Much has been written about J Jayalalithaa by journalists and political commentators in Tamil Nadu as well as outsiders, especially in light of her recent health concerns. But who the real Jayalalithaa is continues to be a mystery. She has not allowed anyone to get past the unassailable wall she has built around herself, writes Kumar Chellappan
James Boswell authored The life of Samuel Johnson, the biography of one of the most distinguished men of English literature in 1791, and till this day, it remains a benchmark publication. It may take a while for another Boswell to emerge with a work of this kind. Similarly, when an author undertakes the task of writing a book on a personality like Jayaraman Jayalalithaa (68) — the AIADMK leader who rose from the position of a glamorous film star to become a kingmaker in Indian politics — one should have much more data and information about the subject.
Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Journey From Movie Star to Political Queen, a book authored by Vaasanthi, is a first-of-its-kind work on Tamil Nadu’s most celebrated politician as well as film star. There was an earlier work by the same author on Jayalalithaa, the excerpts of which were published by an English weekly. But that book did not see the light of the day as it was reported that Jayalalithaa had filed a case against the publisher and the court ordered that the book should not be published.
Even as I was reading Vaasanthi’s book, Jayalalithaa was admitted to the Apollo Hospital for fever and dehydration. Though the hospital’s medical bulletin said the Chief Minister was stable and under observation, the media in Chennai fabricated a number of stories. “Jayalalithaa is seriously ill. She is being flown to Singapore for advanced treatment,” said a post. A veteran journalist, who always advises me not to go by speculations and hearsay, told me: “What is the need of hospitalisation for feverIJ Her house at Poes Garden is a mini Apollo Hospital. That means something is very serious.” Has he seen for himself whether the Poes Garden house has been converted into a mini hospitalIJ Has anybody, for that matter, seen itIJ The answer to these questions is a big ‘no’. Then there was another observation: “The happenings in Poes Garden are shrouded in mystery. It is the Mannargudi Mafia led by Sasikala Natarajan which rules that house.”
This is all hearsay. Jayalalithaa continues to work as usual from the hospital bed. If her medical condition is as bad as it is made out to be by these journalists and self-styled experts with inside information, they forget the fact that the credibility of the hospital and the doctors treating her is at stake. The illness reports started appearing in 2014 and had peaked by 2015. A senior journalist in Chennai is even facing a criminal defamation case filed by Jayalalithaa for his ‘breaking’ story about her health.
I used to come across Jayalalithaa frequently during the period 1998 to 2002 as a TV journalist based in Chennai. She had made Chennai the command post of Indian politics as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA Government was functioning on the support extended by her. Those were the days when George Fernandes, the NDA convenor and the then Defence Minister, came to Chennai on a weekly basis reportedly to mollify an agitated Amma. The army of journalists waiting outside Veda Nilayam, Jayalalithaa’s house, when Fernandes spoke to her, churned out several speculative stories.
I also witnessed from the sidelines how Jayalalithaa fought the all-powerful DMK and demolished the Karunanidhi Government in the 2001 Assembly Elections. It was Jayalalithaa who brought the Congress and the Communists together in a rainbow alliance led by her in the 1999 lok Sabha Elections and 2001 Assembly Elections.
It was by no means an ordinary feat. But Dravidian politicians have not accepted this fact till this day. Karunanidhi and other Dravidian politicians have difficulty coming to terms with the fact that a woman, that too a Brahmin, presides over them in Tamil Nadu politics. In this world of Dravidians, Jayalalithaa might be the only woman nationalistic leader who respects family values and Indian culture.
A number of corruption cases were filed against her by Karunanidhi and the DMK, but she has won all cases one by one. The only case remaining against her is the appeal filed by the Karnataka Government in the Supreme Court challenging her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court in the disproportionate wealth case.
Vaasanthi’s book is as good as a primer for a person who wants to know about Jayalalithaa. A true and authentic book on her can only be written after several interactions with her. Vaasanthi’s account is based on information furnished by three persons: A school mate of Jayalalithaa; Film News Anandan, a film PRO; and RM Veerappan, whose only mission in life seems to be to finish off Jayalalithaa. There is no authentication for the information provided by them.
