Sushma Swaraj: The 'Common Man's MEA'

Mumbai: Many people have fond memories of former Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, who passed away in New Delhi late on Tuesday. Among them is the family of a youth, Hamid Ansari, who spent over six years in a Pakistani jail on espionage charge and was released on December 18, 2018. Hamid had gone missing in Pakistan on November 11, 2012. "It was during this ordeal that Sushmaji went out of her way to help us in getting Hamid safely back home," recalls his father, Nehal Ansari. "During the trying period, Sushmaji wrote as many as 96 officials letters to the Pakistani authorities regarding my son. She always responded positively to all our appeals for assistance and finally my son was freed with her intervention," a grateful Nehal Ansari told. After hearing of her demise early today, the Ansaris said they were "stunned", but "Sushmaji will remain in our hearts forever" for all that she did for their son.

Hamid described Sushma Swaraj was "like a mother" to him, and after his release, she counseled him to look ahead in life. Hamid said, "she will always remain alive in our hearts". Incidentally, Hamid is currently penning the story of his Pakistan ordeal and is hoping to complete the book by December 2019, informed his father.

Another Mumbaikar who got unwavering support from Sushma Swaraj is former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, currently in Pakistan custody. It was attributed largely due to Sushma Swaraj that the matter finally resulted in Jadhav's hanging being stayed by the International Court of Justice last month. The Jadhav family - which has not interacted with the media - was in touch with Sushma Swaraj all through. They even met her in Delhi.

One of Jadhav's neighbours, P. S. Menon said, "People in crises in foreign lands always looked up to Sushma Swaraj for help and she even took note of the Twitter messages, something that we have never witnessed before".

Woman rescued by Sushma Swaraj

A 27-year-old hearing-impaired woman who was rescued from Pakistan and brought back to India after being stranded there for 15 years has paid a moving tribute to former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who passed away on Tuesday night. Geeta, who currently lives in Indore and after she was brought back to India in October 2015, paid tributes to the late Minister in sign language. Called "India's daughter" by Sushma Swaraj, Geeta had failed to find her family although many claimed to be her parents. Sushma Swaraj even tried to play a matchmaker for Geeta and sought marriage proposals for her.

Condolences and tributes to the former Foreign Minister, who died on Tuesday night after suffering a cardiac arrest, came in from neighbouring Pakistan also. Taking to Twitter, Pakistan's Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Hussain Chaudhry said he will miss his social media melee with Sushma Swaraj. "She was a giant in her own right," the Minister said. Chaudhry, who was Information and Broadcasting Minister, and Sushma Swaraj had a Twitter spat in March 2019 over Hindu girls who were allegedly abducted in Pakistan. In this way, she gave the human touch to the Ministry of External Affairs and won millions of admirers across the world, including many in Pakistan. She helped several people from Pakistan get an Indian visa for various medical reasons, from an open-heart surgery to a liver transplant. In 2017, she won admiration when she granted a year-long medical visa to a Pakistani girl Shireen Shiraz for an open heart surgery.

The former Foreign Minister helped another Pakistani citizen, Shahzaib Iqbal, who reached out to her for help in getting a medical visa for the liver transplant of his cousin in November 2017. Twitterati from Pakistan joined Indians in paying tributes to the former Foreign Minister.

How Sushma Swaraj saved Kerala nurses and HIV victim's kin

Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and a 70-year-old grandmother of two HIV positive children are deeply sad over the passing of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Chandy recalled that Sushma played a key role in the evacuation of Kerala nurses from Iraq in July 2014. "She acted quickly well past midnight when I called her to inform that the Air India flight which went to pick the 46 stranded nurses, could not land there. She told me she will call back in 15 minutes, and she did that. And she managed to get the landing permission for the aircraft to land at the airport, which helped to airlift these nurses immediately," added Chandy. "Had it not been for her benevolence that she showed up on my two HIV positive grandchildren, Benson and Bency, in full public glare here in 2003, our lives would have been in absolute misery," said Sallamma. (IANS)

Also Read: State BJP Mourns Death of Former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj