Today, the whole country is celebrating the birthday of Droupadi Murmu, India’s 15th President and the first tribal woman to hold the country’s highest constitutional office. But beneath the historic and ceremonial grandeur is a life tale that is abounding in quiet strength, silent struggles, and modest origins, many of which people still don’t know. This birthday, we are honouring the president by stating 10 unknown facts about her.
- Born to a Santhal tribal family in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, Murmu was not named Droupadi all her life. She was originally named Durgi Biranchi Tudu, popularly known as “Puti,” until she was rechristened with the name “Droupadi” by one of her teachers as a reference to the great heroine of the Mahabharata.
- Her background was in grassroots politics; her grandfather and father were both village headmen (or Pradhans) of the Mayurbhanj kings
- After growing up in an off-grid village with no electricity and no good facilities, Murmu’s love for learning encouraged her to prepare her own glue from flour and water to repair damaged schoolbooks.
- Later, teaching at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, she taught all the way from Hindi to Geography, but never asked for her full pay, opting to teach her students without assurances of any money.
- What distinguishes Murmu from others is her inner drive for selfless service. She has donated blood more than 100 times, a testament to her willpower and concern for others’ well-being.
- Having lost her husband and two sons in a tragic way, she found inner strength in spirituality by adopting a sattvic (vegetarian) diet and going on with her interest in traditional tribal food like arisa pitha.
- She also experimented with Rajyoga meditation and became a member of the Brahma Kumaris spiritual movement, to which she attributes healing and retaining her roots.
- She even brings her roots to work. She had worn a Santhal ‘Jhal’ sari, a traditional garment of her community, while going for her swearing-in ceremony.
- She is also the first President born after 1947, and therefore she is a pride not only of the tribals but also of the dreams and hope of post-Independence India.
- She was a trailblazer even as a pre-President when she became the first woman tribal Governor of Jharkhand (2015–2021), leaving a humble, valiant legacy of leadership behind.
As India celebrates President Droupadi Murmu’s birthday, we not only admire her as a president but also celebrate her as a human being. This is the tale of a girl who once used flour paste to staple her notebooks, who gave sacrificially, served modestly, and climbed steadily to embody the face of inclusion, hope, and subtle strength in Indian democracy.
