Droupadi Murmu’s Victory Silences Critics of India’s Democracy

As India celebrates its 75th year of Independence, the country added another proud chapter to its illustrious democratic history on 25th July. A woman from the Santhal tribe broke the glass ceiling to become the 15th President of the Republic of India. First a “Chaiwala” becoming the prime minister in 2014, and now a tribal woman rising to occupy the highest constitutional post in the country, India’s vibrant democracy continues to silence its critics by scaling greater heights and establishing new traditions. Truly upholding the concept of Antyodaya propounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya which means “welfare of the people in the bottom of the pyramid”, or benefitting even those standing at the end of the queue. She had created history in 2015 as well when she became the first tribal woman to become the Governor of a state ( Jharkhand).

Droupadi Murmu President of India

Droupadi Murmu, a candidate of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, only the second woman to occupy this post after Pratibha Patil secured a majority in 21 out of 28 states and defeated her rival candidate Yashwant Sinha with 676,803 electoral votes. She even secured votes in cross-voting in her favour as scores of MPs and MLAs from the opposition benches voted for her. Such was her appeal and significate of her candidature. She thus becomes the Head of the State, Constitutional Head and Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces and will have a wide range of legislative, executive, judicial, financial, diplomatic and military powers vested in her.

She has become a shining symbol of overcoming struggles and extreme adversities that India’s marginalized communities, particularly the tribals have been subjected to for centuries. Born in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha in 1958 in the Santhal tribal Draupadi Murmu attended schooling at Unit II high school

and attained graduation in arts from Rama Devi College, based in Bhubaneswar. She also experienced unimaginable personal losses when her husband Shyam Charan Murmu, a banker passed away in 2014 followed by her two sons in 2016. She has a daughter who is a banker and married to rugby player Ganesh Hembram.

Not many are aware that Droupadi is not her real name. She shared that her Santhali name is ‘Puti’ which got changed to ‘Droupadi’ by a teacher ‘for good’.

“Droupadi was not my original name. It was given by my teacher who hailed from another district, not from my native Mayurbhanj,” she said in an interview.

Droupadi Murmu began her professional career as a primary school teacher and later got appointed as the junior assistant in the State Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983. She was later made professor at the Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre at Rairangpur where she stayed untill 1997 , when she won as a BJP councillor in the Rairangpur Notified Area Council, kickstarting her political journey began. She would soon be elected as an MLA from this constituency, before being sworn in as the Governor of Jharkhand from 2015-2021.

She has handled several portfolios in the cabinet of the Government of Odisha between 2000 and 2004 during the BJP- Biju Janata Dal coalition government, including Minister of State with Independent Charge for Commerce and Transportation and Minister of Fisheries and Animal Resources Development. In 2007, Nilkanth Award was bestowed upon her recognizing her as the best MLA of the year by the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

Just like Narendra Modi’s journey from a chaiwala to the post of prime minister, Droupadi Murmu’s ascendancy to the highest constitutional position in India gives hope to millions who experience severe adversities in their daily existence. During her oath taking ceremony she remarked, “My election is the greatness of India, mother of democracy… [a]watershed moment for India, especially for the poor, marginalized and downtrodden…Reaching the Presidential post is not my personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor in India. My election is evidence that the poor in India cannot just dream but also fulfil those dreams.” Indeed, India’s democracy has silenced its critics who have been writing its obituary for long.