The renowned Indian politician, lawyer, and diplomat Sushma Swaraj left indelible footprints on Indian political and diplomatic landscapes. An armed struggle-tested crusader, committed professional, and a consummate orator, Swaraj served at different senior positions of the government as a parliamentarian, union cabinet minister, and opposition leader. She is best known for serving India as Minister of External Affairs for five years, wherein she helped in formulating India’s foreign policy. The article narrates the life and legacy of Sushma Swaraj, after her early life, political life, achievements, awards, and lasting impact.
Early Life and Education
Sushma Swaraj was born on 14 February 1952 at Ambala Cantonment, Haryana, to a prominent Punjabi Brahmin family. Her father, Hardev Sharma, was a respected member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a hard-line Hindu nationalist organization. The ideology and environment of her upbringing, particularly her father’s activism, left their mark on Swaraj’s political career later in life.
Swaraj was a hard worker and excelled in her studies. She completed her studies in Ambala and later received her honours bachelor degree in Sanskrit and Political Science from Sanatan Dharma College. She took her law education from Panjab University in Chandigarh and began practicing law from the Supreme Court of India in 1973. Her public life was founded on professional life as an advocate, as her legal aptitude and oratorial prowess proved to be decisive forces in political life later on.
Political Beginnings
Sushma Swaraj’s political journey began in the 1970s when she became a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the RSS. Her political activism as a beginner during India’s Emergency years (1975–77) was involvement in the anti-Emergency movement of Jayaprakash Narayan, who began a Total Revolution against the autocratic government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
She joined politics long ago in 1977 when she got elected as a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly at the age of only 25 years. She was the youngest cabinet minister of the government of Haryana for Labour and Employment portfolios between 1977 and 1979. Her initial stint at state politics gave her an infusion of good leadership qualities, and she soon found herself at the center of becoming a key functionary of Haryana’s ruling Janata Party at that time.
National Politics and Hegemony in the BJP
Sushma Swaraj entered national politics in the late 1980s and became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had split away from the Janata Party in 1980. Swaraj quickly advanced through the ranks of the party and was elected to the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of parliament, in 1990. Swaraj’s political ability and oratory skills made her a BJP face in the country.
Swaraj’s political acumen was put to the test when she was made Union Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 13-day ministry of 1996. Although the government itself did not survive long, her tenure as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was characterised by her encouraging freedom of the media and development of India’s film industry.
Chief Minister of Delhi
In 1998, Swaraj became history’s first female Chief Minister of Delhi. She served as the chief minister of Delhi for just 72 days, but that was a turning point in her political life. Though she struggled, Swaraj’s vision and leadership in Delhi were noted. She resumed national politics afterward, leaving aside her short but significant stint at the Delhi government.
Ministerial Positions in Vajpayee Government
Sushma Swaraj’s second big political test came in the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s BJP-majority National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. She was a member of the Union Cabinet Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and later was given the additional portfolio of the Ministry of Telecommunications as well. During her time, Swaraj implemented a series of reforms one of which was the classification of the film industry as a formal sector that could be supported in terms of money, thus opening up more avenues for Indian cinema to access more masses.
Swaraj became the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare in 2003. She oversaw the opening of six new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in India, further augmenting India’s medical infrastructure.
Leader of Opposition
Sushma Swaraj also scaled political success in 2009 when she was elected to be the Leader of Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha in place of Lal Krishna Advani. As the BJP Lok Sabha leader, Swaraj was found to be a person with sharp tongues and pungent comments. She soon earned a reputation as a person of tough oratory skills and unyielding arguments in favor of party policy. She was admired for her skill and astuteness, and she was portrayed as a tough but demanding leader who would not shy away from confronting the government.
Minister of External Affairs
One of the most defining points in Sushma Swaraj’s life was in 2014 when she was made India’s Minister of External Affairs in the first government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Swaraj was the second woman to occupy this high-profile role, following Indira Gandhi. She was extremely popular playing the role for her aggressive style of diplomacy, especially using heavy doses of social media like Twitter. Swaraj used social media to interact with Indian citizens, offering support to suffering individuals and being accessible to more people.
