President Murmu as a role model - Don’t let your personal tragedy define you
The office of the President of India has been graced by people with unique backgrounds, many of whom overcame seemingly unsurmountable odds. A generation of Indian youth were enamored by the technocrat turned president, APJ Abdul Kalam who rose from a rather humble background. The story of President Draupadi Murmu is no less inspiring. Earlier this year, Indians were in awe when we heard news of a Dalit woman from the tribal hinterland was to be elected as the President. Ms. Murmu hadn’t been active in national politics and like many in India, I was intrigued to know more about the leader from Odisha who was to become the president of the largest democracy in the world. I was fascinated as I began reading up on President Murmu and her background. She is a woman from a highly oppressed and backward ‘Dalit’ community from a tribal belt. Many of us in urban India accustomed to a cosmopolitan way of life, cannot comprehend the parochial, cast-based oppression that continues to permea