Priya Rajan, a Dalit woman, has become the youngest mayor of Chennai, the fourth-largest city in India with a population of around 10 million. Rajan, 28, a postgraduate in commerce, was sworn in on March 4 as the 49th mayor of the city.
She is said to be a member of the Evangelical Church of India (ECI), which has congregations in at least 10 states.
Welcoming the appointment, Father Vincent Chinnadurai, the former spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council, said it was a remarkable moment for Dalit women.
“We appreciate the state government for this bold move. I am sure more women will feel inspired by Priya Rajan,” he added.
Chennai, the state capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, is a hub for education, health, information technology and automobile industries.
Considered the second-oldest city council in the world after London, the Greater Chennai Corporation was formed in 1668 by the erstwhile East India Co-mpany, which founded it in 1640 as a trading post.
The state’s ruling DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or Dravidian Progressive Front) under the leadership of Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, 68, won a landslide victory in the polls held on Feb. 19 after a gap of 11 years.