Poor can dream and fulfill those: Droupadi Murmu after taking oath as India's 15th president

The poor can also dream and fulfill those dreams, said Droupadi Murmu after being sworn in as India's 15th President on Monday (25 July). 

She is the first tribal and the second woman to be elected to the highest post. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana administered the oath. Droupadi Murmu is the youngest person to take oath as the president of India,  reports NDTV.

"Johar! Namaskar! 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 after taking the oath.

"It is the power of our democracy that a daughter born in a poor house, a daughter born in a remote tribal area, can reach the highest constitutional post of India. My election is proof that the poor in India can dream and fulfill those dreams," the new Indian President said, adding, "I come from a poor tribal village in Odisha where getting even basic education was a dream. But in spite of the obstacles I remained steadfast and became the first person in my village to go to college."

"I would like to thank PM Narendra Modi and all the MPs and MLAs who voted for me," Murmu added.

The former Jharkhand governor Droupadi Murmu, is India's 15th and second female president. Murmu, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's nominee, succeeded Ram Nath Kovind.

Murmu was widely expected to be that person, given the numbers in the camp of the BJP and its allies. She will become the first member of a tribal community (and only the second woman) to become president of India.

The 64-year-old Murmu comes from Odisha, the resource-rich but poorest state in India. She was raised in the Mayurbhanj district and had previously been a teacher.

From 2015 to 2021, she was the governor of Jharkhand. She served as the state's longest-serving governor since the mineral-rich state's formation in 2000.

She got into politics in 1997 after winning a seat on the Rairangpur city council. She later won BJP nominations and ran successfully for Rairangpur MLA in 2000 and again in 2009.

Between 2006 and 2009, she held the position of vice-president of the BJP's Scheduled Tribes Morcha in Odisha. She has also won multiple elections for party president in the Mayurbhanj district.

Murmu's personal life is tragic. She lost her husband and both of her sons. 

She is a member of the Santhal tribe.  Her appointment to the top position is seen as the victory of tribal empowerment and the long-ignored political aspirations of the tribe.