Draupadi Murmu success story: From civil servant to India’s youngest president

Droupadi Murmu took oath as the 15th President of India today (July 25) at the Central Hall of Parliament. She now holds the distinction of being India‘s first tribal president and the second woman to hold the office. She was the first female governor of Jharkhand. In addition, she was the first tribal leader and woman from the Odia tribe to be appointed governor of an Indian state and hold the position for the entire tenure.

Draupadi Murmu has been a Bhartiya Janata Party supporter and between 2015 and 2021, she was the ninth Governor of Jharkhand. In 2022, the National Democratic Alliance picked her to run for president. Murmu made history by becoming the first indigenous person and the second woman to hold this position after receiving a majority of the votes. Murmu will be the first president born after independence and the youngest president till date.

Personal Life

Draupadi Murmu, the daughter of Biranchi Narayan Tudu, was born into a Santali tribal family on June 20, 1958, in the village of Baidaposi in the Odia district of Mayurbhanj. Under the Panchayati Raj structure, both her father and grandfather were chosen sarpanches. She graduated in arts from Rama Devi Women’s College. Her husband was a banker named Shyam Charan Murmu, who passed away in 2014. She had 3 children- 2 sons and 1 daughter. Unfortunately, both her sons died. Between 2009 and 2015, a 7-year period, she lost her husband, two boys, mother, and brother.

Her upbringing had been challenging since she was born into a tribal family that was battling with poverty in one of the most remote and underdeveloped areas of the country. Despite all challenges, she was able to earn her undergraduate degree in the arts at Ramadevi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar, where she also had a junior assistant position with the state of Odisha’s irrigation and electricity division.

She began her career in politics as the Rairangpur NAC’s vice-chairman. Also, she received the Best MLA of the Year 2007 award from the Odisha Legislative Assembly. As a former employee of the transport, commerce, fisheries, and animal husbandry ministries of the government of Odisha, she had extensive administrative experience.

Political Life

Murmu comes from a tribal community and started her career as a teacher. Being from a political family, she soon entered into Odisha politics. In 1997, Murmu became a member of the BJP and was chosen to serve as a councillor for the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat and then again was elected in 2000, to lead it. She served as the Minister of State with Independent Charge for Commerce and Transportation under the BJP and Biju Janata Dal coalition administration in Odisha from March 6, 2000, to August 6, 2002, then again for Fisheries and Animal Resources Development from August 6, 2002, to May 16, 2004.

She was chosen to lead the BJP in Mayurbhanj as both state and district president of the Schedule Tribe Morcha. She held the position from 2006 and 2009. On May 18, 2015, Murmu took the oath of office as the first female governor of Jharkhand and served till 2021. Apparently, Draupadi Murmu was also a nominee from NDA for the previous presidential election which was in 2017. She was 59 at that time and luck was considered to be by her side. In 2022, the time really has come for this woman tribal candidate to occupy the highest office of the country.She studied at the Unit 2^nd High School and Rama Devi College which is now a university in Bhubaneswar. She started working as a junior assistant in the State Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983. Then, she joined Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre at Rairangpur until 1997.

Some Facts about her:

She loves reading and knitting
To take care of her children, she left her government job in 1983.
She was the first governor of Jharkhand to complete 5-year term
In Pratusha Benerjee’s suicide case, she met her parents to console them in 2016.
She donated her eyes to the Kashyap Memorial Eye Hospital in Ranchi in 2016.
She fell into depression following her sons’ and husband’s death. She started following Brahmakumari Nirmala who made her able to fight the depression. Brahmakumari Nirmala tied a Rakhi to Draupadi.
She was also a candidate in 2017 Indian Presidential Elections from Jharkhand but couldn’t win.
Now, in 2022, she has been provided Z security after her selection for the Presidential post.
After her election for the president post she has been shown sweeping the floor of a Shiva temple in Rairangpur on many news channels