When a poster row strained Jayalalithaa’s relationship with sections of Christians

The first occurred during her visit to San Thome Basilica in Madras (now Chennai) on Christmas Day 1994. The second, exactly two months later, occurred when an official of her party, out of his “desperation to show loyalty” to the leader, had hoardings and posters depicting the Prime Minister as the Virgin Mary put up in the capital on the eve of her birthday in February 1995.

The idea of ​​Jayalalithaa’s (then spelled Jayalalitha) visit to the basilica came up at the end of a meeting she had with the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, Rev. Arul Das James, at her Poes Garden residence in early December, according to AX Alexander, former Director General of Police (DGP), who was then Inspector General of Police (Intelligence). Since the authorities did not want to disturb the devotees who would visit the church on the night of December 24 and the early hours of Christmas, the Prime Minister himself suggested to Mr Alexander to schedule the visit for December 25 at 11am. “The archbishop had invited only important Christians from the city, including those representing educational institutions. The church was full,” Mr. Alexander recalled.

During a special prayer service, Jayalalithaa expressed his happiness at having entered “the sacred portals of the historic” basilica. It wasn’t the first time she had entered a church. When she was a student at Bishop Cotton Girls’ High School in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), she visited the chapel there and the library attached to it. From there she learned the characters of the Bible.

The portals of a church gave a ‘sense of serenity and deep peace’ The Hindu reported the next day, quoting the Chief Minister, who also studied at the Sacred Heart Matriculation School, Madras, also known as the Church Park Presentation Convent.

She paid tribute to the Christian community for “playing a major role in the development and prosperity of the state” and pointed out that many prominent officers, including those of the police, had belonged to the community and had dedicated their lives to the service of the state. The Prime Minister also assured Christians that her government was committed to ensuring their protection and well-being.

However, an argument arose over where she addressed the meeting. Some claimed that she spoke from the pulpit, while Mr. Alexander claims that “she spoke outside and actually stood in front of it.”

The then DMK president M. Karunanidhi was among her critics. Responding to his complaints, K. Lawrence, Minister for Welfare of Backward Classes, in a statement issued on December 28, 1994, emphasized that “no tradition or rule” was changed or violated when the Prime Minister participated in the special prayer in the church.

Posters row

Within no time, another controversy arose over the visual representation of the Chief Minister as the Virgin Mary and Parasakthi (a Hindu deity) through posters.

While the portrayal of the Hindu goddess did not evoke much negative response, possibly due to public memory of Jayalalithaa’s performance as the goddess in a Tamil feature film in the early 1970s, her portrayal as Virgin Mary did not go down well in some sections. MGR ADMK’s treasurer GR Edmund, who was a minister in the cabinet of AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran in 1977-80, described the depiction of Jayalalitha as the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus on posters as “an insult to every Christian.” He alleged that the chief minister’s failure in disciplining her party colleagues had “hurt the sentiments” of the community members. The Hindu on February 25, 1995.

The archbishop called the display of posters the “most painful situation for the Christian people of Tamil Nadu and India in general.” He added: “We can never imagine that such an act could ever be done. The Christian community is the most affected by it. We can well imagine that the Prime Minister is not aware of such publicity.” He requested her to have the posters and billboards removed.

Posters depicting the Prime Minister as Virgin Mary and Parasakthi | Photo credit: The Hindu Archives

The then Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and senior Congress MP SR Balasubramoniyan (who became an AIADMK MP – Rajya Sabha – about two decades later), lamented the members of the ruling party for showing “unbridled sycophancy” by putting up such posters and said it had “hurt the sentiments of people” of different faiths. Instead of focusing on the people’s problems, the ruling party “unashamedly indulged in extravagant” praise for its leader, he said.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko argued that such portrayal of the chief minister, “who heads a corrupt government that has committed atrocities against women”, had hurt the sentiments of both Hindus and Christians. How long could the people be deceived by the dubious act of issuing a statement against the birthday celebrations while encouraging the display of giant posters and cutouts, he wondered, according to a February 26 report.

A group of students from Stella Maris College squatted on Cathedral Road in a show of protest against the posters.

Removal of posters

Jayalalithaa ordered the posters to be removed, saying she had never favored an attempt to portray her as God. Party members must not engage in actions that are likely to hurt the feelings of others. She claimed that some of her party members had “portrayed her as a divine person because of their overwhelming affection for her.” However, the “overzealous act of a few in the gigantic” AIADMK organization created unnecessary problems, she pointed out.

Despite her disapproval of the posters and billboards, the protests continued. In Thoothukudi district [where Christians live in substantial numbers]The protests even took a violent turn, with a few State Transport Corporation buses damaged and shopkeepers forced to down their shutters. A group of 15,000 people organized a protest meeting and rally, condemning the posters The Hindu on March 4, 1995.

When the government came to know about the plan to hold reparative prayers to atone for the depiction of Jayalalitha as Virgin Mary in all churches under the Archdiocese of Madurai, the Minister for the Welfare of Backward Classes was directed to appeal to Christians not to resort to any agitation over the issue. His colleague in charge of Public Works, RS Rajakannappan (then called S. Kannappan and now in the DMK as Forest Minister), regretted that the clerics, who were supposed to find solutions to problems, were themselves creating problems. Rather than blowing the issue out of proportion, the aim should be to end the controversy. However, the recovery prayers were held in Madurai on March 26.

Though the poster row faded over time, it became one of the talking points of the AIADMK’s political opponents in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections of April-May 1996, in which Jayalalithaa herself lost in Bargur and her party was routed along with its ally, the Congress.

Published – Dec 31, 2025 07:15 IST