Sushma Swaraj, poster woman for Indian politics, passes away at 67

Swaraj was born in Haryana in 1952 to a family that had no capital invested in politics. She plunged into political life during the Emergency when as a student leader

Current Affairs: She was a complex personality. Sushma Swaraj was incredibly disciplined when it came to party matters. Yet, her mercurial personality would not allow her to forgive party colleagues if she felt they had slighted her. The charm, warmth and the affection she radiated drew many to her and some actually thought they could use that to their advantage: and how terribly wrong they were ! She was stubborn, tended to be judgmental and self righteous and reverted to safe stereotypes. But she was incredibly talented, a brilliant and gifted speaker, and was a self-made woman politician in an era when it wasn’t easy. And now she’s gone and the world will be a duller place.

Before Sushma Swaraj became a poster woman for Hindu womanhood and the most powerful woman in the Bharatiya Janata Party, she was just a student leader. Sushma Swaraj was born in Haryana in 1952 to a family that had no capital invested in politics. She plunged into political life during the Emergency when as a student leader (she was studying law at the time) she organised protests against Indira Gandhi. She credited her initial success to the timing of her entry to politics: “I entered politics as part of an agitational movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan. It was a young movement and I got opportunities. Today it is much more difficult for a woman with no political family backing to make up the ladder so fast,” she once told Business Standard.

After the Emergency she won elections twice to the Haryana Assembly. She was Minister for Labour in the state government (1977-79) under Chaudhry Devi Lal. When the Jana Sangh parted ways with the Janata Party government, she became a vocal spokesperson for the party, relaunched as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After that she was elected to the Lok Sabha twice (1996 and 1998), and to the Rajya Sabha thrice (1992, 2000 and 2006).