The Lady From The South

The Lady From The South

Jayalalithaa Jayaraman, J Jayalalithaa or Amma for her fans and followers died after 75 days illness in Apollo Hospital of Chennai. She was the stalwart woman politician of the southern India who elected as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu five times in the span of around 30 years. As a leader of AIADMK the party which she got from the death of her political mentor MGR in 1989 she took the party to the apex of being the kingmaker in the central government. As an observer of Indian politics from years I have not seen the threads of tension on her forehead even in the difficult of times. One can always remember her always smiling ways with soothing expressions.

Her rise to the top spot of the party and to the post of Chief Minister is marked with controversies of being linked romantically to M.G.Ramachandran (MGR) or to her authoritarian behavior in disrespecting members of party and the opposition but no one can deny her hard word and reach to every single person of her state. Her schemes of mass appeal like that of Amma Canteen which serves food starting at Rs 1 along with other programs has made her darling of the masses. This is the reason for people thronging to Apollo hospital, Chennai from all parts of the state and were praying for her speedy recovery since 75 days. Many have lost their balances after hearing the news of her death. I fear people committing suicide or damaging themselves in other ways in 'Hero Worship' after her death as is the trend in southern India at the time of death of big leaders and movie stars. I hope people will act intelligently this time.

Jayalalithaa has also played an important role in national politics from many years. She was among the leader of the parties which stopped Modi wave in 2014 general elections when her party won 37 out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. She was the woman of courage and determination. Even after her removal as the Chief Minister for being convicted in disproportionate assets case she remained strong and came out powerful after her acquittal from Karnataka High Court to regain her position. 

In this time of grief I can only pray for her and request her followers to maintain calm in the state of Tamil Nadu. May Her Soul Rest In Peace. 

Blind Worship

Blind Worship

These are few recent headlines of the leading newspapers of the country : 

'Jaya supports damaged public property after her arrest'

'Modi supporters hoot non-BJP chief ministers in three states'

'Asaram's followers blocked road to the assembly' 

' Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai manhandled in New York by PM fans'

' Khan battle by fans on social media' 

' National Highway blocked by those demanding Chaudhary Charan Singh museum'

'Protesters demanding ministers resignation for statement against Sonia Gandhi'

The list of headlines about such incidents is endless where people in love of someone forget their limits, morality and even laws. The recent incident of Jayalalitha's supporters making nuisance on Bangalore roads and Tamil Nadu state after her conviction in ten years old disproportionate assets case shows how irresponsible these blind followers were. In their hullabaloo they forget that they were disrespecting courts, law and the constitution of India. Moreover she was jailed for corruption charges which is not something to boost off.

Similar blind following was observed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to New York (USA) when people slapped senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai on asking questions against the PM. We live in a democratic country where we all enjoys right to speech which also gives us right to question anybody whatever would be his/her designations but that doesn't entitle anybody to misbehave with one who was asking questions not liked by someone. This tendency to be violent against media the fourth pillar of democracy would raise doubts in independent working of such organisations which in turn lead to manipulation of truth.

Such behavior only hampers the image of the idol in questions in the eyes of his/her critics more and those who attracted towards a particular personality due to love his supporters give to him/her started detaching themselves from these impatience supporters and from the personality itself.. These supporters in their emotions damages public property increasing more burden on common citizen. 

A fan/follower is the image of celebrity in the eyes of non-fans, what they portray would symbolises his /her action. Here the role of personality concerned also increases, they should advise on and condemn any violent, immoral and indecent behavior of their fans,followers and supporters. Our idols shape the course of society being respectable citizens in their fields and by their contributions for country. Their struggle becomes our inspiration and they becomes semi-gods for us but that do not entitle them to any supremacy over anybody and they too are open to criticism in a democratic setup. Demeaning others for their sake is not the right way.

So, just not follow the persons charm and persona but also what he or she believes and practice because these are the things which make them idols.