On President Droupadi Murmu’s 65th birthday, 10 facts about her remarkable journey

Droupadi Murmu, the President of India, offered prayers at Jagannath Mandir in Hauz Khas on her 65th birthday, Tuesday (June 20) morning.

Murmu is the youngest, and the first tribal President of India. She stands out as an exceptional leader coming from an underrepresented background.

Let's take a look at 10 stages of her life and what makes the journey of the 15th President so unique:

1. Coming from the Santhal community, the third-largest scheduled tribe in India, President Murmu faced hardships in her early life, struggling with poverty while growing up in one of the nation's most isolated and underdeveloped districts in Mayurbhanj, Odisha.
2. Murmu has previously held the position of a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department within the Odisha government.
3. Before entering politics, she dedicated her services as an honorary assistant teacher at the Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre located in Rairangpur.
4. Having experienced tragedy and personal loss, Murmu lost her husband, Shyam Charan Murmu, and her two sons within a span of just six months.
5. Raising her daughter, Itishree Murmu, the President sets an example of women empowerment, fighting through the odds that come from an underprivileged background.

6. Murmu started her political career in 1997 as a councilor in Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat.

7. She won the Nilkanth Award in 2007 for the best MLA by the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

8. Murmu held the position of in-charge of Odisha's transport, commerce, fisheries, and animal husbandry.

9. Named as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive (ST Morcha) member, she has served as vice president and president of BJP's Scheduled Tribe Morcha in Odisha.

10. She became the first tribal woman to serve as the governor of Jharkhand in 2015.

The first President of India born after independence, Murmu believes in spirituality and has been associated with the Brahma Kumaris group for the past 13 years.

Her journey, gradual achievements, struggles, and losses serve as an example not only for women but also for women belonging to the tribal community.