Draupadi Murmu sworn in as President

Her election is proof the poor can dream and fulfill them too, India’s 15th President and its first tribal head of State Draupadi Murmu said after taking oath of office on Monday, a landmark day that melded tradition with the aspirations of a modern nation.

President Murmu, who is the second woman in the top constitutional post, succeeds Ram Nath Kovind and was sworn in by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana at Parliament’s Central Hall. The tribal leader, India’s youngest President at 64 and the first to be born after Independence, took the oath of office in the name of God to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law”.

“It is the power of India’s democracy that a girl born in a poor tribal home could reach the topmost constitutional post,” she said in her address, marking her journey from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, one of the most underdeveloped in India, to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Murmu, who began her speech in Hindi with “Johar”, a traditional tribal greeting, said, “That I attained the post of President is not my personal achievement. It is the achievement of every poor person in India. My election is proof of the fact that the poor in India, too, can have dreams and fulfill them.”

In her address that lasted a little over 18 minutes, she spoke on a gamut of issues, including the poor, tribal communities, sustainable development as well as the Government’s digital India and ‘vocal for local initiatives’ and its handling of the COVID pandemic.

As celebrations broke out in several parts of the country, she said she belonged to tribal society and had got the opportunity to rise from serving as a ward councillor to becoming the President of India.

“This is the greatness of India, the mother of democracy,” she said to thunderous applause from the gathering that included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ministers, former President Pratibha Patil, MPs as well as leaders such as Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who backed her election.

The new President, who was born in a Santhal family, said she grew up in a small tribal village where even getting primary education was a dream and went on to become the first person in the village to enroll for college education.

“It is a matter of great satisfaction for me that those who have been deprived for centuries and those who have been denied the benefits of development, those poor, downtrodden, backwards and tribals are seeing their reflection in me,” she said.

Murmu said her election as President has the blessings of the poor of the country and reflected the dreams and potential of crores of women and daughters of the country. She paid tribute to India’s freedom fighters, and said the country will have to move quickly on the twin tracks of ‘sabka prayas’ (everyone’s effort) and ‘sabka kartavya’ (everyone’s duty) to fulfill their expectations.

Noting that she was the first President to be born after Independence, Murmu said it was her good fortune that she has assumed the position at a time when the country is celebrating “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” to mark the 75th anniversary of its freedom. “From Santhal revolution, Paika revolution to Kol revolution and Bhil revolution, all these revolutions strengthened the tribal contribution in the freedom struggle,” Murmu said.

“In our country full of diversities, we are engaged in the making of ‘Ek Bharat – Shreshtha Bharat’ by adopting many languages, religions, sects, food habits, lifestyles and customs.”

She highlighted the role of India’s ancient traditions in dovetailing growth and environment preservation.

“I was born in that tribal tradition which has lived in harmony with nature for thousands of years. I have realized the importance of forests and water bodies in my life,” Murmu said. “We take necessary resources from nature and serve nature with equal reverence. This sensitivity has become a global imperative today.”

Murmu, who started public life as a councilor and was a former Jharkhand governor, said she wanted to reassure all Indians, particularly the youth and women, that their interests will be supreme for her as President.