As an old-timer, I was filled with a sense of poignancy when I read the graphic “Prison Diary” (Sept. 29). Nearly 50 years ago, Ms. Jayalalithaa started her extraordinarily successful acting career in a Tamil film titled Vennira Adai , or a “white saree.” In that film, her role is that of a tragic young woman who goes through many ups and downs, and finally has a sad end, where she wears a white sari, the uniform of inmates. Is this now to be played out in real life too?
Visalam Ram Mohan,
Chennai
It is unfortunate that a sitting Chief Minister of a progressive State has been sentenced to imprisonment and asked to pay a stiff fine. A deeper reading of this development gives one the impression that there are certain powerful forces at work behind the scenes. This is a judgment meant to throttle the most powerful voice of Tamil Nadu.
M.S. Ramesh,
Chennai
The Editorial, “Long road to justice” (Sept. 28), best describes the issue of maintaining law and order. It is not uncommon for party cadres to feel completely outraged on hearing an adverse verdict against their leader. I would have imagined a monolithic leader such as Ms. Jayalalithaa to have easily exhibited her statesmanship by issuing a statement prior to the verdict asking cadres not to run riot. Even just after the verdict, she could have issued such a statement with the permission of the judge.
This one action could have put her in the orbit of the tallest and unique leaders in the country and would have cancelled out the general perception of the prevalent Dravidian culture of party cadres — to react in an adverse manner whatever the occasion. It is shocking that after the verdict the government machinery almost went into hibernation. The people of Tamil Nadu still have to wait for a long time for checks and balances to be in place for good, true and effective governance.
Sridhar N.,
Chennai
