Tamil Nadu CM and AIADMK Supremo Jayalalithaa Passed Away at 68

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Supremo J Jayalalithaa passed away at Apollo Hospital in Chennai on December 5, 2016 at 11:30 pm following cardiac arrest . She was 68.

• Jayalalithaa had been admitted to Apollo Hospital on September 22 after complaining of fever and dehydration. But it was later said that the primary infections were in her lungs.
• Doctors from abroad and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had been called to assist the group of doctors at the city’s Apollo Hospital.
• She had a heart surgery. She was on ECMO (Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation) device. ECMO is a life support system that helps provide oxygen to the body when the patient’s lungs or heart are unable to do so. ECMO is put in place when the patient becomes unresponsive to conventional CPR or Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It works by draining blood from a vein and connecting it to an oxygenator machine. A patient can be on the device for several days or even weeks.
• She had reportedly been suffering from various ailments right from the time of her swearing-in on May 23, 2015, after returned from a 21-day imprisonment in Bengaluru in connection with an alleged 19-year-old disproportionate asset case.
• The government said the cremation of Jayalalithaa, popularly known as “Amma” will take place at 4.30 pm on December 6, 2016, near the iconic Marina beach, at the memorial site of her mentor and former chief minister MG Ramachandran.
• The state government declared a seven-day mourning period beginning December 6, 2016.
• Schools, colleges, offices and businesses were to be closed for the next three days, which have been designated a public holiday in the state. The Centre also announced a day’s national mourning.
• Many leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Pranab Mukherjee, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Chennai, to pay homage to Jayalalithaa.

About J Jayalalithaa

Jayalalitha was born on 24 February 1948 at Melukote, Pandavapura taluka, Mandya district in Karnataka to Jayaram and Vedavalli in a Tamil Brahmin (Iyengar) family.

• She completed her childhood education at Sacred Heart Matriculation School in Chennai. She excelled at school and was offered a government scholarship to pursue further education which she refused. She won Gold State Award for coming first in 10th standard in not just her school but also in Tamil Nadu.
• Jayalalithaa was one of the country’s most articulate and determined political personalities and a top film actress of the 1960s and 1970s. She was famously known as Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (revolutionary leader) or Amma.

About Her Early Career Life

Jayalalitha was a leading actress before her entry into politics and had entered into film industry when she was 16 years old.

• Her debut as lead actress was in a Kannada film Vennira Aadai in 1955. She appeared in 140 films from 1961 to 1980 primarily in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada industries.
• She also acted in English plays such as Tea House of the August Moon and Undersecretary between 1960 and 1964.
• She was considered a prolific and versatile actress having appeared in films of different genres and for performing wide variety of characters. She was also known for her dancing skills and was referred to as the queen of Tamil cinema.
• Jayalalithaa won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for Thanga Gopuram in 1971, Raman Thediya Seethai in 1972, Suryagandhi in 1973, Thirumangalyam in 1974, Yarukkum Vetkam Illai in 1975.

About her Political Life

She was the general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and was popularly referred as Amma, Puratchi Thalaivi, Thanga Gopuram, Thanga Chillaiand Thanga Tharagai (Golden Maiden) by her followers.

• As an actress, she frequently worked with another actor-turned-politician, M. G. Ramachandran (MGR). This led to wide speculation that Jayalalitha was introduced to politics by MGR.
• She was a member of the Rajya Sabha, nominated from Tamil Nadu, from 1984 to 1989.
• She served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for six times: 1991 to 1996, in 2001, from 2002 to 2006, from 2011 to 2014, 2015 to 2016 and May 2016 to December 2016 (sixth time).
• On 11 May 2015, the Karnataka High Court acquitted Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case, and she resumed office as Chief Minister on 23 May.
• She was subsequently re-elected by the electorate of the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency of North Chennai in a by-election held on 27 June 2015.
• She was re-elected as Chief Minister on 19 May 2016 and took the oath as Chief Minister for the sixth time on 23 May 2016.

