President Murmu
Droupadi Murmu has become the first tribal leader and the second woman (after Pratibha Patil) to be elected President of India. The NDA nominee’s thumping victory had an air of inevitability about it as the ruling alliance had the numbers firmly on its side. It was no surprise that the disjointed Opposition finished a distant second, having settled for former BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha as its candidate after one stalwart followed another in opting out of the fray. Cross-voting in some states made the going easier for the NDA, which did an encore five years after Ram Nath Kovind outclassed Meira Kumar in the presidential battle.
Murmu’s elevation to the top constitutional post is a landmark in the country’s post-Independence history. As India celebrates Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to mark 75 years of freedom, the tribal people have a special reason to rejoice. Marginalised and victimised over the decades, more than 700 Scheduled Tribes with a total population of around 10 crore can now hope that their pressing issues will be highlighted and addressed at the highest level. The tribal community has been grappling with poverty, denial of rights, loss of agricultural land and traditional livelihoods, displacement triggered by industrialisation, deforestation and mining operations, and lack of access to the government’s welfare schemes.
With Murmu’s nomination, the BJP-led NDA signalled its intent to reach out to these long-neglected citizens. The next step should be to uplift their lot and make them partners in the nation’s progress. Murmu’s experience of having served as the Governor of Jharkhand, at least one-fourth of whose residents belong to the Scheduled Tribes, can come in handy to resolve deep-rooted tribal problems. As the nation’s President, however, she will be expected to engage with all communities and speak up for their rights and aspirations, while giving precedence to democratic and constitutional values. As the supreme commander of the defence forces, it will be her responsibility to astutely deal with challenges concerning national security. It is hoped that her presidential tenure will be no less remarkable than her success story.
