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

Jayalalithaa, who has often taken pride in being an alumnus of convent schools, had faced tensions with sections of the Christian community at least twice during her first term as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (1991-96).

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

Jayalalithaa’s (then spelled as Jayalalitha) idea of ​​visiting the basilica arose at the end of a meeting with Rev. Arul Das James, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, at his home in Poes Garden in early December, according to former Director General of Police (DGP) AX Alexander, who was then Inspector General of Police (Intelligence). As the authorities did not want to disturb the devotees who were to visit the church on the night of December 24 and in the early hours of Christmas, the Prime Minister himself suggested to Mr. Alexander that the visit be scheduled for 11 am on December 25. “The archbishop had invited only the city’s prominent Christians, including those representing educational institutions. The church was packed,” Mr. Alexander recalls.

Speaking at a special prayer ceremony, Jayalalithaa expressed her happiness at “having entered the sacred gates of the historic basilica”. It wasn’t his first time entering a church. When she was a student at Bishop Cotton Girls’ High School in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), she would often attend the chapel there and its attached library. From there he learned about biblical characters.

The portals of a church gave “a sense of tranquility and deep tranquility.” Hindu he reported the next day, quoting the Prime Minister, who was studying at the Sacred Heart Matriculation School in Madras, also known as the Church Park Presentation Convent.

He paid tribute to the Christian community for “playing a major role in the development and prosperity of the State”, noting that many eminent officers, including those in the Police force, belonged to the community and devoted their lives to the service of the State. The Prime Minister also assured Christians that his government was committed to ensuring their protection and welfare.

However, where he addressed the meeting, controversy broke out. While some claim he was speaking from inside the podium, Mr. Alexander claims he was “speaking outside, actually standing in front of it.”

The then DMK chief M. Karunanidhi was among his critics. Responding to their complaints, Backward Classes Welfare Minister K. Lawrence, in a statement on 28 December 1994, emphasized that “no tradition or rule” had been changed or violated by the Prime Minister’s participation in private prayer in the church.

row of posters

Another controversy soon arose over the visual representation of the Prime Minister as the Virgin Mary and Parasakthi (a Hindu deity) through posters.

While the portrayal of the Hindu goddess did not evoke much negative reaction, possibly due to public memory of Jayalalithaa’s performance as the goddess in a Tamil feature film in the early 1970s, her portrayal as the Virgin Mary was not well received in some episodes. GR Edmund, treasurer of MGR ADMK, who served as a Minister in AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran’s Cabinet between 1977-80, described the portrayal of Jayalalitha as Virgin Mary carrying the baby Jesus in posters as “an insult to every Christian”. He alleged that the Prime Minister’s failure to discipline his party men had “hurt the sentiments” of members of the society. Hindu On February 25, 1995.

The Archbishop described the display of the posters as “the most painful situation for the Christian people in Tamil Nadu and India”. He added: “We could never have imagined that such an action could be carried out. The Christian community suffers the most from this. We think that the Prime Minister was unaware of such publicity.” He demanded that the posters and billboards be removed.

Posters Depicting the Prime Minister as Maryam and Parasakthi | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives

The then Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and senior Congress member SR Balasubramoniyan (who became an AIADMK MP in the Rajya Sabha after nearly 20 years) deplored that members of the ruling party were displaying “unbridled flattery” by putting up such posters and said it “hurts the sentiments of people” of different faiths. He said that instead of focusing on the problems of the people, the ruling party “shamelessly showers exaggerated praise” on its leader.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko argued that such portrayal of the Prime Minister, who “heads a corrupt Government that commits atrocities against women”, hurts the sentiments of both Hindus and Christians. A Feb. 26 report asked how far people could be fooled by the dubious act of issuing a statement against birthday celebrations while also promoting the display of giant posters and cut-outs.

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

Removal of posters

Ordering the removal of the posters, Jayalalithaa said that she had never supported or approved any movement that would portray her as God. Party members should not engage in any behavior that could hurt the feelings of others. He claimed that some of the party members “portrayed him as a divine person because of their intense love for him.” However, he pointed out that overzealous action by a few people in the “huge” AIADMK organization was creating unnecessary problems.

Despite his disapproval of the posters and hoardings, protests continued. in Thoothukudi district [where Christians live in substantial numbers]The protests even turned violent, with several buses belonging to the State Transport Corporation damaged and shopkeepers forced to close their shutters. He said a group of 15,000 people held a protest meeting and rally condemning the posters. Hindu On March 4, 1995.

When the government came to know about the plan to hold compensation prayers to compensate for the portrayal of Jayalalitha as Virgin Mary in all churches of Madurai Archdiocese, it prompted the Backward Classes Welfare Minister to appeal to Christians not to resort to any agitation in this regard. His colleague in charge of public works, RS Rajakannappan (then called S. Kannappan and now serving as Forest Minister in DMK), regretted that the clerics, who were supposed to find solutions to problems, were themselves creating problems. Instead of exaggerating the issue, efforts should be made to end the discussion. However, prayers for compensation were held in Madurai on March 26.

Although the poster controversy died down with time, it became one of the talking points of the AIADMK’s political rivals ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections held in April-May 1996; Jayalalithaa herself lost in Bargur and her party suffered a defeat along with its ally Congress.

It was published – 31 December 2025 07:15 IST