The Iron Lady of Tamil Nadu – Jayalalithaa

Last Updated on December 12, 2016

The Iron Lady of Tamil Nadu – Jayalalithaa

History has its pages to recite about great icons who changed the society the way it is. There are many people who demolished the taboos in the society and came out  beyond.

In a male dominant country like India, a woman taking over a high regime is a benchmark in history. One such Iron Lady is our former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa.

An actress in early ages who later entered into politics – Jayalalithaa proved herself as a firing icon in the history of Tamil Nadu. Born in year 1948, on February 24 – J Jayalalithaa was from Mandya district of Mysore state, which is at present the state – Karnataka.  Grown under the guidance of her grandparents and mother’s sister in her early ages, Jayalalithaa excelled in her academics and it is astonishing to learn that she won Gold State Award since she came first in 10th standard in Tamil Nadu.

Jayalalithaa was considered as one of the most versatile and successful actresses in Tamil Film Industry. Her dance moves are still admired by many and for her acting she has received various awards.  On and all, Jayalalithaa acted in more than 140 films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. And, she was very proficient in speaking many languages namely including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and English.

When we see her life as a politician, Jayalalithaa had a life mixed with both ups and downs. She was the  11th, 14th, 16th, 18th and 19th chief minister of Tamil nadu. She was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu when she died and it is a remarkable fact that she was the only woman to be CM for such a long tenure. She was also the General Secretary of AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam).

Jayalalithaa was admitted in Apollo Hospitals since she was affected with some infection. After 75 days of struggle, Jayalalithaa was announced to be dead on December 5, 2016 at 11.30 pm.

A One Day National Mourning was announced by Central Government while Tamil Nadu delcared seven days of mourning. Her body was kept for public view both in Poes Garden and Rajaji Hall. Finally, her body was interred in Marina Beach, Chennai near the grave of M.G. Ramachandran -Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.