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First tribal president of India - 5th September 2022

India’s parliament has elected Droupadi Murmu as the country’s new president. The first member of a tribal community to become president of India took on the role at a ceremony on 25th July.

President Droupadi Murmu said her election was an example of the power of democracy. In India, "a daughter born in a poor house in a remote tribal area can reach the highest constitutional position". The new president was the first girl from her rural village in the east of India to graduate from university. Murmu started her career in a government department in Odisha. She then worked at a secondary school teaching several subjects for three years, but didn’t take a salary.

Murmu entered politics in 1997 when she won a local council election in Odisha. She’s the second woman to be president of India, and the first who was born since India’s independence from Britain.

India’s president has few official powers. However, Murmu’s presidency shows that the country’s finally giving tribal communities a powerful voice.

India’s parliament elects the nation’s president for a five year term. Murmu feels her election is "the achievement of every poor person in India". People from tribal communities are finally being heard.

With about 8 percent of the nation’s population from tribal communities, this could bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi additional support.

In her first speech as president, Murmu focused on how important the environment is for India’s future. She said, “I was born in that tribal tradition which has lived in harmony with nature for thousands of years.”