Youth Incorporated Magazine

“Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime.” said the last tweet of Sushma Swaraj, a former minister of External Affairs of India. Just three hours after she tweeted congratulating PM Narendra Modi for scrapping out of Article 370, Sushma Swaraj died of cardiac arrest at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. 

Aged 67, Sushma Swaraj, a woman of power was known for being courageous, smart, intelligent, vocal and a true patriot who devoted her life in the service of the nation. Even though being a strong BJP party member, she had warm relations and ties with other party members. Sushma Swaraj has been an active player of Indian politics for 40 years. She was known to achieve the unachieved. Shushma Swaraj entered in the world of politics in 1970 when she joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. At the age of 25, in 1977 when Swaraj joined the Janata Party, she became the youngest cabinet minister of Haryana and took charge of the portfolios of labour and employment. In the second term, she was also given the portfolios of education, food and civil supplies. She joined BJP in 1984 as the secretary and soon become the general secretary due to her unhidden leadership skills.

After facing Lok Sabha defeat in 1980, 1984, 1989, she acquired a seat in the Rajya Sabha in 1990. Six years later she won a seat in the Lok Sabha and also became the union cabinet minister of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government under which she held the ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In 1998, she became the first woman chief minister of Delhi. 

In 2009 when Swaraj won a Lok Sabha seat, she became the leader of the opposition. In 2014 when the BJP regained power, Sushma Swaraj was given the charge of the foreign ministry. This is when she rose to blazing action, doing all she can in her best capacity to serve the people of the nation.

Before joining politics, Swaraj also was a former supreme court lawyer. She graduated with a political science degree and an LLB course from Punjab University. In 1975, she married Swaraj Kaushal, a criminal lawyer and a senior advocate of the Supreme Court.

Sushma Swaraj apart from being known as power-packed Indian politician was also a beloved Twitterati. She was common and famous among the young masses due to her quick and witty tweets and responses.

The message of her demise brought in a flood of condolence wishes and tweets from the whole of Indian political army including that of the prime minister, Narendra Modi. The film fraternity too sent in their messages.

This twitter bird will no longer chirp and has fallen silent. Sushma Swaraj, a woman of valour and charm has been a great political leader our country had. She has undoubtedly left her legacy behind, of immense power, strength, and the strong will to chase for what is yours, and the sense to fight for the right things. She definitely is going to be an inspiration for many women aspiring to enter Indian politics.