Arun Jaitley: His life and times

Former Finance minister Arun Jaitley was the youngest of three children. He have two sisters, both elder to him. (Image: arunjaitley.com)

1952: Arun Jaitley was born to Maharaj Kishen Jaitley and Ratan Prabha Jaitley on December 28, 1952. (Image: arunjaitley.com)

1957: A rare photo Arun Jaitley from his college days. My days at St. Xavier's are the most memorable; because here I moulded my thoughts, which later on shaped my political vision. (Image: arunjaitley.com)

1969: I joined Shri Ram College of Commerce ,University of Delhi (North Campus)for my graduation. This college truly laid the foundation of my professional career. I made some of my dearest friends in the campus. I was a multilingual debater and the president of my college student's union. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

1974: He contested and won the election to the post of the president of the University of Delhi student's union. In an era where Congress Party had a strangle hold over university campuses, my election as an ABVP candidate marked a watershed in the student politics in the Country. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

1975: The imposition of Emergency is by far the darkest chapter in our democracy. The suspension of civil liberties represented a draconian mindset of the British Raj. Jaitley escaped arrest in the early hours of 26th June 1975 and organized the first protest against the Emergency that day and was arrested. He underwent imprisonment for 19 months in the Tihar Jail. The days in Jail unravelled the different facets of life before Jaitley as he interacted with people coming from diverse back grounds. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

The 1977 General Elections inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Congress and for the first time, created the space for a credible opposition in the country, bringing an end to unilateralism in our polity. He took part in the campaigning all over the country. Jaitley was the national convener of the Loktantrik Yuva Morcha formed to campaign for the Janta Party. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

1980: Arun Jatiley joined the BJP having been earlier a member of the ABVP. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

1983: Birth of daughter Ms. Sonali Jaitley, who is now a lawyer. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

1990: He was appointed the Additional Solicitor General of India in 1990. As the ASG, I was entrusted the BOFORs case, which had shaken the collective conscience of the nation then. The BOFORS investigation was very unique; as for the first time cross-border transactions were investigated on a large scale. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

1998: He became a member of the Indian Delegation to the UN General Assembly, where the Declaration on laws relating to Drugs and Money laundering were adopted. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

1999: Jaitley was elected the President of the Delhi District Cricket Assosciation. In 2009, I was elected the Vice President of the BCCI. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2000: He was elevated as the Cabinet Minister for Law, Justice, and Company Affairs. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2001: He was given additional charge for the Ministry of Shipping. He paid special attention to modernization of Ports by upgrading berths and introducing new berths so as to improve the efficiency by reducing the turnaround time. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2002: Jaitley was appointed as General Secretary of the BJP. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2003: As the Commerce Minister, Jaitley led the Indian Delegation for the WTO conference in Cancun, Mexico. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2009: As Leader of Opposition, Jaitley focused on the efforts to position BJP as a party which plays a pro-active role in the democratic functioning of the country. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2014: Assumed office as Minister of Information & Broadcasting. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2014: Minister of Finance, Minister of Defence and Minister of Corporate Affairs. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2018: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, March 2018. (Photo: arunjaitley.com)

2019: On May 29 2019, in a letter to Prime Minister Modi, Arun Jaitley cited his health as a reason for not taking an active role in the formation of the new government. (Photo: PTI)