The Power Couple on Their Anniversary: Sushma and Swaraj Kaushal

Here’s a quick look at the life of Swaraj Kaushal, Sushma Swaraj’s husband and Lalit Modi’s long-time lawyer.

Swaraj Kaushal (L) with Jayaprakash Narayan and Sushma Swaraj (R). (Photo: Facebook/Sushma Swaraj)

Sushma Swaraj – the queen of sass and wit on Twitter – did the ultimate throwback on her wedding anniversary. The External Affairs Minister tweeted a photo of herself as a young bride, along with hubby Swaraj Kaushal.

The Swarajs are public figures, but Sushma clearly wins when it comes to visibility now. To know more about her hubby, read on. The following profile was first published by The Quint a few months ago:

A Young Achiever

A law graduate from Punjab University, Kaushal first rose to prominence when he defended George Fernandes in the Baroda Dynamite Case during the Emergency.

He was appointed Advocate-General of Mizoram in 1987, and played a significant role in engineering the Mizoram Peace Accord, which ended 20 years of insurgency in the state.

In 1990, at just 37, Swaraj Kaushal became the youngest Governor in Indian history when he took over as the Governor of Mizoram.

He was also elected to Rajya Sabha in August 1998 from Haryana as a Haryana Vikas Party candidate.

Kaushal has also been a representative of the Government of India in Naga peace negotiations.

The Swaraj Couple

Kaushal’s family had Janata Party connections, while Sushma’s father was an RSS functionary. The couple met during the Emergency, when what Ram Manohar Lohia had termed “anti-Congressism” was at its height.

While Sushma rose to prominence in the BJP, Swaraj Kaushal made his mark as a lawyer and to some extent, as a Parliamentarian.

Apart from the Lalit Modi controversy in June, there has been no indication that Kaushal has been anything but a pillar of support to Sushma as she rose to become one of the most prominent faces in the BJP.

Basically, a senior advocate with the Supreme Court, Kaushal had provided legal counsel to Lalit Modi for many years. His daughter Bansuri, also a lawyer, has represented Modi in the High Court.

But when pillars crumble, they can bring down the entire house.