Her period as External Affairs Minister was marked by her efforts to expand India’s diplomatic outreach to countries. She was also in charge of evacuating Indian nationals stuck abroad and foreign national affairs. Her prime example was when, in 2015, she successfully brought back a hearing- and speech-impaired Indian girl, Gita, who had been stranded in Pakistan for 15 years. Swaraj’s sympathetic treatment of Gita’s case turned her into a global celebrity and showed how dedicated she was to the welfare of Indian citizens, regardless of whatever their plight was.
Sushma Swaraj’s tenure also saw her engaging with other foreign leaders, including the United States, Israel, and the Middle East. Her diplomacy style was savored for its emphasis on forging stronger ties with India’s allies and maintaining India’s interests unsoiled. Her blunt and truthful diplomacy style made her highly respected by other foreign leaders.
Health challenges and Struggles
Sushma Swaraj had a very tough life apart from what she had done for others. Her health turned critical when she got diagnosed with “Kidney Failure” in 2016 after which she had to undergo a kidney transplant. Although her recuperation was satisfactory, it was not long before she began to suffer from a few other continued adverse health issues that eventually drained the energy out of her to work in the public office. As for Swaraj, she had to take a reluctant decision to avoid contesting the general election in 2019, preferring to devote the time saved to her health. She quit her cabinet position after the first term of Prime Minister Modi in 2019.
Honours and Recognition
Sushma Swaraj was well established in Indian foreign affairs and Indian politics and received a lot of awards and accolades in her lifetime. She was honored posthumously in 2020 with the Padma Vibhushan that is the second highest civilian honor of India because of her outstanding service to the country. It was for her outstanding service in Indian foreign affairs and politics.
Besides this award, Swaraj was named in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2016 because it appreciated her contribution toward the process of making Indian diplomatic policy and for attempting to connect with people through social networking. She even got the Best Woman Parliamentarian Award of 2008, which speaks volumes about her good speaking ability, leadership ability, and parliament performance.
Her charitable works attracted widespread compliments, as she was much cherished as the one to galvanize efforts to bring stranded citizens from glamour to the trash heap. From organizing air travel for Indians caught in the crises they faced to doling out aid disbursed to victims of natural calamities, Sushma Swaraj was valued for her go-getting approach towards global diplomacy.
In reverence of her roles in the making of India’s foreign policy, two structures were made: Sushma Swaraj Bhawan and Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service. These structures were formed to keep her memory alive physically through future diplomats studying from them and in her service record.
Death and Legacy
Her demise was sudden and occurred on August 6, 2019, due to a heart attack; she shocked the country. All party citizens were saddened by her; all politicians from every side paid their homage to her zeal in Indian politics and diplomacy. This marks the end of an era that will probably never be repeated in the annals of Indian politics, characterized by her integrity, empathy, and commitment to public service.
Sushma Swaraj’s legacy remains in transforming lives for many, in setting up institutions, and her institutionalized policies. She is an Indian legend and continues to affect even today the foreign and domestic identity of the country.
Sushma Swaraj in Indian Politics and Diplomacy
The legacy of Sushma Swaraj on Indian foreign policy and politics is gigantic and long-lasting. As a woman politician in a male world, she broke glass ceilings and myths, motivating generations of women politicians to join the political and diplomatic profession. Her political life was marked by her sense of justice coupled with loyalty towards her party and a capacity to stand up for oneself even during adversity.
It was her completely fresh touch to people-centric diplomacy that was set by Swaraj’s term in the External Affairs Ministry. To garner intense public love, she honestly engaged Indians abroad in distresses via social media and put in her best efforts to bring the stranded Indians back home. For posterity, her leadership quality-in terms of openness, bold initiatives, and compassion-is one rare model to follow.
Conclusion
Her life and her work in the arena of national expenditure, commitment, and tireless service have inspired many. From being just a law student in college to a national leader and a top diplomat in the country, the life of Swaraj is replete with milestones and triumphs. Losing her was a great loss to the country in 2019; her legacy, however, lives on in the several lives she impacted and the institutions she blessed. Sushma Swaraj is a legendary Indian political veteran up to now whose legacy continues to determine the political and diplomatic agenda of the country.
