The Indomitable Jayalalithaa – “Amma” To Millions Of Tamils Passes Away
Usha S Sri-Skanda-Rajah
She was called Amma (Mother), with fondness and admiration, with reverence and respect, by everyone regardless of their station in life – that showed an unflinching obedience and deference, familiarity and ownership – indicative of the kind of emotional and intellectual connection that existed between her and her people, seldom felt and seen anywhere else.
It was as if she owned the brand of “Amma” exclusively.
She earned it – in that there was no question, not even an iota of doubt!
The Iron Lady – The Fearless Lion, the Queen of Tamil Nadu, bringing a sense of pride to women everywhere, who was also its Chief Minister, the indomitable Jayalalithaa Jayaraman, died at 68, on Sunday, December 4th 2016, at 11.30 pm of ‘a massive cardiac arrest’, the Apollo Hospital said in a statement – leaving not just Tamil Nadu, but the whole Tamil world shocked, grief stricken and in disbelief. She was earlier ‘recovering well’ from a ‘Lung condition’ requiring ‘respiratory support’ and ‘passive physiotherapy’ which most thought was an acute case of pneumonia.
The President of India, Pranab Muckherjee couldn’t have been more apt, extolling Amma’s remarkable abilities and attributes in his tribute to her on Twitter before leaving for Tamil Nadu to pay his respects, his plane delayed because of some snags.
In some multiple tweets the President said this of Amma:
“One of India’s most charismatic and popular leaders, Ms Jayalalithaa was a visionary and able administrator. Her life was dedicated to the socio-economic transformation of Tamil Nadu and its people. In her passing the nation has lost an icon, who was loved and admired by millions. her contribution to the progress and development of Tamil Nadu will be long remembered.”
Although she never married, all of Tamil Nadu’s under privileged children were Amma’s children. Some called her Amma the ‘Goddess’ and their ‘Guardian Angel’ as she made her mark as the embodiment of compassion and generosity – especially in the eyes of the poor, further leaving her indelible imprint most surely as the hand that fed them and would continue to feed them, through the now famous ‘Amma Unavakam’, that served food and bottled water at a subsidised rate – add to that many more laudable initiatives – for those living below the poverty line, including providing medicines, medical treatment and educational opportunities, computers and bicycles for school children and much more. Empowering women by encouraging entrepreneurship, donating gold for their marriages and helping pregnant and nursing mothers. Increasingly this became her life’s mission. She championed the cause of the underdog, whether it was uplifting the scheduled class, or Eelam refugees, or safeguarding the interests of the Tamil Nadu fishermen or freeing the seven who were still imprisoned for Rajiv’s killing. Her indefatigability shone through all her battles – and battles she had many – including the Kaveri water dispute with the Karnataka State. A fighter till the end, she prevailed in most, except redeeming Kachchaitivu from Sri Lanka and the last one, when the inevitability of death came, but sooner than expected – For example her fight to succeed MGR as the leader of AIADMK was a fight she finally won and prevailed, after Janaki was forced to quit. She took on the reins, clashing with DMK, vowing to enter the Tamil Nadu Assembly again only as Chief Minister, and she did, serving five terms as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1991 to 1996, in 2001, from 2002 to 2006, from 2011 to 2014 and from 2015 onwards..
Watch her two part interview dubbed as the, “Rendezvous with Simi Garewal – Jayalalithaa” to get an insight into Amma – an interview she willingly gave.
