Sushma Swaraj

MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

THE PAST YEAR HAS been a testing one for Swaraj’s ministry. The Modi government’s third year offered a reality check to the giddy start, where even relations with Pakistan and China seemed to hold limitless possibilities. That said, Swaraj, like her predecessors, hasn’t had a prominent role to play in crafting foreign policy as PM Modi, like his predecessors, directly calls the shots on foreign policy, drawing on the Prime Minister’s Office and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, as well as Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar. Yet Swaraj hasn’t been content to merely sit on the sidelines. She has carved a unique public diplomacy role for herself and burnished her reputation as a citizens’ minister. From coming to the aid of tens of thousands of Indian workers laid off in Saudi Arabia to saving a couple’s honeymoon to Europe at the last minute, no cry for help from the Indian citizen has been seen as too small for the external affairs minister. She has also made a mark on the world stage, giving a stirring speech in September at the UN General Assembly that summed up Pakistan’s misdemeanours. Pointing out that Modi had twice offered the hand of friendship to Nawaz Sharif, Swaraj asked, “What did we get in return? Pathankot, Bahadur Ali and Uri.”