With the spotlight on Tamil Nadu politics following Jayalalithaa’s unexpected death, considerable interest has risen on the various Chief Ministers in the State. Here are two essential reads:
The Life and Times of K. Kamaraj (Rupa, 2013): Kamaraj’s rule was and is still considered by many to be the golden era in the State. Within just 128 pages, writer Bala Jeyaraman traces the life story of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Born in a small town, Virudhunagar, Kamaraj was a school dropout. Yet he proved to be a successful organiser for the Indian National Congress from the pre-Independence days. He quickly rose through the ranks, went to jail, and then became the party’s State secretary. Jeyaraman describes Kamaraj’s political milestones with delightful anecdotes. When Mahatma Gandhi tried to get Congress leaders in Delhi to back C. Rajagopalachari over Kamaraj, the latter expressed his displeasure by resigning from the Tamil Nadu Congress Parliamentary Board. Local partypersons threatened to go on a fast and Gandhi finally said he “will not interfere in the Nadar’s affair.” Kamaraj was considered a political fox, a king-maker who exerted his weight on the Centre — helping ‘the Syndicate’ pick both Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi as Prime Ministers. When asked why he didn’t seek the top post himself, he replied: “No English. No Hindi. How can I be Prime Minister?”
Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Journey from Movie Star to Political Queen (Juggernaut Books, 2016): Vaasanthi’s biography of Tamil Nadu’s former Chief Minister is a necessary read for those who want a balanced telling of Jayalalithaa’s story. The book was set for release in 2011 but was banned from hitting the stores. It released as a shorter version five years later. No other work in English has possibly put together such a detailed picture of Jayalalithaa’s early life — her first encounter with betrayal at the age of 13 and subsequent humiliations by the DMK are key to understanding why she became an Iron Lady. There are sufficient parts for the trivia aficionado, be it her occupying the same seat in Rajya Sabha as Annadurai once did or the origins of the habit of AIADMK partymen prostrating before her. However, her relationship with her mentor MGR and even more complex friendship with V.K. Sasikala remain in a grey zone to this day.
ramakrishnan.m@thehindu.co.in