Awards Conferred to Jayalalithaa

1. In 1972, the Government of Tamil Nadu honored her with the Kalaimamani Award.
2. She was awarded degree of Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) in 1991 by the University of Madras.
3. She was awarded degree of Doctor of Science in 1992 Dr. M.G.R. Medical University.
4. A degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred by Madurai Kamaraj University in 1993.
5. A degree of Doctor of Science was given to her by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in 2003.
6. A degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris causa) was awarded by Bharathidasan University in 2003.
7. She was invited by the House of Lords, London, in 2004 to receive the “Woman Politician of the Decade” Award from the Asian Guild Awards.
8. The Golden Star of Honour and Dignity Award was conferred upon her in 2004 by the International Human Rights Defence Committee recognising her services in protecting the weaker section of society and in the field of gender equality in Tamil Nadu and India.
9. In 2011, a resolution was passed by the New Jersey General Assembly to appreciate her exemplary excellence and dedication as a leader and in service to the people of Tamil Nadu.

Various Schemes Launched By Jayalalithaa

Jayalaithaa has launched several welfare schemes that were really beneficial for the poor, middle class, farmers, students and many other sections.

1.Amma Unavagam (Canteens)

• Amma Unavagam or Canteens are a chain of subsidized government run canteens that facilitate the common man with quality food at very cheap price. Rs 1 per idli, 5 for plate sambar etc
• Amma canteens became a revolutionary scheme. 4 canteens were launched in 2014 and 200 more were added in 2015.

2.Amma Kudineer Thittam (Mineral Water Scheme)

• In September 2013, Jayalalithaa launched the Amma Kudineer Thittam scheme to procure purified mineral water to people at Rs 1o per litre.

3.Free Mixer, Grinder & Fan

• Free 20kg Rice for Poor
• Free Mixer, Grinder & Fan

4.Amma Seeds

• In 2014, Jayalalithaa launched this scheme under which certified and high-quality seeds were made available at subsidized prices for farmers.

5.Amma Cement Scheme

• In January 2015, Amma launched this scheme for the lower and middle class people and gave 50 kg cement bag at Rs 170, which was around Rs 370 in market.

6.Amma Marundagam (Pharmacies)

The AIADMK government rolled out more than a hundred pharmacies in the state to sell medicines at a discount of about 15 percent over their market price.

7.Amma Kaipesi Thittam (Mobile Phone Scheme)

In 2015, Jayalalithaa launched Amma Kaipesi Thittam scheme under which about 20,000 self-help groups (SHG) trainers were provided computerized mobile phones with special Tamil software to help them in their work.

8.Amma Magapperu Sanjeevi

• Health Schemes: A set of 3 health checkup schemes – Amma Master Health Check- up, Amma Special Master Health Check-up Scheme for Women and Amma Arogya Scheme
• Amma Magapperu Sanjeevi :Under this, a pack containing 11 herbal medicines would be provided to the pregnant woman. To help mothers of new-born babies, Jayalalithaa announced to set up rooms for lactating mothers in bus stations and railway stations to breastfeed their infants in privacy.

9.Monsoon Scheme

• Under which pottery workers of the state will receive a sum of Rs 4000 as their business takes a beating in the rainy season.

10.Amma Theatre Scheme

• ‘Amma’ theatres would be built where one catch movies for just Rs 25 as ticket.

11.Few More schemes are:

• Free Laptops: Access to computers has been a major challenge for young students until Amma announced free laptops for millions of aspiring students.
• Monthly Pension for Transgenders: For Transgender community, which finds it tough to compete with the men and women in the society, Amma launched a pension scheme. All the transgenders over 40 years were provided pensions to live with self-esteem.
• Amma TNFDC Fish Stall: At a time when fish prices were skyrocketing, Jayalalitha  launched the AMMA TNFDC Fish stalls in several areas of Chennai to procure fishes at lower prices.
• Health Insurance for Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees: Amma extended the health insurance to Sri Lankan refugees as well.
• Amma Pannai Pasumai Shops (Farm Fresh Consumer Outlets): To save poor from the ever-surging vegetable prices, Amma introduced farm fresh vegetable stores called Pannai Pasumai Shops in Chennai to provide vegetables at subsidized prices.
• Chennai Small Bus: In October 2013, Amma launched Small buses to penetrate into areas in which general city buses don’t operate.

Book :

Biography of Tamil Nadu chief minister ‘Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Journey from Movie Star to Political Queen’ has been written by Vasanthi.