Today is a moment to remember the late Sushma Swaraj (14 February 1952 to 6 August 2019), former Minister of External Affairs, and reflect on her compassionate outreach to those in need, as well as how she transformed social media into a powerful tool for timely assistance and public service.
Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of Sushma Swaraj and BJP MP, is recalling the birth anniversary as her Sankalp Diwas.
माँ आपका जन्मदिन मेरे लिए संकल्प का दिन है।
संकल्प कि आपके आदर्शों को जीवित रखूँ।
संकल्प कि भारत माँ की सेवा में अपना सर्वस्व अर्पित कर सकूँ।आपका स्पर्श अब भी मेरे हर निर्णय में है।
आपकी मुस्कान अब भी मेरे साहस का कारण है
और आपका आशीर्वाद मेरे जीवन की सबसे बड़ी पूँजी है।… pic.twitter.com/ulQhxIYiEl— Bansuri Swaraj (@BansuriSwaraj) February 14, 2026
She was not just an able minister but also a beacon of hope for those in distress. Her concern for the welfare of people anywhere in the world was unparalleled and appreciated by people all over. Be it getting the man back to India who was jailed in Pakistan, to solving Visa issues to Indians in trouble abroad and saving those who were caught in war torn regions, Sushma Swaraj was the goto person for anyone in distress. Her engagement on Twitter with Indians abroad is already a tale of folklore and an ideal for any minister of any country.
Sushma Swaraj played a great role in Operation Rahat that was launched by Indian armed forces to evacuate more than 4,000 Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies. The 11-day evacuation by sea started on April 1, 2015 from Aden port. Sushma Swaraj’s relentless diplomacy with Saudi establishment made the evacuation possible amids heavy bombing of Yemenese locations.
A poor labourer from Tuticorin called Tamilselvi was sold as a sex slave in a Middle Eastern country. A concerned person brought the issue to the notice of her ministry. Within 2 weeks Tamilselvi was saved and brought back. Another Indian national Hamid Ansari had strayed into Pak territory from Afghanistan. He was held captive for six years. Sushma Swaraj intervered and intervention he would have rotted in a prison cell in Pakistan.
Few ungrateful Pakistanis might have been celebrating her departure but Sushma Swaraj as minister had helped scores of Pakistani citizens by providing them visas to help get medical treatments in India. The case of 15-month old Pakistani girl is a testimony to this. Shiraz was suffering from a heart ailment. When the regular process failed to get them a Visa to visit India, her parents approached Sushma Swaraj. Though there were some discrepencies in their Visa application, she intervened on her behalf and ensured that they get their Visas in time for the visit. The life of baby Shiraz was saved and their thankful parents said they are indebted to Sushma Swaraj forever.
Twitter as distress Helpline
PM Narendra Modi laid huge stress on social media as the tool to stay in touch with the citizens. However, Sushma Swaraj went a step forward and made Twitter into a helpline to those Indians in distress. Her sometimes hilarious retorts won the hearts of everyone.
In 2015, Swaraj offered humanitarian aid to a Yemeni woman married to an Indian man. While sharing a picture with her baby, the Yemeni woman made a plea for safe evacuation from a conflicted area. Hundreds of Indians stuck in Basra (Iran) received Swaraj’s support, and all this on the basis of a video she received on social media. Later, in the same year, she helped an Indian who lost his wallet and passport in Germany.
Aged parents of a Mumbai citizen had lost their passport in Europe. When approaching the Indian embassy there did not help, their daughter approached Sushma Swaraj on Twitter. Intervention from her ensured that the lady’s parents were given emergency travel documents so that they could fly back
Such examples of Sushma Swaraj helping those Indians in distress across the world are numerous.
Their status, profession, religion, country, none mattered for Sushma Swaraj to take up their case and help them. Her humane nature was the reason as to why she was able to help those in distress as if they were her own.
Today, it is time to recall her work ethic, her humane nature, and her staunch nationalistic ideals, which serve as a reminder and an ideal for us all.
