India's First Tribal Prez Is Made Of A Different Mettle: Here's How

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his righthand man Amit Shah are known to throw surprises on many occasions. Declaring the name of Droupadi Murmu for the coveted post of President was one of them. When political circles were agog with speculations and many names were making the rounds, nobody had ever thought in the wildest of imagination that a tribal woman would break the glass ceiling and adorn the highest post of the largest democracy of the world.

Wishes are pouring in for India's first tribal President as Murmu celebrates her 65th birthday today. Among a slew of programs, she is scheduled to visit the Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust to talk to the disabled children and 'return gifts' for the kids have already been prepared by her office. She will also meet women self-help groups and visit the Jagannath temple in Hauz Khas later in the day.

However, her arduous journey from a small non-discript village in Odisha's Mayurbhanj to Rashtrapati Bhavan on the Raisina Hill in New Delhi is a tell-tale story which will inspire generations. Simplicity and humility being her hallmark, she has come a long way fighting the bouts of life with determination.

Murmu proved that she is the epitome of simplicity when she visited her native village for the first time after becoming President. There was an instant connect with the soil that shaped her into becoming what she is today. Away from the luxuries that come with being a President, she spent the night in the same room of her ancestral house where she had spent her life, where she had become the pillar of her life. The real "daughter of the soil"!

President Murmu is certainly different from her predecessors, shaking up a few things in Rashtrapati Bhavan and outside as well. Her staff realised it during the last Diwali, the first one after she entered the hallowed precincts, when went to the kitchen to take stock of the preparations of sweets. She was told that the sweets would be gifted to all senior officers.

''But why only to the officers?'' she mused. It was not just a question, but a sense of the right to equality. Within a short time, every employee of Rashtrapati Bhavan -- from the private secretary to the gardener to the cleaning staff -- received a message that they all would be given the sweets. About 4,000 kg of sweets were prepared and distributed by the President herself to all the staff.

Similarly, breaking the tradition, the President played 'gulal' and 'abeer' with all the staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan, despite suffering from fever, during Holi. The definition of democracy becomes meaningful only when a bridge of feeling, harmony and love is built from the person holding the highest constitutional post to the common man sitting at the end of the social hierarchy.

In another move, celebration of statehood days, which were limited to State buildings located in the national capital so far, will now be organised in Rashtrapati Bhavan too. Not only this, there is a possibility of opening the sports facilities of the President's Estate for children and professionals. She is of the opinion that in all these ways, the States and the people can be brought closer to Rashtrapati Bhavan, which is otherwise remain almost alienated from the masses.

It is the desire of the President that people should be brought closer to Rashtrapati Bhavan, so that they can get an opportunity to become well acquainted with this historic building. She has planned to digitise the Rashtrapati Bhavan libraries. In the coming time, there is a plan to open it to researchers and even to the common people. Not only this, work will also be done on many schemes to make it easier for the common people to reach Rashtrapati Bhavan.

There are more than 33,000 books in the Pranab Mukherjee Library, which includes about 2,000 rare books like the oldest book published in 'A Catalog of the Original Works of William Hogarth, 1795'. Now, all these will be made available online for the public along with the contents of the main library located near the President's office.

Preparations are being made to open the libraries for the public where anyone can come. The resources of this library can be accessed online and offline. Special arrangements are being made for researchers and students. The secondary library is scheduled to open to the general public within the next four months.

Since Murmu became the first citizen of the country on July 25 last year, she has provided a personal touch to her office. She recently met around 1,500 people from the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) at Rashtrapati Bhavan and told them that "my heart beats for you, and when you progress, I will feel that my stay here has been useful."

Not that Murmu is the first President to do things like this. Earlier, former Presidents A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Pranab Mukherjee have also done something different at their respective levels. But officials say that Murmu is completely clear in this matter that the resources of Rashtrapati Bhavan will not be limited to the officials and residents of the President's Estate alone.

President Murmu hugs the wives and mothers of martyred soldiers during the ceremonies to honour them. In a rare gesture during her meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Murmu went beyond the written script and talked heart to heart. All these coming within a year's time of taking office shows that she is made of a different mettle altogether. So, expect more such things from her in the coming days.