India: Droupadi Murmu Sworn In As President

JUL 21 2022·Updated JUL 26 2022

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Image credit: PTI [via The Hindu Bureau]

The Facts

Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as India's 15th President on Mon., becoming the first tribal leader and the second woman to occupy the position. She's also the first president to have been born after India gained its independence in 1947.
Hindustan Times
Murmu, a 64-year old Santhali politician, was elected by over 4.5K state and federal legislators last week.
Al Jazeera
Results released on Thurs. confirmed what had been considered a near certainty as Murmu was backed by PM Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Al Jazeera
Yashwant Sinha, the opposition-appointed candidate, was crushed by Murmu who received 64% of the votes. On Fri., reports indicated that at least 19 opposition lawmakers backed the BJP candidate to succeed former Pres. Ram Nath Kovind.
Indianexpress
Murmu, who was Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021, started her career in politics in 1997 as a BJP councillor in Odisha's Rairangpur Notified Area Council. Elected twice to the Odisha Assembly in 2000 and in 2004, she served as state minister in her first term.
The Hindu
Indigenous tribal communities in India represent almost 10% of the population, but remain marginalized economically.
nytimes

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Murmu, a Santhali woman, is the first tribal leader to become India's president. This is another historic result that clearly demonstrates the BJP's commitment to improving the representation of candidates from marginalized sectors of society.

Indianexpress

Establishment-critical narrative

The BJP's decision to effectively appoint Murmu to this largely ceremonial post is part of a broader strategy to advance a Brahminical agenda. While being a Santhali, Murmu is also loyal to Hindu orthodoxy so her election is a kind of symbolic inclusivity that will divide groups that could take action against Hindu nationalism.

The News Minute