Wednesday 24 / April / 2024
Muscat: A book of condolences was opened at the Indian Embassy for J. Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who passed away on Monday night.
“The Embassy of India, Muscat mourns the sad demise of J. Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The condolence book was opened at the Embassy on Tuesday from 12 pm to 6 pm, and a large number of people paid their condolences,” a senior official of the Indian Embassy said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Social Club’s Tamil Wing members are meeting on Tuesday night following the untimely death of Jayalalithaa who died in Chennai after 74 days of hospitalisation.
Indian expatriates in Oman mourned the popular leader who was serving her sixth term in office at the time of her death.
“Politically, we might not have been on the same page but she was an exemplary woman: an actress, a politician and a strong woman in completely male dominated spheres,” said Prashant, an expat residing in Muscat.
Other expats were also saddened by her demise. “I must say her death is a real big loss to the people of Tamil Nadu. RIP Jayalalithaa,” said Gunasekar.
“It’s really hard to hear about the death of a person who’s been chosen as a leader to guide us,” added Sathya, another expatriate working in the Sultanate.
However, many were also concerned about the wider political repercussions of her death.
“Jayalalithaa is no more, but more than her death, many people at large feel that they have no future without her and she was the only saviour,” offered Sukiran. “She had seen many ups and downs in her career and I hope no untoward things happen in Tamil Nadu.”
“Since yesterday, I’ve been seeing so many messages put up by people on social media about Jayalalithaa,” said SandipPatil, an Indian immigrant in Oman. “Some were being sarcastic, almost as if they were celebrating and happy about her worsening health condition.
“It’s really inhuman. Never rejoice at someone’s ill health or death. Jayalalithaa was one of India’s most powerful women and a popular politician.”
Others, though were more skeptical.
“She was popular among the people of Tamil Nadu because she was a good administrator,” said one expat housewife who did not want to be named. “We do not know if she was corrupt. She had earned enough money and had no family.
“Surely, she was not honest, but then there are shades of honesty in politics, but she did not like dissent and did not forgive easily,” she added. “People, especially the poor, loved her for her largesse, but let us not forget that she also invited industries to Tamil Nadu.”
Her husband was pithy: “To put it mildly, I was not a big fan of hers,” was his only comment.
Jayalalithaa was Tamil Nadu’s second female Chief Minister, and had begun her sixth term in office on the 23rd of May, 2016.
