Jaya Jaitly (born 14 June 1942) is an Indian politician, activist, author, Indian handicrafts curator and former President of Samata Party. [1][2]

She stepped down as party president because of the Operation West End controversy in 2002.[3] In 2020 she was sentenced to 4 years in prison for her role in the Operation West End bribery case.[4][5][6]

Jaya Jaitly addressing students in May 2008

Biography

Jaya Jaitly was born on 14 June 1942 in Simla, British India. Her father K. K. Chettur, from Kerala, and was independent India's first ambassador to Japan.[3] Jaitly travelled with him to Japan and Burma. Her father died when she was thirteen.

Jaitly and her mother moved to Delhi where she attended the Convent of Jesus and Mary school. Jaitly was awarded a scholarship to study at the Smith College in the United States.

Political career

Jaitly met the politician George Fernandes when her husband started working for him. On Fernandes' request, she joined the Socialist Trade Union. After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, she became active in politics; referring to Fernandes and Madhu Limaye as mentors.[3] In the same year, she joined the Janata Party. It split to form the Janta Dal and later, she and Fernandes formed the Samata Party.

Handicrafts curator

Jaya Jaitly supported the development of Indian arts and crafts cottage industries. In 1986, she founded the Dastkari Haat Samiti (Arts and Crafts Market) to enable rural artisans of traditional Indian crafts to gain confidence in the marketplace through innovative strategies. Her work brought artisans of India, Pakistan and Vietnam and was taken up by the Indian government as an instrument of diplomacy to bring together crafts practitioners from all over the globe to share their skills and assist in capacity building.[7][8][9]

She has authored and published books including Crafts of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, the Craft Traditions of India, Viswakarma's Children, a socio-economic study of crafts people, and Crafting Nature. A selection of her articles on politics, social issues, women, human rights, foreign affairs, etc. was compiled into a book titled Podium on the Pavement. She has assisted NCERT in creating a syllabus for the craft heritage of India's schools. She edits and publishes a monthly political journal of democratic socialist thought and action called The Other Side. She has been deeply involved in heritage issues at all levels and has received awards from PHD Chamber and FICCI for her work in culture and arts and as a role model for women leaders.[10][11]

Operation West End

After Tehelka's scandal Operation West End broke out, where she was accused of accepting a bribe of two lakh rupees.[12] The scandal embarrassed the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and sullied the image of Defence Minister George Fernandes leading to his resignation. She stepped down as president of the Samata Party in 2002.[13]

In 2020, she was sentenced to 4 years in prison for her role in the Defence Contract bribery case. She was convicted under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 9 (taking gratification for exercise of personal influence with public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.[6][5][4]

Personal life

She met Ashok Jaitly while in college. They married in 1965 and have two children - Akshay and Aditi (who later married cricketer Ajay Jadeja).[3] She and Ashok Jaitly divorced, with Jaya Jaitly holding her active role in politics as the main reason for the split.[3] For more than 25 years, George Fernandes remained her partner.[14]

In 2012, she was allowed to visit Fernandes, who had Alzheimer's, after she having to petition the High court against Fernandes' relatives who opposed her.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Flaming torch a free symbol, EC can allot it to any other party: Delhi HC dismisses Samata Party's appeal". The Indian Express. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Samata Party – Official Website". Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jaya Jaitly: A journey into the self - The Times of India". The Times of India. 31 August 2002. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Tehelka expose: Jaya Jaitly, 2 others convicted in corruption case". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 Garg, Abhinav; Khan, Aamir (31 July 2020). "Jaya Jaitly: 20 years on, Jaya Jaitly, retired General get 4 years jail for graft". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Tehelka expose: Jaya Jaitly, 2 others get 4-year jail term". The Hindu. 30 July 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "A bazaar for India's folk arts". 4 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Jaya Jaitly inaugrates [sic] 28th annual Dastkari Haat Samiti's in collaboration with Egyptian artistes in Delhi - Times of India". The Times of India. 6 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Make in India, sell in India". 11 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Ray, Kunal (19 May 2016). "Gamchhas transformed into saris". The Hindu.
  11. ↑ "Meet the Woman Fighting for the Survival of India's Traditional Crafts Culture".
  12. ↑ "www.firstpost.com/india/to-jaya-jaitly-others-in-tehelka-sting-preying-on-tejpal-now-is-opportunism-1283339.html". firstpost.com. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Tehelka tapes: Together George Fernandez and Jaya Jaitly swam and together got caught in a tide : Cover Story - India Today". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "He's My George!". www.outlookindia.com. Outlook India. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  15. ↑ "Supreme Court allows Jaya Jaitly to visit George Fernandes". Retrieved 6 September 2015.
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