Sri Lanka Mourns Demise Of India’s Iron Lady
by Ifham Nizam
- Termed as the Iron Lady with a golden heart
- Rose to the top through sheer hard work in a male dominated society
- A great visionary leader who fought for the rights of women and the needy
Despite political differences, Sri Lanka last week mourned the demise of popular Indian star-turned-politician Jayalalithaa Jayaram.She was termed as the Iron Lady with a golden heart. However, many said that they were not in favour of her following her statement on a separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Jayalalithaa was a six-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She was also the General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party. She was sworn-in as the chief minister for a record sixth term on 23 May 2016. She died in office on December 5, 2016 at the age of 68 years after suffering from a major cardiac arrest. She held the distinction for being the second female Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Her followers fondly refer to her as “Amma”, meaning mother and “Puratchi Thalaivi”, meaning revolutionary leader. Jayalalithaa, as she was commonly referred to, was a famous South Indian film star before she joined politics.
She had appeared as a lead actress in various films in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages.
She was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1984 and served in this post till 1989.
She also shares the record of holding the chief ministerial position five times with DMK President M. Karunanidhi.
Maithripala Sirisena
President
I express my condolences to her loved ones and the people of Tamil Nadu
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Ranil Wickremesinghe
Prime Minister
The people of South India elected her as their Chief Minister six times; she was not in the best of health when she won her last election yet it was a firm display of the trust people had placed in her as their leader.
Although she had political differences with Sri Lanka, to her credit as a stateswoman, she maintained that the issues faced by Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen must be solved in a humane manner.
During her life time, she did much to establish and maintain a strong sense of fellowship between India and Sri Lanka. Fondly known as ‘Amma’ by her people, Jayalalithaa Jeyaram will be remembered for the selfless service she rendered unto her people
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Geetha Kumarasinghe
Actress/Politician
Mano Ganesan
Democratic People’s Front
Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa also offered his condolences, saying “She captured the hearts of India’s Tamil community”. Rajapaksa, during his Presidency, invited Jayalalithaa to visit Sri Lanka to witness the post-war conditions. Jayalalithaa had a checkered relationship with Sri Lanka. While the Sinhala majority supported her strong anti-LTTE sentiments, they did not favour her for her pro-Tamil nationalist stance.
The Tamil minority in Sri Lanka favoured Jayalalithaa for her ability to bring pressure on New Delhi to nudge Sri Lankan political leadership to grant concessions to Tamils.
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Dr. Jehan Perera
National Peace Council
The government should send a joint delegation to her funeral including members of the TNA and Northern Provincial Council.
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Asanga Abeyagoonasekera
Director General, Institute of National Security Studies
