A Humble Woman for the Highest Chair

In choosing Droupadi Murmu, a politician belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (ST), the Bharatiya Janata Party has not only demonstrated its keenness to expand it social base, but also signaled its desire to elevate women and bring under its fold regions where the ruling party has not made much inroads.

By all indications, Murmu should be occupying the seat of the Head of State in Rashtrapathi Bhavan by July 25, the due date for the change of the guard at the highest office of the nation. As of now, the election looks like a mere formality with numbers in the electoral colleges leaning towards the party ruling at the Centre.

It would have been ideal if the contest had been avoided and the ruling dispensation and the Opposition had arrived at a consensus candidate. But a contest too has a purpose as it serves to be a reminder of the vibrancy of the democracy that India is proud of.

Though there could have been candidates who had more and illustrious accomplishments to their credit, Murmu’s nomination is indicative of the ruling party’s wish to be seen as a party cherishing inclusiveness, albeit under the broader umbrella of Hindutva.

Not merely this, Murmu comes from a poor family in an impoverished region and ascended her way up the administrative and political hierarchy with immense guts and grit. It was no small feat for a woman who started her career as a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department in Odisha to be anointed the Governor of Jharkhand, again a tribal dominated state adjacent to the region where she had her first brush with politics.

Her political career was short but packed with several highs. Elected a councillor in Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat in 1997, she was inducted as a minister in Odisha government at the turn of the century and was elected twice to the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

She held several portfolios and gained diverse experience. She was even conferred the ‘Best MLA Award’ in 2007. The nomination as the presidential candidate has fortuitously come just the day after she celebrated her 64th birthday.

The nomination deserves an appreciation also for the fact that while several members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) have held high offices in India, such privileged positions and distinctions have eluded the Scheduled Tribes (ST) who stand at the lowest rung of the social ladder in India.

In fact, Dalits were recognized as a social entity due to tall leaders such as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Jagajivan Ram, and popular movements led by worthies like Kanshi Ram and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. But adivasis have mainly remained away from the mainstream due to lack of contact and geographical isolation of their habitats i.e., mainly jungles.

With countless firsts in her kitty, Droupadi Murmu is all likely to go down in the annals of Indian history as a woman of humble social origin who made it big by occupying the highest chair in the public life of a country overcoming formidable odds. Ultimately, it will be a tribute to the Constitution of India which has made such improbabilities possible.