. Those days Madras, the present day Chennai was the mainstay of the south Indian film industry. So along with her mother, Jayalalitha too moved to Chennai and continued her education in Church Park convent. Later, she completed her graduation in Stella Maris.
Life under limelight:
The young and charming Jayalalitha also received opportunities to act in movies on the lines of her mother. Her first debut was a side role where she played the friend of Savithri in Maya Bazaar, a blockbuster of the 1950s, in both Tamil and Telugu. She made her English debut in the movie Epistle. Her Tamil debut as a lead actress was in Vennira aadai in 1965.
Her pairing with M.G.Ramachandran, popular as MGR, the hero of commoners, was an indisputable hit. The winning chemistry between the two continued in the political arena too. She also paired up with the legendary actors like Sivaji, Ravichandran, Jaishankar, Shoban Babu, Dharmendra etc. Combining all languages like Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada etc she has donned over 140 movies in her career.
Politics was a path of thorns:
Jayalalitha’s political journey started as she became the star face of MGR’s AIADMK and as the first stepping stone, she was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1984. Her political journey was not a cake walk, she faced many hurdles and fought a tough battle. It started in the same year of 1984 when MGR, her moral support fell ill and got hospitalized. Jayalalitha was removed from many important posts and was left helpless.
The strong hearted Jayalalitha managed to win the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections but her next hindrance emerged when MGR took his last breath in 1987. AIADMK saw a split where one group joined under Jayalalitha while the majority supported Janaki, wife of MGR. Janaki became the chief minister of Tamilnadu but her government lasted only for 21 days as the then Prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi imposed President rule in Tamilnadu. The 1989 assembly polls gave a landslide victory of 27 seats to Jayalalitha thus wiping Janaki out of the scene.
A leader in the making:
The pain of disrespect can be transformed into a winning energy only by courageous people. Jayalalitha was a striking example of it. She sat as the first woman leader of the opposition in the assembly but the day of 25th March 1989 ignited the fire in her to become the chief minister of Tamilnadu. In a clash of words between ruling DMK and the opposition ADMK, Jayalalitha was disrobed by a DMK minister. She took a vow in tears to come back to the assembly only as the CM.
She formed the victorious alliance with Congress and won the assembly polls in1991 to become the CM. The victory was followed by many allegations and controversies. The rain of corruption charges showed its later effects in the 1996 election which was fuelled by the game-changing campaign by the superstar Rajinikanth in support of DMK alliance. She had to face a historic defeat of winning only 4 seats and was later imprisoned for the disproportionate asset case.
Rising again:
Meanwhile, DMK also faced many controversies and corruption charges, thus losing its credentials among the public. This turned in favor of AIADMK and it once again rose to the power in the 2001 election. But Jayalalitha could not contest as the chief ministerial candidate because of the charges she was facing. In 2003, the Madras High court set her free from few of the charges which paved way for her second term as CM.
In 2014, she was convicted in the disproportionate case by the Supreme court and was sent to prison for four years. But she had to stay there only for one month after which she got absolved. Once again Jayalalitha, transformed into Amma, adorned the seat of CM. She was undergoing many health issues and on 22 September 2016 her condition got worsened and was hospitalized in Apollo hospital, Chennai.
A struggle-filled life had a struggling end too:
Amma was under continuous observation and world-famous medical experts were brought into her medication. In spite of rigorous treatment, she could not survive and left the world on 5th December 2016, creating a vacuum in Tamilnadu political leadership. Even though she was criticized for her controversies she is also equally famous for her decisive nature and commanding leadership.
Her famous schemes like Baby cradle scheme, mother kit focusses on the health and safety of mother and the children. Amma mediclaim and pharmacy was a boon to the poor to acquire standard medical aid. Laptops and Bi-cycles offered to students especially girls increased the enrollment ratio in higher studies. Introduction of women commando force was a lightning decision proving the valor of women.
Amma canteen was a life-saving scheme by Jayalalitha which offered quality food at a very low price. It is par with the star scheme of mid-day meals. It became a pioneer to the present day similar schemes like Anna canteen of Andhra and Ayya canteen of Karnataka. Under her leadership, Tamilnadu was at top rankings in economic and industrial development. A woman is a positive constructive force but when disturbed changes into a wild destructive force. Amma showed both versions reflecting her success and failures of her life. But at end of the day, she deserves a big salute for her strong will and comebacks like a phoenix bird and she will be remembered as the iron lady of the south in the pages of history.
WRITTEN BY SOCIAL AUTHOR OF SLATEKUCHI: PRABHA KATHAMUTHU
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