Dawn of new history

Certain sections of India have remained backwards for centuries because they were denied the right to study. Those who considered themselves to be of the upper class were very careful not to pass knowledge down. Those who are old enough to ask questions are not ready to be slaves. He who wallows in ignorance won't be asking questions. They can be treated as equal to cattle and made to do outside work. That is the history of the past centuries. A different history is recorded when Draupadi Murmu from Odisha's tribal community became the nation's President.

Education was the cornerstone of Draupadi Murmu's rise to the post of President. She was born in a very backward area where there is no electricity even in modern times. There was no way to go beyond the fifth standard in the village school. But in the mind of little Draupadi, the thought of learning and learning kept repeating like a mantra. She was destined for this.

One day her father went with child Draupadi to a small town called Rairangapur in Mayurbench district to see a function attended by a minister. As soon as the ceremony was over, the girl rushed to the stage. She showed her school certificate to the minister and innocently told him that she want to study in one of the schools in Bhubaneswar. A minister named Karthik Majhi, who was impressed by the girl's enthusiasm, immediately called the officials who were with him and gave an order to ensure her admission to the government school in Bhubaneswar. From there begins Murmu's journey to the magnificent mansion on Raisina Hill.

No one can achieve something in life without sacrificing. Looking at it like that, Draupadi Murmu is a woman who has made many sacrifices. She had to quit her job as a junior assistant in the irrigation department and return home from Bhubaneswar to take up the household chores. There she went to teach the children at the Aurobindo School. She didn't take a single paisa as salary. She only demanded a rickshaw fare. When others asked why she was not getting paid, Draupadi replied that teaching children is not a job but a public service and that the salary of her husband, who is a bank officer, is enough to support the family. She started her political career as a panchayat councillor in 1997. Draupadi Murmu was probably the first woman to move from the lower to the highest rank in the hierarchy. She also had to go through many brutal losses in her personal life. Her eldest son died in 2009. A few years later the second son and husband died. She used to cry and say to those who were with her, 'What is the rest of my life now?' She overcame that crisis, which no ordinary woman could have overcome, with extraordinary fortitude and then devoted her whole time to public service. During her tenure as a panchayat councillor, her habit was to spend time with the waste disposal workers. She has shown the importance of cleanliness through her actions while educating people about it. Draupadi Murmu's political career is an exception to some politicians who keep a big gap between words and deeds. She served as MLA twice, minister once and later as the governor of Jharkhand.

Raj Bhavan's doors were open to all sections of people during her tenure as the governor of Jharkhand. She did not become a character in any controversy during her tenure as governor in 2015. During her tenure as governor, she went to meet the Union Minister with a delegation to submit a petition for the development of railways in the country. Her view was that people's needs mattered, not protocol. Murmu was considered as a presidential candidate in 2017. But her time came at a later date. Draupadi Murmu is also the candidate who secured victory on the day the name was announced. Even Mamata Banerjee could not bravely ask for votes for her own party member Yashwant Sinha. She responded that if they had known that Draupadi Murmu was the candidate, they would not have fielded a candidate. Draupadi Murmu's presidency marks the dawn of a new history in India.