Murmu, born in 1958, belongs to an Adivasi community from Mayurbhanj, Odisha. She completed her school education in Unit II High School, and college education in Rama Devi College, both of which are in Bhubhaneshwar. She started her career as a junior assistant in the State irrigation and power department in 1979. In 1983, she became a teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur, until 1997.
Unfortunately, she lost both her sons and her husband back many years ago. Now, she has a daughter, Itishri Murmu who got married to Ganesh Hembram, a rugby player in 2015. Itishri works at UCO bank in Odisha, and she has a daughter.
Murmu first joined politics in 1997, after she quit as a teacher from Rairangpur. She joined as an elected councilor of the district board in Rairangpur itself. She then went onto become the MLA from the same constituency. Murmu served twice as an MLA and once as a minister in the BJD-BJP coalition of Odisha. She was then appointed as the Governor of Jharkhand on May 18, 2015. She was the Governor until 2021, after which she moved back to her village in 2021.
Even as a Governor, she was the first woman Governor of the state, and the first tribal to serve as a Governor of any Indian state. She is reportedly a practitioner of the meditation techniques of the Bramha Kumari Sansthan in Mount Abu in Rajasthan. She embraced this movement after she lost her loved ones.
Even before the announcement of the Presidential results, Murmu shared her aspiration for the country on Twitter. She said, “When I was nominated as NDA’s presidential candidate from that day I took oath in my mind that if I become President, first of all I will work for more development of my tribal and adivasi brothers and sistersof Whole India and Odisha. Now that time has come I will keep my promise.”
India as a country, and the women of this country are proud of Draupadi Murmu for the position she has reached. Hoping to see many more women occupying the Presidential office, in coming years. Draupadi Murmu
