Shradhanjali to the Supermom - Sushma Swaraj, on her second Punyatithi.

The 6th of August is internationally known for the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and the subsequent peace that dawned and brought to close the deadly WWII, in 1945. Two years ago, on this very day - 6August 2019, India witnessed a historic moment - the passing of the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha.  Ms Sushma Swaraj, tweeted a congratulatory message to the PM of India, hailing this for this historic moment. Her 6PM tweet on read ‘ प्रधान मंत्री जी  आपका हार्दिक अभिनन्दन। मैं अपने जीवन में इस दिन कोदेख़ने की प्रतीक्षा कर रही थी. ‪@narendramodi‬ ji’. Sushma Swaraj, had made a fiery speech in the Parliament, as an opposition leader in 1996,strongly advocating abolition of the article 370. In less than four hours of her tweeting her message and hailing the passing of this bill, Sushma Swaraj, who was ailing for some time, bid adieu to this world for her permanent residence in the heavenly abode.

Hundreds of thousands of admirers of Sushma ji - the people’s leader - including the who’s who of the country; the Honourable President, the Prime Minister, the Vice President and most of the cabinet colleagues, opposition leaders - cutting across party lines - and innumerable other leaders and ordinary men and women had thronged to the BJP headquarters in Delhi, where her mortal remains were taken, to pay their last respect to Sushma ji. Unending number of people poured out their emotion, love, affection, admiration and reverence of unprecedented proportions to the departed leader. What a leader she was, the whole nation joined in admiring her contributions, while paying their extraordinary tributes to Sushma ji,  the par excellence people’s politician, who epitomised what public service means for the empowerment of the people they are elected to govern. 

The passing away of Sushma ji on the very day, 6th August, 2019, of the passing of the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019, in the parliament, in a way came as a great blessing in disguise to the nation. News of the demise of Sushma Swaraj diverted the attention of the people from Kashmir issue and the news of her death occupied the precious front page and prime time space in all media, which would otherwise have been filled with politicking news on the J&K bill, and may have caused unrest in the  country, particularly in the Kashmir valley. Sushma ji served her country even in her death. She was one of those few committed political leaders who remained a compulsive public servant and an extraordinary nationalist for whom public good and service to the nation and its citizens was paramount. Sushma Swaraj has carved a special place not just in the heart and minds of her party - where she was known for effective presentation of her party’s views both inside and outside Parliament - but also among the rest of the countrymen. 

Sushma ji was an archetypal Indian women sporting that trademark big red bindi, कुमकुम on her forehead, wore the trade mark wide bordered saris and that inimitable smile, which were all an embodiment of revered Indian womanhood, which Indians worship as maa Durga, Laxmi and Saraswati. A motherly outlook that she embodied all through her Ministership, particularly as the External Affairs Minister in the Modi 1.0 Government, rightly found a mention in the Washington Post article, which headlined her as ‘Supermom’. Notwithstanding the vilification she was meted out as a saviour of Reddy Brothers, she continued to remain tall in her stature and firmly grounded with people, the evidence of which could be seen from the fact that she was one of those tall leaders, who received unprecedented appreciation from the Prime Minister for her contributions not just to the party but to the whole of India. She learnt Kannada - my mother tongue - while contesting in a loosing cause against Sonia Gandhi from Bellary. One may agree or disagree, she made a forceful point by pledging to shave her head, don a white saree and eat groundnuts (symbollically mourning) if Sonia, ‘the Italian-born Congress leader’, became Prime Minister, in 2004, when UPA surprised NDA to snatch a victory in the parliamentary elections. 

Born in 1952, she was elected as a Janata Party MLA in Devi Lal's government and became the youngest (25 - 26 years) Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment (1977-1979) in Haryana. She joined the BJP in 1980. Under a combined Lok Dal-BJP government led by Devi Lal, she was the Cabinet Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies (1987-1990). She was judged Best Speaker of Haryana State Assembly for three consecutive years. She was the first official women spokesperson of BJP - a first for of all the political parties in India. She was a gifted orator, and her oratory skills matched those of stalwarts like Atal ji, Advani ji, and our PM Modi. Sushma ji was appointed as the the union cabinet minister for Information and Broadcasting in the Vajpayee government in 1996, which survived for a mere thirteen days. It was during this period that she took a revolutionary step of live telecasting of Lok Sabha debates, which have now become a norm. She served as a member of parliament for six terms during which she has held very important positions including serving as the leader of opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. She was also elected as an MLA from Delhi in 1998 and in the same year - in October 1998 - she became the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi. She was that illusory अजतशत्र in the world of politics the evidence of which was played out in the outpouring of emotions and tributes by political leaders cutting across parties. Her political career graph is a manifestation of her role in Indian politics.

It was during her tenure as the External Affairs Minister that she transformed the hitherto known ministry for the higher echelons of society into a people’s Ministry by providing a human face to the External Affairs Ministry, for the first time ever. She was one compulsive troubleshooter for any Indian stuck anywhere in the world, and this act of hers is now a folklore story which played out extensively on the twitter post the news of her death. Sushma ji took personal interest in resolving minor issues which included apparently mundane issuance of visa to the needy, including those from Pakistan, and getting the much needed relief to Indians in distress across the globe. She helped in building an extraordinary image for her party among the expats and the response was an outpouring of support for the Modi government from the non-resident Indian community. 

Sushma ji, due to her ailments, had announced her retirement from electoral politics and did not contest the 2019 parliamentary elections. It was hoped that this much needed break and rest would nurse her back to better health but then destiny had a different role for her and she was untimely snatched from all of us at a very young age of just 67, by the almighty in to the abode that she now dwells. Sushma ji, you will ever be remembered for your extraordinary service to the nation. On the occasion of her second punyatithi I take this opportunity to pray for the Supermom to Rest in Peace.

Image Credits - Wikipedia and PTI.

Om Shanti.

Jai Hind