Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

President Murmu: In India poor can dream and fulfill them

The second woman president ever dedicated her victory to the tribals and poor of India
July 25, 2022
President Droupadi Murmur
The Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administering the oath of the office of the President of India to Droupadi Murmu at the swearing-in ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament

President of India, Droupadi Murmu, first tribal to hold the post, today said that her election was a proof of the fact that in India, the poor can dream and also fulfill those dreams. Taking oath as the 15th in the Central Hall of Parliament, President Murmu said, “My election is proof of the fact that in India, the poor can dream and also fulfil those dreams,” and that the country’s deprived, poor, Dalits and tribals can see their reflection in her.

President Murmu was administered the oath of the office of the President by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, which was followed by a 21-gun salute. Murmu, 64, scripted history on Thursday after defeating Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Murmu got 6,76,803 votes, while Sinha collected 3,80,177 votes, which is the highest by any opposition presidential candidate till date.

Presidential vote
Source: KBK Infographics

Murmu is India’s first tribal President and the first President to be born after independence. She is also the youngest to occupy the top post and the second woman to become the President. In her first address from the Parliament, after taking oath as India’s President, Murmu said that the country’s deprived, poor, Dalits and tribals can see their reflection in her and this was a matter of big satisfaction for her. She also paid tributes 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” (every one’s duty) to fulfill their expectations.

“I humbly greet all the fellow citizens from this sacred Parliament, a symbol of the hopes, aspirations, and rights of all the citizens of India. Your affection, trust, and support will be my greatest strength in discharging my functions and responsibilities,” she said. “My election is proof of the fact that in India, the poor can dream and also fulfil those dreams. It is the power of India’s democracy that a girl born in a poor tribal home could reach the topmost constitutional post”.

She dedicated her presidential win to the poor of the country “That I attained the post of President is not my personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor person in India. I belong to tribal society. I have 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. This election of mine has blessings of the poor of the country. And it reflects the dreams and potential of crores of women and daughters of the country, she said while adding that this election of mine also shows the courage of today’s youth of India who is ready to walk on new paths and shun the beaten tracks.”

She remembered former Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and said that he used to say that when the youth of the country progress, they not only create their own destiny but also shape the fate of the country.

Girja Shankar Kaura

The writer is a Delhi-based freelance journalist, who has reported and written on a wide range of subjects in an extensive career.