Jayalalithaa memorial: It’s time we ended this wasteful practice

The veneration of former Tamil Nadu chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, continues with the laying of the foundation stone for a grand memorial for her on Marina Beach, Chennai. The structure, modelled on a phoenix with two lion statues surrounded by landscaped gardens, will cost more than Rs 50 crore on what is public property.

While the court may have given the project the green light, there are many reasons why the state government should have exercised greater restraint. In the first place, while the party is splitting hairs on various provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2011, there is no dispute that the construction of permanent structures is prohibited in the area. The Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, does not allow the disposal of corpses in any area other than those specifically designated for this. The beach is not such a spot. The fact that former CM and AIADMK founder, MG Ramachandran, too is interred there does not make this any more legitimate.

While the focus is now on the Jayalalithaa memorial, Indian political parties have a particular affinity for memorials on public land for departed leaders. The families of many leaders have sought to appropriate bungalows in cities as memorials for them. Large swathes of public property have been taken over in many places to build statues and memorials for leaders, all at the taxpayers’ expense. If a party wants to keep alive the memory of one of its leaders, surely it can purchase a suitable piece of land and erect a memorial. Much of this memorial building is done in the name of the people, but in actual fact it is the party wanting to use the memory of the late leader for its own political ends. The building of giant statues is often considered the preserve of undemocratic regimes, where the image of the leader is imposed on the people. In a democracy like India, this trend is out of sync. It cannot be forgotten, however, that it was the Congress which began this trend and others have followed suit.

It is time for a debate on the need to discontinue this practice. If people want to remember a leader, it should be left to them how to do so. It need not always be in the form of giant and expensive memorials, but could also be through welfare schemes that have a lasting impact on the people. Historic events can be commemorated, as for instance in war memorials, even historic leaders like the founding fathers of a nation. But this should not be a licence to build a memorial for every departed leader.