Jayalalithaa pays scant regard to all established norms of democracy. She rules Tamil Nadu with a mailed fist. Some people like to fashion her as a megalomaniac, others see an acute case of mental imbalance, while still others perceive an avenging “goddess” capable of anything.

Opinions.

Jayalalithaa represents the “average” Indian politician: arrogant, greedy, opportunistic, and power-lusty. Every act of hers after coming to power has been underscored by precisely these traits. She misuses state power and does it openly. Not that her rival, Karunanidhi, is any different. His time however, is in a sense, yet to come; nevertheless, he has managed to harass her quite well at present.

Jaya was praised for displaying her “guts” in enacting the anti-conversion law; in retrospect, it was relatively easy for her to do so for she knew the NDA /BJP would support her because they were in power back then. The subsequent poll reversal–as well as the AIADMK whitewash–confirms my theory that Jaya is just an opportunist. She put an end to the anti-conversion law, perhaps realizing her “folly.” This points to a larger malaise: the increasing hold of the conversion juggernaut in Tamil Nadu, a state which has one of the highest conversion rates. The DMK’s solid victory in the LS elections and its partnering with the Congress made matters worse for the lady. Her only hope for survival now is a mandate for continuation in the ensuing state elections. I say “survival” because if the trend of Tamil Nadu election results is any indicator, the DMK will romp to power this time around–in about 2 years (?). If that happens, the DMK will almost have a monopoly over the entire state given its already sizeable clout in the centre. Where that will leave Jaya is anybody’s guess. Act III Scene I: Jaya TV will telecast its version of her harassment by Karunanidhi.

A desperate madam has predictably begun to attack “soft” targets like the Kanchi mutt. She has nothing to lose from alienating the “forward caste” vote bank: put together, they don’t account for more than 5%. On the other hand, she has everything to gain:

1. In one stroke, she‘ll gain has gained the approbation of the entire anti-Hindu brigade: Islamists, Marxists, Conversion kingpins, progressives, and the entire secular media, which in blatant defiance of all norms of decency, has led the trial without waiting for the court’s verdict. Call it reversal of fortune or plain vulgarity. The media wrote a series of stinging articles on Jaya when she brought the government workers to their heels, and on various occasions so long as she was associated with the BJP. Now she has become the apple of their eyes.

2. Predictably, she would’ve loudly conveyed the message to the voters that she’s interested in serving the cause of the backward castes and minorities.

3. The list of nine pending cases–civil and criminal–registered against her are sure to be reopened: the Congress as the facilitator, remote-controlled by its dependable ally, the DMK. And there’s no telling when they will be reopened.

She’s therefore holding on to the mutt earnestly. Arrest the Seer, then his successor. Don’t let it go. Announce one day that the government should take over the mutt, then retract your statement. Foist real and imagined cases. Round up new victims culprits everyday. In short, don’t let the public attention divert from the case for the public is characterized by amnesia. If Jaya had been caught in a scandal, what are the chances that she would let peoples’ attention hooked to it for long? So there. Keep hammering the message that the Kanchi Seer is guilty–court verdict be damned.

I have deliberately refrained from taking a stand on the issue: I remain neutral. Still. However, it is worthwhile to highlight the crassness of the Indian media especially in light of the Supreme court’s granting of bail to the Seer. The media had already convicted the seer in its “articles.” However, its silence was “deafening” in a largely-unreported incident, which among other things, castigated the media severely. The person who did this happens to be Andhra Pradesh High court’s Chief Justice, L. Narasimha Reddy. On the media’s role, he notes:

A section of the electronic medium has reduced the entertainment and journalism to nauseating levels. For instance, a local Telugu Channel conducted a quiz, in the last week. The viewers were given the option to choose ‘Bakara’ among the 4 choices. They are 1) Sushil Kumar Shinde 2) Jayendra Saraswathi 3) Uma Bharathi and 4) the Cheetah, caught at Jubilee Hills. To say the least, the said news items and the presentations in the networks disclose the way of thinking or the standards set for themselves in the field of journalism, by those, who are running the same. The persons who have
contributed the news items and those who published them have forgotten basic values of life, leave alone that journalism. Unfortunately, they are not rare exceptions.

At one stage, this Court thought of issuing notices to the concerned newspapers and the channel, directing them to show cause as to why the matter should not be referred to Press Council of India or any other concerned agencies. Two factors weighed with the Court, to give up the idea. One is that such a course of action is prone to be utilized for aggrandizement. The second is that, in the matters of this nature, effective results can be
expected, if a proper message is conveyed, with the hope that wise counsel would prevail on the concerned. If they still pursue the same
path, a day would not be too far when they would be shown their place in the society. [...]
Freedom of speech and expression is a concept “deduced” (to adopt the words of Sri Soli Sorabji) by courts from the provisions of the Constitution of India. Though there is no direct provision in the constitution, the Courts, particularly the Supreme Court and High Courts recognized the necessity and
importance of a free press, to sustain a healthy democracy and the corresponding right was carved out, through the process of interpretation. It was nourished and nurtured by the Courts by protecting it from the onslaughts, from time to time. However, with the passage of time, the freedom came to be grossly misused by certain agencies. Thanks to the contribution of a section of the press, such a sacred freedom was brought to nauseating levels. The observation of the Supreme Court recently in relation to a photographs of a cine heroine and her friend; in a daily, indicates the gravity. One has
only to realize that the courts which have “deduced” freedom of speech and expression and nurtured it for the past few decades, may not find
it difficult to redefine it, if it is found to have been misused by certain persons or institutions, to the point absurdity. It is the cumulative effect of the various instances of the type referred to above, that may bring about such a situation or rethinking in the entire matter, and if that happens, the society may have to pay the proportionate price. The reason is that, freedom is always replaced by tyranny.

Is it any surprise that there’s no mention of this in any of our leading trashes newspapers? Those interested to read the complete judgement can download it here.

Predictably, the BJP has slammed Jayalalithaa for what it terms as her bid to reach out to the Congress. With the Congress already allied with the DMK it’ll surely be interesting to see how it responds to Amma’s overtures. If it considers AIADMK as an ally or even a “friend,” we’ll all have a field day watching the Congress being heckled by both the DMK and Jaya. Heh heh!

Tags: Commentary, Indian Politics