Droupadi Murmu is India’s New President

Murmu, 64, is the first Adivasi woman to adorn the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the supreme commander of India’s armed forces

IndiGlobal Bureau

In the historic 75th year of India’s Independence and one of the largest democracies in the world, Bharat that is India gets its first woman President from a tribal community. Murmu is the second woman to occupy the country’s top constitutional post.

Murmu is likely to take oath on July 25 with incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure ending on July 24. The former Governor of Jharkhand, she hails from the strong Santhal tribe and was born in Mayurbhanj district. After graduation she taught for a while before taking the plunge in active politics. She went on to work as a junior assistant in the State Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983, and then as a teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre at Rairangpur till 1997.

After getting elected in the local body elections, there was no looking back. In no time she was elected MLA and served as a Minister in the Biju Janata Dal-BJP coalition government between 200o to 2004.

She joined electoral politics in 1997 in her late 30s but her rise to important positions has been swift. She holds the record of being the only Governor of Jharkhand till date to complete a full tenure. She was also instrumental in intervening and stopping amendments to the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act that involved changing land use in tribal areas.

Murmu’s life has not been easy as she lost her husband and both sons. Her daughter Itishri works at UCO bank in Odisha. After the loss of her loved ones, she embraced meditation and became a follower of Brahma Kumaris.