There are many missing links in this book, the foremost being the kind of person Jayalalithaa is. Most of the information is a collage of news reports and features that appeared in dailies and weeklies. TV interviews given by Jayalalithaa to Simi Garewal, Karan Thapar and Arnab Goswami to a certain extent reveal her nature and personality. She is well-read and can speak about anything under the sun, extempore and without fumbling. She has an equal mix of intelligence as well as beauty, but can be equally nasty with people who lampoon her.
Had Vaasanthi interviewed Jayalalithaa a couple of times before venturing out to write a book like this, the results would have been different. This is a biography written by an author who has not spoken to his subject even once. What is unique about Jayalalithaa is that she could be the only person in Tamil Nadu politics capable of finishing off the Dravida Maaya once and forever. This is because genetic scientists have proved that the Dravida-Arya theory is bunkum!
The author should have mentioned how Jayalalithaa walked all over the Karunanidhi clan in the 2011 Assembly Elections, a defeat from which the grand old man of Tamil Nadu politics has not recovered even after five years. That’s Jayalalithaa, an enigma in Indian politics.
Vaasanthi’s description of Karunanidhi’s arrest on the night of June 30, 2001, has missed an important point. Sun TV, the Karunanidhi family owned TV channel, had aired visuals of him being dragged by policemen who came to arrest him. Till noon, there was no audio along with the visuals other than the natural ambience. By the evening, an overzealous Sun TV news team mixed the voice of Karunanidhi wailing to the camera, “Aiyyo, these people are murdering me.” It evoked instant reaction, with allegations of “Jungle Raj”. But by the evening, Jayalalithaa issued a statement with documentary evidence that the cry “Aiyyo...” was a dubbed version and fake. Since then, Sun TV had not telecast the clip. That’s Jayalalithaa, she knows the secret behind the business of politics.
Jayalalithaa will remain an eternal enigma in Tamil Nadu politics. Much has been written about her by journalists and political commentators in Tamil Nadu as well as those from outside the State. But who the real Jayalalithaa is remains a big mystery. She has not allowed anyone to cross the lakshman rekha she has drawn around herself.
The year 1998 was the most tumultuous period in Indian politics. Those were the days when the national politics got fever when Jayalalithaa sneezed in Chennai. She wanted the Centre to dismiss the Karunanidhi-led Government for breakdown of law and order. Jayalalithaa had some genuine grievances too. The 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts perpetrated by Islamic terrorists had claimed the lives of 68 Hindus. The blasts were targeted at BJP leader lK Advani, who was to campaign in Coimbatore that day. Advani had a providential escape and the sympathy factor resulted in the AIADMK-led NDA in Tamil Nadu romping home by winning 30 of the 38 seats at stake in the 1998 lok Sabha Elections. Remember, that in the 1996 lok Sabha polls, the DMK-led front had obliterated the AIADMK by winning all 38 seats at stake.
Moreover, Jayalalithaa was entangled in a series of corruption charges filed by the Karunanidhi Government, which came to power in 1996. The DMK Government set up many special courts for fast-tracking the corruption charges in which Jayalalithaa was listed as the prime accused.
Most of her days were spent in the verandas of these special courts where the DMK cadre and lawyers fired innuendos at her. But she stood like a rock and controlled her cadre from reacting to these barbs thrown at her by the DMK, which was out to banish her from politics.
When her pleas to dismiss the Karunanidhi Government fell on deaf ears, Jayalalithaa rocked the Vajpayee Government by withdrawing her party’s support. She single-handedly fought the corruption cases. Though the special courts had sentenced and convicted her in two cases, Jayalalithaa got acquitted through appeals filed in higher courts.
Jayalalithaa is the cynosure of all eyes — in politics and earlier in cinema. The media followed her wherever she went in spite of her requests to the contrary. The 1999 lok Sabha Elections stand out because of her determination and hard work as she brought together the Congress, the Communists, and the Janata Dal under a single front to fight the DMK-BJP combine.
