Sushma Swaraj, poster woman for Indian politics, passes away at 67

Swaraj was born in Haryana in 1952 to a family that had no capital invested in politics. She plunged into political life during the Emergency when as a student leader

She was a complex personality. Sushma Swaraj was incredibly disciplined when it came to party matters. Yet, her mercurial personality would not allow her to forgive party colleagues if she felt they had slighted her. The charm, warmth and the affection she radiated drew many to her and some actually thought they could use that to their advantage: and how terribly wrong they were ! She was stubborn, tended to be judgmental and self righteous and reverted to safe stereotypes. But she was incredibly talented, a brilliant and gifted speaker, and was a self-made woman politician in an era when