‘Iron Lady’ was an inspiration for women: Tamils in US

“None has shown the courage which Jayalalithaa evinced in her political life,” Dr Rajan Natarajan, who served as the Deputy Secretary of State in Maryland and now serving as the Commissioner of Transportation, said. “’Amma’ (mother), as she was always fondly referred to by the masses, is indeed a mother of many comebacks in her political life,” Natarajan, the first Indian-born Tamil American who served in the highest administrative position in US history, said. 

While he was serving as the chief diplomat of Maryland, Natarajan had several opportunities to interact and work with Jayalalithaa’s cabinet on many projects like Sister State, education, energy, transportation, and medical technologies. “Jayalalithaa was a leader and a exemplary role model for women to realise their power in public service,” Natarajan said. 

“After Secretary Hillary Clinton’s meeting with Jayalalithaa in 2013, Clinton mentioned she is incomparable and has been an embodiment of woman empowerment,” he added. “Jayalalithaa’s demise signals the end of an era of celluloid image politics in Tamil Nadu,” said Ram Mahalingam, associate professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.