Meet Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s First Full-Time Woman Defence Minister

It was a landmark moment on Sunday when Nirmala Sitharaman took oath as the new Defence Minister of the country. In this cabinet reshuffle Sitharaman became the first women to hold this position solely dedicated to this role full-time, second to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in this ministry.

“Somebody who has come from a small town, grown into the party with all the support of the leadership, and if given such responsibility, it just makes you feel sometimes that cosmic grace is there. Otherwise it is impossible,” she told reporters. While the Prime Minister his being lauded for giving India its first woman Defence Minister, Sitharaman is quite a woman herself and has been part of India’s political world for quite some time now.

Having joined the BJP in 2006, Sitharaman was formerly a member of the National Commission for Women, and setup a policy research centre in Hyderabad following her return to the country from London, as well as a school for the underprivileged. She has an MA degree in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, as well as “a PhD in the Indo-European textile trade within the GATT framework and MPhil,” as per reports. She became one of six BJP spokespersons in March 2010 during Nitin Gadkari’s role as President of the party. Previously Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Commerce, she is coming in to the Defence Ministry at a very important time for India considering our current growing tension at the borders. It is about time we saw women in such positions of power, only time will tell how Sitharaman fairs independently in such crucial position.