15th President of India: Draupadi Murmu

Context

Draupadi Murmu, a tribal woman became the 15th President of India on 21st July 2022. She succeeded Ramnath Kovind whose tenure will end on 24th July 2022.

Who is Droupadi Murmu?

• She was born on 20th June 1958 at a place named Rairangpur in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha state.
• She belongs to a poor Santhali tribal family. 
  • Santhals, also spelt as Santals, are the third largest scheduled tribe community in India after the Gonds and Bhils. 
  • Their population is mostly distributed in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
    
    
• She completed her Graduation in Arts from Rama Devi Women’s College Bhubaneswar.
• She became the second woman after Pratibha Patil was elected as President of India and also became the first tribal woman who became President of India.
• She served as the ninth Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021.
• As a member of the BJP, she was elected to the state assembly twice – in 2000 and in 2009 – from the Rairangpur seat.

The Office of the President of India

• The President of the Republic of India is the head of the Indian state, and commander in chief of all the Indian Armed Forces.
• The President of India is indirectly elected by the directly elected members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, and the legislative assemblies of the states and union territories of India.
• The President of India has been granted the responsibility and authority to protect the Constitution.

The Presidents of India