Sushma Swaraj’s Aggression Too Had Grace: A Colleague Pays Tribute
OBITUARY: Sushma Swaraj had a certain quality of the heart that exudes kindness and humaneness.
advertisement
What does it take to be an Indian political leader who is genuinely admired by one and all? Not only by the colleagues and workers in one’s own party, but also by the leaders and followers of rival parties? Not only by the people of one’s own country, but also by the people of other countries – specifically, an adversary nation like Pakistan?
It takes supreme intelligence, outstanding and multiple talents, ability to perform at peak levels in every task, an even more necessary ability to communicate brilliantly to diverse audiences, a true democratic spirit that is devoid of ideological angularities and dogmatism, but above all a certain quality of the heart that exudes kindness and humaneness.
Sushma Swaraj, who passed away suddenly on the night of 6th August, had all these qualities and more. The news of her demise has left India in a state of disbelief and grief. There is palpable authenticity, and a deep sense of sadness and loss, in all the tributes to “Dear Sushmaji” − from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in the opposition; from her successor Dr S. Jaishankar and other colleagues in the external affairs ministry to the foreign diplomats and dignitaries she interacted with; also from journalists to netizens.
Undoubtedly, the saddest person today would be Lal Krishna Advani, the nonagenarian patriarch of the BJP, who was the first to spot this exceptionally gifted and promising political activist in the late 1970s. Himself a hero of the anti-Emergency struggle, he admired this young and intrepid fighter against the suppression of democracy, who had become a minister in the Haryana government when she was only 25.
Advani, together with Atal Bihari Vajpayee, groomed her to take up leadership positions in the party and Parliament, just as they had done for other upcoming leaders of the time – Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitley and Uma Bharti, to name a few. Modi was also one such promising young leader mentored by them, even though he did not take the parliamentary route for his political journey. Within no time of her entry into national politics, Sushma ji began to shine like a star.
After Vajpayee, she was undoubtedly the most popular orator in Hindi. Her language combined poetry and polemics, substance and style. Even when she needed to speak aggressively, which is often a necessity in parliamentary debates, she was a picture of grace.
“Sushma Swaraj’s Urdu is better than mine.”
Among Sushmaji’s many talents was her amazing ability to quickly learn to speak in new languages. And this is how I first came to know her. The year was 1997. I had joined the BJP in the previous year and had started assisting Advaniji in his work as the party president.
To commemorate the golden jubilee of India’s independence, he embarked on ‘Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra’, a road journey of two months to pay homage to all the important martyrs and freedom fighters (of all political, ideological and religious backgrounds) all over India. I accompanied him throughout this yatra. Young leaders of the BJP joined him in different regions of the country. Sushmaji was travelling on the rath as it entered West Bengal from Bihar. She decided that she should address roadside meetings not only in Hindi but also in a bit of Bengali. In no time she learnt her lines, and when she spoke, this sweet language flowed naturally from her lips.
She later exhibited the same talent when she wowed the people of Karnataka in 1999. She contested against Sonia Gandhi for the Lok Sabha poll from Bellary constituency. She lost the election, but she won the hearts of Kannadigas by speaking to them in their own honeyed tongue. This is one of the many reasons behind her equal popularity in north-south-east-west India.
Many Hindi-speaking politicians, especially those belonging to the BJP, nurse a dislike towards Urdu. Not Sushmaji. When she went to Islamabad in 2015 to participate in the Heart of Asia Conference, she spoke to Pakistani politicians in such fluent Urdu that even Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s then prime minister, praised her saying, “Sushma Swaraj’s Urdu is better than mine.”
After her return, critics voiced some silly criticisms. Her response in Parliament was razor-sharp. “Aalochna karne wale ajeeb ajeeb aalochna karte hain, saree ka rang hara kyun tha? Urdu kyun boli?” (People criticise me for strange reasons. Why was the colour of your saree green? Why did you speak in Urdu?). My answer to them is simply this -- “Why shouldn’t I speak in Urdu? Urdu is a language of my nation as well.”
“Sushmaji Was My Savior.”
One of the heartfelt tributes to her has come from Ajay Bisaria, India’s high commissioner in Islamabad. His tweet said: “Goodbye Ma’am! Grieved at her passing. It was a privilege working with her as Minister. One of our finest, most articulate politicians, she leaves a lasting legacy of an MEA she pushed to become more humane and people-centric. @IndiainPakistan”
Her humane and people-centric approach to foreign policy was touchingly evident when she helped Hamid Ansari, a young Mumbai-based techie, return to India after six harrowing years in Pakistani prisons. Hamid had fallen in love with a Pakistani girl, whom he had met on Facebook. His love impelled him to undertake a risky journey to meet her, and predictably landed him in jail on the charge of being an Indian spy. It is a thrilling, albeit tragically adventurous, story that Hamid is going to narrate in a book soon. His story has all the stuff that can be turned into a blockbuster movie for Indian-Pakistani as well as global audiences.
Sushmaji will figure most admirably in this tale because, as Hamid himself told me, “She was my savior.” After his return to India, we at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Mumbai had organised a meeting to felicitate him. In an emotion-choked voice, his mother told the audience: “Sushmaji’s doors, both at home and in the ministry, were always open to me and my husband whenever we sought a meeting with her. I met her ten times during my son’s ordeal. She always encouraged me to have hope and promised to do everything possible to ensure my son’s safe return to India. She told me ‘Hamid is India’s son. I care as much for him as your family’”.
This caring nature was also evident when she served as health minister in the NDA government under Prime Minister Vajpayee. In 2003 she launched the "Janani Suraksha Yojana" to augment the effectiveness of all schemes aimed at infant and maternal safety and care.
India-China ‘Holy Water Diplomacy’
I worked closely with Sushmaji during my BJP years and also when I was working in Atalji’s PMO. I served briefly as her advisor when she was the I&B minister. My interactions with her reduced after I quit the BJP in 2013. Nevertheless, I must make a happy mention of one episode during her stint in the MEA, which shows her deep commitment to Indian cultural and spiritual heritage.
The occasion was the “India-China Holy Water Diplomacy”. In 2015, we at ORF, in collaboration with Zheng Xiyuan, then consul general of China in Mumbai, organised a unique pilgrimage to Kailas-Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Our team of eminent Indians was led by Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. We brought holy water from Lake Mansarovar, which was ceremonially immersed by CM Fadnavis into the sacred waters of River Godavari at the ‘Kumbh’ in Nashik.
When I later sent Sushmaji a letter about our initiative, to my delight I got a warm reply from her on November 6, 2015.
Sushma ji will be missed for all this and more.
(The author worked closely with Sushma Swaraj as an aide to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He is founder of the ‘FORUM FOR A NEW SOUTH ASIA’, which seeks to promote India-Pakistan-China dialogue for peace and cooperation. He tweets @SudheenKulkarni and welcomes comments at sudheenkulkarni@gmail.com . This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for them.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)