On December 19, 1946, speaking at the Constituent Assembly, Adivasi leader Jaipal Munda called the new constitution “an opportunity for my people who have suffered for 6,000 years”. Subsequently on January 24, 1947, he admonished the Advisory Committee tasked with preparing schemes for the administration of tribal areas, that it never occurred to those responsible for the selection of the committee to have a tribal woman on it. Today, almost 75 years after Munda stood amidst our founders and spoke, India will have its first Adivasi President in Droupadi Murmu. I have no doubt that Munda would have smiled broadly at what he would have considered a fitting but long overdue election.
Adivasis or the “earliest inhabitants”, are the original indigenous people living in India. Scheduled Tribes constitute over 8.6 per cent of the population – as per the 2011 Census, the ST population is 104 million. They are found predominantly in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.
President-elect Murmu is an inspired choice, given her identity as a Santhal woman. She is also a formidable and appropriate choice for President. She has a lifetime of experience in politics and in governance, having occupied positions as a legislator, minister, and governor.
Born in 1958, in the Uparbeda panchayat in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, she was the first woman in the area to go to college. She was elected twice to the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and 2009 and was also a minister in the coalition government formed by the BJP and BJD, led by Naveen Patnaik from 2000 to 2004. Subsequently, she was Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.
She is clearly no pushover. When the President-elect was Governor of Jharkhand, in November 2016, two amendments bills were sent to her for approval by the BJP government. The amendments were to the old Chotanagpur Tenancy and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Acts that would allegedly ensure easy transfer of land for industrial use. The amendments were protested by tribal communities and many delegations called on the governor. Eight months later, in June 2017, the governor returned the bills, noting that she would not let injustice flow from her pen.
President-elect Murmu comes from the Santhal community which has a long and proud history. On June 30, 1855, two years before the 1857 revolt, siblings Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu organised over 10,000 Santhals and rebelled against the British East India Company and the revenue-grabbing zamindari system that perpetuated dual oppression in parts of what are now Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The Murmus succeeded in freeing large tracts of these areas, before the East India Company declared martial law in November 1855. Soon after, the British killed the Murmus along with many Santhals who had rebelled against them. In the writing of India’s histories, the Santhal rebellion is often relegated to a footnote. With the election of Droupadi Murmu as our President, perhaps Indians will be inspired to learn more about those who are part of our glorious past, but have been neglected in the telling of history.
President-elect Murmu’s own life is as inspiring as it is moving. Her identity, her political experience and her rise make her life story one that will inspire generations of Indians. For they will believe that if her rise is possible, so is theirs. Murmu’s personal story includes the loss of two children and her husband while continuing with her commitment to public service. It is this extraordinary dedication coupled with loss that makes her story so moving.
The Constitution of India vests the executive power of the Union in the President. This means that since we are a parliamentary form, the government exercises real power, with the President as the titular head. However, the Indian President is not intended to be a simple rubber stamp for the decisions of any ruling regime. She is constitutionally envisaged to have the power to return bills to the government, should she have concerns that need to be satisfied. President-elect Murmu has already exhibited that thoughtfulness and constitutional propriety when she was Governor of Jharkhand. As a country, we hope that she will continue to display that fortitude and constitutional concern, by ensuring that injustice will not flow from her pen.
In the Mahabharata, the name Draupadi is derived from Drupada (her father) which means “pillar”. The President of India is intended to be a pillar of constitutional strength for her people. It is perhaps most apt then, that our President-elect is named Droupadi. Welcome, Madam President. As Jaipal Munda smiles from above, you inspire all of us.
The writer is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India
