Tamil Nadu's political mothership

Jayalalithaa was truly a lone empress loved fiercely by her party followers and loathed by her political adversaries

Charismatic and controversial, J Jayalalithaa, the late chief minister of Tamil Nadu, broke news regularly during her public life as both an actress and politician. The Indian subcontinent had led the unequal feminism march and thrown up more female prime ministers and chief ministers before other parts of the First World. Each one of them — whether it is Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Khaleda Zia or Sheikh Hasina — had the path to their entry into politics smoothened by a parent or spouse.

Six-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu,Jayalalithaa was unusual because her political journey did not involve