NEW DELHI, Aug 2: A biography of Draupadi Murmu, India’s youngest President and the first to be born after Independence, will hit the stands later this year, Penguin Random House India (PRHI) announced Tuesday.
Touted to be the first authentic and definitive account of India’s 15th President, “Madam President: A Biography of Draupadi Murmu” claims to unpack the many trials and tribulations, and early years of struggle that elevated the 64-year-old to the highest office in the country.
It is written by Bhubaneswar-based senior journalist Sandeep Sahu.
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“What made the prospect of doing the book when Penguin India reached out to me was the fact that the book would be on the first tribal woman to become the President of India, which is truly historic,” Sahu said in a statement.
“That she belongs to the predominantly tribal Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, where I spent my entire adolescent period, was also another tempting factor to take it on,” he added.
Sworn in on July 25, President Murmu’s phenomenal rise from a sleepy village in Mayurbhanj to the Rashtrapati Bhavan presents a fascinating study of democratic empowerment in India.
She took her first steps in politics in Rairangpur where she was elected as BJP councillor in the Rairangpur Notified Area Council in 1997. She rose ministership in Odisha’s BJD-BJP coalition government from 2000 to 2004.
She was appointed as the Governor of Jharkhand, and she stayed in this post till 2021.
With a stellar record as a legislator and with multiple awards for her work as legislator, minister, and governor, she has several firsts to her credit — the first woman from her area to become a minister in the Odisha government and the first woman legislator to win the coveted Nilakantha Award as the ‘Best Legislator’ in Odisha Assembly, among others.
According to the publishers, Murmu’s story is a story of the “great democratic spirit of India,” which through this book, will reach diverse audiences influencing many to dream their dreams and realise it.
“This is the story of an inspirational woman, a tribal leader, who has been a Stateswoman with a solid political career behind her. Yet, we know little about her life. Her ascension to the national stage as a role model for all Indians, occupying the highest office in the country, is a powerful message for India’s tribal communities,” said Meru Gokhale, publisher, Penguin Press. (PTI)
