Members of the Indian diaspora community across different sections of British society on Wednesday paid tributes to Sushma Swaraj, the former external affairs minister who died of a cardiac arrest.
Swaraj, who was External Affairs Minister from May, 2014 to May, 2019, passed away in New Delhi on Tuesday night. She was 67.
Leading NRI industrialists such as Lord Swraj Paul and the Hinduja family described her as a wonderful, caring and humble person, who was extremely proactive in the sphere of India-UK ties.
"Sad to hear the untimely death of Sushma Swaraj-ji. A wonderful person and great Foreign Minister," said Caparo Group chief Lord Paul.
"She was such a humble person that whoever came across her felt at ease right away. She won the hearts and minds of the Indian diaspora," he said.
Gopichand P Hinduja, Co-Chairman of the Hinduja Group, expressed his "sincere condolences" on behalf of the Hinduja family as he recalled the most fruitful meetings with the former minister during her visit to the UK for the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (RPBD) event in 2014.
"She was a humble, good-natured lady who was devoted to her work, to her party and to her country. We will miss her," said Hinduja.
"She was the backbone of the BJP and during Mr Vajpayee's time as Prime Minister, she played a very important role in steering the Indian government. I remember with great fondness our meetings during her visit to the UK for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event," he said.
Vijay Goel, the Chairman of Assocham UK who had been the Chief Coordinator for RPBD 2014 and interacted closely with Swaraj at the time, said her participation had helped achieve the objective of providing a platform for the Indian community in the UK and Europe to contribute to the relationship between countries of the region and India.
"Saddened to hear of the passing of Sushma Swaraj-ji. India has lost one of its most respected leaders and stateswomen. I had the privilege of interacting with her closely and her personal connect with the diaspora lives on," said Goel.
NRI hotelier Joginder Sanger, who is leading a condolence meeting attended by the Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam, in his role as the Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London on Wednesday evening, was a close friend of the family.
"She was like a sister to me. She was so caring that her doors were always open for everybody," he said.
"I believe the diaspora's closer interaction with the Indian government is largely down to her personal touch," said Sanger, who was the driving force behind creating NRI UK Limited to organise the first-ever RPBD in 2014 and similar India-related events in the UK.
It was during the RPBD event that Swaraj, then external affairs minister, had attracted resounding applause as she made a clarion call for global Indians to consider returning to a new India.
She said in her famous speech at the time: "I have come here not just to address you but to invite you; now is the time to come to India. There are immense opportunities waiting there for you. I promise I will listen to all your problems and solve each one of them.
"We are proud of the great accomplishments of the Indian community in the UK and other European countries in all areas of human endeavour and the great reputation they have earned as industrious, law abiding and peace loving citizens, while retaining their Indian roots.
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