Her election campaigns and interactions with the media were opportunities to unravel the character shrouded in mystery. One cannot forget the 2001 Assembly Elections when even her well-wishers had written her off politically. There was no visible anti-incumbency wave against the ruling DMK as the Maran brothers and Kanimozhi had yet to set foot in politics. Many pundits had predicted that the DMK would return to power. That was the time when Jayalalithaa had been convicted in two cases and was out on bail following a High Court stay against the verdicts by the special courts. She was not allowed to contest the elections because of these convictions. But Jayalalithaa told the voters: “Assume that I am contesting from all 234 constituencies. Please vote for the two leaves symbol of the AIADMK.”
Much to the chagrin of the DMK and the political observers, the AIADMK swept the elections, and Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second term. I remember that day in May 2001 when the results were announced and the AIADMK was declared the winner by noon. An instinct led me to the gates of Veda Nilayam in the hope of getting a quote from her. Once the results were announced, KA Sengottaiyan, Jayalalithaa’s trusted partyman, came out to see if journalists were waiting outside. Since there were half a dozen reporters eagerly waiting to get Amma’s darshan, Sengottaiyan led us to the living room of her house, the only time I have been there.
Most TV cameramen have an abrasive nature and my cameraman was not an exception. He always sported a cap and I requested him to remove it since Jayalalithaa belonged to a different school of thought. “Why should I remove my capIJ It is not anybody’s business,” he retorted. I left it at that. When everyone had settled down, Jayalalithaa made a grand entry. I stood up and said, “Madam, congratulations.” She reciprocated with a smile and thanked me. As she was sitting down, my cameraman caught her eye. “Excuse me, gentleman. Please remove the cap,” she said. The cameraman did so instantly. Since that day, he has not worn a cap!
In September 2001, the Supreme Court declared null and void the then Tamil Nadu Governor Fathima Beevi’s action appointing Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister. Within an hour of the news being flashed across TV channels, Jayalalithaa drove down to Raj Bhavan and had a brief discussion with the Governor. While coming out of the Raj Bhavan, she stopped her car, got down and spoke to the media. “There is a Supreme Court order disqualifying me from continuing as the CM. By this evening, Tamil Nadu will get a new CM,” she said before speeding away to Poes Garden. I had never seen her nervous or shaky, whether it was in the face of victory or defeat. At best she could be described as a benevolent dictator. Jayalalithaa had made it clear in a TV interview: “I am heading the biggest political party in Tamil Nadu and have to be a bit dictatorial in my approach. But my party cadre do not have any problem with it.”
What makes Jayalalithaa different from other Tamil Nadu politicians is the fact that she is the most articulate of all. late Sukumaran Nambiar, senior BJP leader from the State and also a contemporary of Jayalalithaa, had told me about her nature. “Books are her favourite friends. When she is not attending office or party work, all she does is read. Books of any kind, on management, military history, politics, and global issues, are of interest to her. She also listens to music, both Carnatic and Hindustani. I have occasionally heard her humming some Hindi and Tamil film songs whenever she called on my father,” Sukumaran had said. Jayalalithaa had a special bond with Sukumaran’s father, MN Nambiar, an iconic figure of South Indian films from the 1950s to 1980s.
Jayalalithaa always wanted the best for her State. If Tamil Nadu is today called Detroit of India (the State is home to eight automobile giants), it is because of the visionary stance of this woman whose basic education ended with Plus Two. But she had a passion for information and knowledge and spoke six languages with élan, including English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. There are many instances of Karunanidhi goofing up in his speeches and writings, but not Jayalalithaa. She knows what she speaks and that is the secret behind her success.
There is only one person who can write or speak about Jayalalithaa’s personal life — she herself. If she has built a three-metre-tall wall around Veda Nilayam guarded by barbed wire and commandos, she has fortified herself by building an unassailable wall around herself to protect herself from others. No one knows whether Sasikala Natarajan is her close aide or just an employee.
Jayalalithaa has only one eternal enemy in this world: Muthuvel Karunanidhi. And the strange thing is that if there had been no Karunanidhi, there would not have been Jayalalithaa and vice versa. For Karunanidhi to survive, it is a must that Jayalalithaa should be around in the best of health.
