Jayalalitha: 'Sworn Heir'

M S S Pandian
Geetha V
One of the major reasons why in the Tamil Nadu assembly
elections Jayalalitha was able to legitimise herself as the true heir
to MGR's mantle while Janaki failed is that Jayalalitha and
AIADMK(JL)
used certain cultural presuppositions of patriarchy
elaborated and reified by MGR.
I N the political context of Tamil Nadu,
using patriarchal values to seek political
legitimacy is not new. The D M K likened
the Tamil language to a beautiful woman
of everlasting youth and asked the Tamils
to defend her 'chastity'. M G R converted
many an independent woman into toetouching wives on the screen and endeared
himself to the masses.
The January election for the Tamil
Nadu state assembly established Jayalalitha as a new leader in Tamil politics.
How did Jayalalitha legitimise herself as
a true heir to MGR's mantle, while Janaki
failed? One of the significant reasons is
that Jayalalitha and the A I A D M K ( J L )
consistently used certain cultural presuppositions of patriarchy elaborated and
reified by the D M K and M G R . One of the
chief means by which patriarchy within
Tamil culture reaffirms itself is by objectifying womanhood into mutually opposed imagesthe faithful wife who transgresses the limits set her by her husband
at her own peril, and the loving paramour
who constantly assures the man of his
virility and potency; an endorsement the
wife in her 'chaste' married status cannot
openly give. Jayalalitha successfully worked within the scope of these assumptions
and cast herself as MGR's faithful heir.
The A I A D M K ( J L ) vigorously campaigned that if Jayalalitha was in politics,
it was because it was the sphere chosen for
her by M G R himself. The following
speech by her at Bodinayakanoor, her own
constituency, on January 19, is typical of
all her major election speeches:
MGR, the revolutionary leader, groomed me
for politics. He identified me as the person
"capable of undoing that evil force called
Karunanidhi.
There were attempts to murder me and there
were several other difficulties. I gave resignation letters to our revolutionary leader thrice.
I requested him to allow me to quit Rajya
Sabha membership and politics.
But he made me promise over his mother's
picture that I would never quit politics. If I
am still in politics, it is to keep that promise.
The A I A D M K ( J L ) daily
Namathu
MGR carried articles day in and day out
reinforcing this line of argument. The
message in one of the election advertisements released by the A I A D M K ( J L )

Economic and Political Weekly

was presented as if it was spoken by MGR*

himself. It read:
But for you, who is my political heir? I have
brought you to politics to lead the party and
uphold my principles after the. Seven years
ago, I introduced-you to politics at the
tumultuous Cuddalore conference. It was a
historic moment when the cadres went
ecstactic with joy seeing you next to me and
watching that mammoth rally...
As my political heir, you should establish my
rule again...
The advertisement also carried a
photograph of Jayalalitha and M G R
holding a silver sceptre.
Here we see Jayalalitha being recreated
as a heir. She is not only identified as a
dutiful offspring but also as 'shakti'
capable of destroying 'evil'. The rather
dramatic act of swearing allegiance to
party politics over MGR's mother's
photograph further legitimises her future
role as political leader. This act of swearing automatically places her within the
genealogy of MGR's 'lineage'. Thus not
only are feudal and filial sentiments
played upon, but the mythical potency
and dangerous sexuality traditionally
associated with the 'other' woman, no less
one who is to rule, is thereby transformed on the one hand and neutralised on the
other.
Jayalalitha is a woman, then, venturing
into the treacherous world of politics not
on her own but because of the authority
of M G R which protectively hovers over
her. The silver sceptre here has to be seen
not merely as a symbol of political
authority but as a phallic symbol as well.
It is significant that Jayalalitha and the
A I A D M K ( J L ) presented Janaki as a
woman who transgressed the boundaries
set for her by M G R , a man to whom she
was married for over two decades.
Jayalalitha said in meeting after meeting,
Till his death, the revolutionary leader, MGR
did not allow Janaki to enter politics. But
after his death, contrary to his wishes, she
entered politics. She broke the party; allowed the AIADMK government to be dissolved.
If MGR was alive, would Janaki have entered
politics? Would MGR have allowed this?
The A I A D M K ( J L ) daily
Namathu
MGR
produced further evidence of
Janaki's 'unfaithfulness' to M G R . It made

March 18, 1989

much of the fact that Janaki wore silk

sarees, flowers and kumkumam, and posed for photographs after MGR's death,
"hoping for a coronation". Janaki was
thus seen as not only a transgressor but
a home-breaker as well; one who had let
her husband's carefully constructed house
collapse, Namathu MGR probed into
Janaki's past and noted that she had been
married once before and had a son by the
earlier marriage. It argued, " I f M G R accepted her and gave her a new life out of
his magnanimity it does not mean she is
chaste". In marriage and out of it Janaki
was guilty and had broken monogamous
societal norms. She was seen as being unworthy of M G R and her claims to MGR's
mantle were always already illegitimate.
The A I A D M K ( J ) could not easily
counter such propaganda for a variety of
reasons. First, the values which the
A I A D M K ( J L ) used as a yardstick to deny
Janaki legitimacy in society and politics
were the very same values propagated by
M G R in his films and politics. To oppose
these values and still use MGR's name in
election propaganda was obviously an impossibility for the A I A D M K (J). Secondly,
though the A I A D M K ( J ) attempted to
portray Jayalalitha as 'unchaste' by
highlighting her relationship with a Telugu
film actor, they could not sustain such a
campaign. Given MGR's close relationship with Jayalalitha, such a campaign
would only serve to defile the image of
M G R who had steadfastly defended
monogamy and chastity as the foremost
of womanly virtues'. Thirdly, Jayalalitha
being single, had relatively more freedom
even within the sphere of values within
which both factions operated, compared
to a married Janaki. The norms of
monogamy could not be used against
Jayalalitha, while they served as a potent
weapon in the hands of Jayalalitha against
Janaki. Interestingly, Jayalalitha was
politically projected as Seh'i Jayalalitha.
It is rather unfortunate that Jayalalitha's independent political initiative
should have grown out of an arch patriarchal context and assumed its specific
values. Even more unfortunate is the fact
that substantial support for Jayalalitha
came from women voters. While it is
tempting to read in this support solidarity in sisterhood, it remains a fact that
Tamil cinema and its consequent political
culture maintain a hegemonic hold over
Tamil sensibilities; and the Tamil women
are the ultimate victims.

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