India’s new president, Draupadi Murmu, was sworn in on Monday, becoming the country’s first tribal head of state.
Last week, the candidate for Bharatiya Janata (BJP), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party, was elected president by parliament, with 64% of the votes from India’s deputies and state assemblies. .
Murmu’s mother, a member of the Santhal Indian tribe, had meditated shortly before her ordination at the memorial dedicated to Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi.
Born in Mayurbhanj district, in the (western) state of Odisha, the president-elect began his career as a teacher before entering politics.
“My life’s journey began in a small tribal village,” said Murmu, 64, after being sworn in before parliament.
“In the environment where I grew up, getting a simple basic education was like a dream to me”, she continues, “but despite the many obstacles, my determination remained strong and I became the first girl from my village to enter university.”
Murmu’s mother is the country’s second president after Pratibha Patil, who held the post for five years starting in 2007.
He succeeds Mr Ram Nath Kovind, the second president of the Dalit community, formerly called “the untouchables”, in the lowest Hindu caste system.
Ms. Victory Murmu is to be expected, given the weight of the BJP, its ally in the parliament and state assembly, which elects India’s head of state.
Analysts say the victory will likely help Modi broaden his base in the tribal community, given his re-election in 2024.
“His assumption as president is a defining moment for India, especially for the poor, marginalized and oppressed,” the Prime Minister wrote on Twitter on Monday.
According to Mrs. Murmu, his appointment as head of state should give a reason for hope to those lagging behind India’s growing economy.
“It is a great satisfaction for me that those who have been sidelined for centuries, who have not benefited from the benefits of development (…) can recognize themselves in me,” he added.
The president’s role in India is largely ceremonial, with the prime minister and his government exercising executive power, but the head of state can resubmit some parliamentary laws for reconsideration and also assist in the process of forming a government.
