Once again, Nirmala Sitharaman has given us a reason to celebrate.
As she becomes the first female full-time finance minister to present the Union Budget, she is on her path of shattering many long-established customs made by men.
When Nirmala stepped outside her office to present the Union Budget, people couldn’t stop noticing the change that she was representing with her red bag.
With the red bag embossed with the national emblem, she made a bold statement about shattering the glass ceiling.
She was representing the courage of every woman who had pushed herself to dream big in an area dominated by men.
As her red bag replaced the briefcase that her male predecessors have carried at the time of the annual ritual, she gave every young woman the power to dream big.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first woman to have delivered Union Budget when she did so in 1970. But hers was a role in addition to the all-important job of being the country’s Prime Minister.
But this isn’t the first time when Nirmala has broken the tradition.
Her life is an exemplary journey of shattering multiple stereotypical norms.Â
“We should be proud of the soldiers who laid down their lives for our motherland. We should be proud of them”, roared a woman and the House Of Indian Parliament echoed.
Her voice echoed so hard that it broke the age-old notion that Women are like fragile flowers.
Contrary to the most prevalent notion that women need protection, Nirmala Sitharaman was born to provide protection to a country with a population of more than 135 crores.
She was India’s first full-fledged Woman Defence Minister.
Nirmala, a girl from Madurai city of Tamil Nadu and an alumna of JNU-New Delhi, was married in Pro-Congress family. In a country, where a girl once married, follows the ideologies of her husband’s family, Nirmala, chose to not give up on her ideologies.
She extended her allegiance to Congress’ biggest rival party Bhartiya Janta Party i.e. BJP.
Nirmala was nominated to the National Commission for Women and after completing her three-year tenure in the NWC (2003-2005), she joined BJP. Since 2006, she has been an important face of BJP.
Before beginning her political career, Nirmala even moved to London where Parakala Prabhakar, her husband, completed his Ph.D. from the London School Of Economics.
Even in London, she didn’t confine herself behind the doors. She explored her various dimensions by picking up multiple jobs.
She even worked as a salesgirl at a home decor store on Regent Street.
And, she won a bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne that winter because she made record Christmas sales. She then took on the task of a translator in BBC Radio’s Tamil Division and then worked as an analyst at the research division of the consulting firm Price Waterhouse.
The series of jobs that Nirmala undertook shows that she is a very multitalented woman.
Whatever she picked up, she did it with all her determination.
When a baby, was on the way, the duo decided to return back home in 1991.
Her political career took off when she was appointed as National Spokesperson in 2010 and moved from Hyderabad to Delhi.Â
2014: She was inducted into PM Narendra Modi’s cabinet as a junior minister. She was elected as a Rajya Sabha Member from Andhra Pradesh.
2016:Â Nirmala Sitharaman was sworn in as Minister of State (Independent Charge). She has served as a Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance and the Minister of Commerce and Industry with independent charge.
2017: She was elevated to Defence Minister, being only the second woman after Indira Gandhi to hold the Defence Minister post. She is now the face of the Indian Armed Forces.
Leading the world’s second largest Army, seventh largest Navy, and Airforce, Nirmala has already proven her mettle.
Thanks, Nirmala for being an inspiration to every woman for defying those stereotypes which claim women to be fragile.
While leading Indian Armed Forces, you have shown us no matter how loud our opponent is, we should still have the courage to voice our opinions. We should fight back with our critics to put them down and never look back.
Sitharaman once quoted:
“I envy the girl I once was. The best advice I ever received? Always choose the middle path and try to maintain equanimity.”
“In other words, never go to any extreme – don’t be too suppliant because you will lose your dignity nor be too overconfident and aggressive or you will eventually lose your ground. Remain balanced. That way you can never fall too far.”Â