Droupadi Murmu has become the first tribal woman to be elected as the president of India. The former Jharkhand governor and the BJP-led NDA’s presidential candidate, Murmu will be India’s 15th president, taking over from Ram Nath Kovind. She will be sworn in on 25 July. In April 2015, she was appointed as the governor of Jharkhand and served a full term. Hailing from Odisha, her life story is inspiring in the true sense. She has risen through the rank and file of the BJP and has been elected as president on her own merit.
Her achievement will definitely inspire the tribal people of India. The BJP has hailed her victory as the victory of the tribal community, and that it signals good days for the tribals. However, it is early days. The same thing was said when Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit, was elected as president. But during his tenure, the atrocity against Dalits continued to rise. Unfortunately, president Kovind mostly remained unaffected and never uttered a word against fellow Dalit facing atrocities. The president in India is mostly symbolic and does not yield much political power. However, there has been a president like APJ Abdul Kalam, who used the position for the betterment of society. The tribal community will expect president-elect Murmu to use her office to improve the lives of fellow tribals. She should not just become a rubber stamp president.