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President Droupadi Murmu— is more than her tribal woman identity; educator, councillor, MLA, and Governor, now she is the President of India!
Who is President Droupadi Murmu? Our 15th and youngest President is a woman with many achievements that not many know of!
The largest democracy of the world has sworn-in its 15th President on 25th July 2022. What comes to your mind when we discuss the new First Citizen of India?
First Tribal President, did you say?
Second Woman President of India, right?
Tribal Woman President?
I feel, President Droupadi Murmu, is much more than that. For me, her nomination and election has been an overwhelming and emotional journey.
President Murmu is not just representative of the 8.6% tribal population of India, or the 48.46% female population of India (Figures as per the 2011 Census); rather, she is everyone’s President.
The fact is, she has made history!
She is the first President to be born in independent India. She is also the youngest President of India!
We have welcomed a great and truly deserving self-made individual, a citizen who, in her own words — ‘belongs to the poorest of the poor family and from a small village.’
This is the same nation that has a former Chaiwala as the Prime Minister. Now, we have a former Teacher, Councillor, MLA, and Governor as the President!
It is a proud moment that an educator; well-qualified, dedicated, resilient, hard-working, disciplined, empathetic, empowered, simple, and inspiring personality has been elected to the top office of this country.
Does the gender or tribe or humble beginning even matter? Can such credentials ever create impediments and stop one’s ascent? Yet, many cite these issues to explain their lack of success.
Where we come from should not be our excuse or something that needs to be avoided or hidden; rather, it must be our strength, and we must be comfortable and proud to accept and acknowledge our origins.
Many are shy or ashamed of their roots or family background. Once successful, some never want to face them again. How will the infrastructure be strong when the foundation is built on shaky ground?
When faced with obstacles and adversity, some break; while others like President Murmu break and create new records. They just keep going. What matters is the indomitable spirit, will power, courage, confidence, and stamina.
Her present position and journey speaks volumes. Despite personal loss and having lost both her sons and husband, she never gave up and continued the good work.
President Murmu used to rank first in her school finals. She had also been a proactive child as she class-monitor in her schooldays.
She was the first girl from her village Uparbeda, a remote place in Rairangpur Tehsil, in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, from there she went to study to the state-capital Bhubaneswar for her schooling.
And, then, she continued her studies at the Rama Devi Women’s College. She was the first woman graduate of her village.
How many of us had ever heard of Uparbeda or Rairangpur before? Students said that thanks to the President, now their village, town, district, and state is in the news!
More and more people have now heard and learned about Uparbeda, Rairangpur and Mayurbhanj of Odisha now. The villagers celebrated utsaba (festival); and they are so happy that they are celebrating all the festivals at same time!
President Droupadi shared wonderful words in her inspiring inaugural speech with terms like — ‘Vocal for Local, Atmanirnirbhar Bharat, Sabka Prayaas aur Aabka Kartavya, Nishta aur Lagan, Ekjut, Jagat kalyan, Kartavya Path,’ and many such words emphasizing on the need of united social welfare work.
Like a true karamveer, she continued working for social causes, and has sorted many problems and issues for people around her. The President shared these Odia words by quoting Odisha’s famous poet and saint Bhima Bhoi:
“Mo jibana pachhe narke padithau…Jagata udhara heu”
Meaning in Hindi: “Apne jeevan ke hit-ahit se bada- jagat kalyan ke liye karya karna hota hai.”
Translation in English: “Working for the welfare of the world is greater than personal interest.”
Initially, when the President was nominated, some made fun of her first name and also her tribal background. Now, many are hailing her selection and election as tribal empowerment and women empowerment.
There is no doubt about the significance of her position empowerment for both tribals and women. As both groups are considered weak. And a tribal woman is even weaker condition in our country
Apart from being the symbol and triumph of empowerment, President Murmu also represents hope, courage, sustainability, simplicity, humility, and the power of education. She empowered others too after being empowered herself.
In her speech, she also shared that we all must take care of the environment. She expressed that service to nature is everyone’s responsibility.
During the swearing-in ceremony, Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram could be heard from the audience. In a past speech of President Murmu, she stated that Odisha is her motherland, where she was born and learned to walk and studied.
In Sanskrit — Janani Janmabhoomischa swargat api gariyasi, which means: mother and motherland are greater than heaven.
She is an inspiration, we all can learn from her that with the help of education and hard work, any woman can overcome their obstacles and rise to the top.
We are very proud to welcome such a down-to-earth, strong and great President, a mother of our motherland, who also happens to be a Tribal Woman.
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Image Source: From Website of The President Of India via Canva Pro
A creative explorer. Believes in miracles and the power of words. Independent researcher, PhD, writer, cultural activist, social worker. Orange Flower Award 2019 for Best Use of Twitter for Social Impact- Runner-Up. Geographical Indications ( read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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