As India’s first tribal President, Droupadi Murmu made history on Thursday.
Congratulating Murmu on being elected to the top constitutional post Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President”
When the returning officer revealed that Murmu had already secured more than 53% of all legal votes even though ballots from 10 states and Union territories are still being tallied, her win was certain after the third round alone.
Even though India’s democracy is only 75 years old, it has already produced two Dalits as presidents (K Narayanan and Ram Nath Kovind), a woman as prime minister (Indira Gandhi), and a member of a religious minority as prime minister (Dr. Manmohan Singh). The BJP-led NDA’s nomination of Murmu as its presidential candidate has made the world aware of its initiatives to mainstream and empower the tribal people.
She twice held the role of the minister in NPatnaik’s BJD-BJP administration in Odhisa, and she also held important positions in the BJP. Droupadi has familiarity in all facets of government operation because she previously held the office of Governor of Jharkhand. She had been a minister for four years, during which time she was also recognized as the finest lawmaker in the Odisha Legislative Assembly and given the Neelkanth Award.
Droupadi Murmu’s election as India’s 15th president is a step toward respecting and involving the 10.43 crore scheduled tribes (the first nation) of India, who make up 8.6 percent of the country’s population.
The next president of India is from the lowest socioeconomic strata. Like her, there is a progressive improvement via education, affirmative action in the form of the legislation of reservations, and the Forest Land Rights Act in the lower strata.
The hamlet of Baidaposi in the Mayurbhanj region of Odisha is where India’s President was born. She is a member of the Santal tribe. Both her grandpa and father, Biranchi Narayan Tudu, were chosen as village chiefs.
Murmu leads a modest life away from the spotlight due to her integrity and commitment to the cause of public service. The only thing India’s unrelenting media could find out about the President-history elect was a very favorable report card of an honest woman.
She stated in her affidavit that she had a cash deposit of nine lakh rupees and a loan debt of four lakh rupees at the time she ran for the Assembly in 2009. She stated that a Scorpio car and a Bajaj Chetak scooter belonged to her spouse Shyam Charan Murmu.
Odisha Legislative Assembly, which is now in session, got into the festive spirit as Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs shared sweets with other lawmakers and employees. Many tribal MLAs were seen dancing on the streets in their traditional garb in celebration of Ms. Murmu’s victory. India’s growth in political, social, economic, and other areas will be accelerated by this new history. Her victory today has been praised across the nation.
