Central Hall of Parliament sees tribal woman as First Citizen in Droupadi Murmu

This is after more than 75 years after Jaipal Singh Munda rose on his feet to question the absence of tribal women in the Advisory Committee of the Constituent Assembly

It took 75 years and six months to rectify a question posed to the Advisory Committee of the Constituent Assembly—why a tribal woman was not part of it? In that same Central Hall of Parliament, where the question was raised, on Monday Droupadi Murmu took oath as India’s 15th President.

Hence, Murmu became the first tribal, and the second woman, to become the country’s First Citizen. This is after more than 75 years after Jaipal Singh Munda rose on his feet to question the absence of tribal women in the 68-member panel. The sub-committees of the Advisory Committee dealt with fundamental rights, minorities and tribals.

In a passionate speech in the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1947, Munda said he was not pleading for more seats or was moving any amendment but drawing the attention of the House.

“Hitherto it has been very easy for us to say it is the British; it is the British who have kept you in a zoo by making for you Partially Excluded Areas and Excluded Areas. Are you behaving any differently?” he said.

“I ask the Advisory Committee. I find my own name in it. While I find my own name in it, I am bound to point out that there is no name of any tribal woman in the Advisory Committee. How has that been left out? There is no tribal woman member of the Advisory Committee. That never occurred to the people who were responsible for the selection of members of the committee,” he said.

A tribal leader who hailed from Bihar, Munda was not just a politician but a hockey player who led India in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics till the knock-out stage. He was also part of the Indian Civil Services before he became a member of the Constituent Assembly.