Thursday, December 8, 2016

A Modern Day Draupadi

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".
29 years ago, as the hearse of AIADMK CM MGR left Rajaji Hall for his final resting place at the Marina Beach, Jayalalitha, then the propaganda secretary of the party was shoved off by the party cadres owing allegiance to the CM's widow. 29 years later, the same party cadres stood with their heads bowed in respect mourning her demise at the same venue. When she was allegedly molested by ruling party members at the TN Assembly, she vowed to return to the Assembly only as CM. And return she did, not once, but 4 times over and 2 of the times, back to back, an unprecedented record in the state's history in 3 decades. A modern day Draupadi indeed!

Parallels are often drawn between her and Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Mrs. Gandhi was to the manor born so to say and had actually seen the birth of a nation from her very home and her entry into public life was a given. She had family, education, upbringing and a formidable legacy to fall back on during turbulent times. JJ on the other hand had none of these support systems. A reluctant politician, though she called MGR her mentor, she was compelled to charter her own path, blazing a trail as CM, 4 times over. Hers is history scripted not by Destiny, but one that she chose to write herself!

1 comment:

  1. yes of course....but JJ chose wrong coterie and that led to her downfall...it is very mysterious as to how an intelligent lady as she could not know the likes of her associates...wonder..

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