Jayalalithaa's death: How international media covered the demise of the late Tamil Nadu CM

There were over thousands of police personnel deployed in Chennai after the death of J Jayalalithaa, the charismatic chief minister who held sway over Tamil Nadu politics for more than three decades with a pro-poor image. Lakhs of grieving men and women bid her a tearful adieu. Such was the impact of Jayalalithaa’s death on Tamil Nadu and the country that many international newspapers and organisations also reported about her death. [caption id=“attachment_3143900” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] J Jayalalithaa. PTI[/caption] BBC in an article said that “Jayaram Jayalalitha was one of India’s most colourful and controversial politicians, adored by some and condemned by others.” The report also said that she was “naturally charismatic” and introduced a lot of schemes for the welfare of the poor. It also, however, said that the support she got “verged on the bizarre” as her supporters were known to have professed their loyalty through acts like walking on hot coals or drawing her portrait with blood. It also talked about the allegations of corruption against Jayalalithaa in detail, mentioning how the police, during a raid on one of her premises, had found “more than 10,000 saris and 750 pairs of shoes.” Another article in The Washington Post titled ‘ Jayaram Jayalalitha, powerful Indian politician who broke gender barriers, dies at 68’ said that “she was known as a secretive, somewhat imperious politician who rose to power despite India’s deeply patriarchal political system and was credited with developing her state and helping the rural poor.” The article also talked about the corruption charges and disproportionate assets case against her and said that Jayalalithaa inspired a “cultlike devotion”. The New York Times article titled ‘ Death of Tamil Nadu’s Leader Leaves Power Vacuum in Southern India’ focused on how Jayalalithaa’s death will affect the politics in Tamil Nadu. “Her death ushers in an uncertain period for the roughly 78 million people in Tamil Nadu, in part because it is unclear who will succeed her as leader of her party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,” the article said. “An American diplomatic cable, written in 2009 and released by WikiLeaks_, said that Ms Jayaram’s ‘ruthlessness, including her willingness to sanction violence in pursuit of her goals, eventually reversed the traditional view of gender roles, leading the public to see Jayalalithaa as the toughest person in Tamil Nadu politics,’”_ it added. A CNN article called Jayalalithaa the ‘goddess’ of Indian politics. “Jayalalithaa, a popular former Tamil cinema star, embodied the blurred lines between celebrity and government that define the state’s politics,” said the article, adding that her supporters praised her like she was “a living Hindu goddess.” The Guardian called her “Tamil Nadu’s ‘iron lady’”. “She relentlessly challenged the male-dominated, sexist politics of Tamil Nadu that worked relentlessly to block her every step of the way,” the report quoted novelist Vaasanthi Sundaram, Jayalalithaa’s biographer, as saying. The report also said that “she pioneered alternative energy and water harvesting schemes and reduced the rate of female infanticide”. An article in Al Jazeera also said that “In the first half of 2014, Jayalalithaa made a bid to become India’s prime minister by saying she would form a coalition in New Delhi if no party dominated elections.” But as we know now, that wasn’t meant to happen.