Draupadi Murmu was a famous Indian freedom fighter and social reformer. She was born into a poor, Dalit family in the village of Sunabeda in Odisha. Draupadi’s parents were daily wage laborers who worked in the fields of the local landlords. Because of her low caste status, Draupadi was not allowed to attend the village school and had to work in the fields alongside her parents.
Despite the discrimination she faced, Draupadi was determined to get an education. She secretly attended night classes conducted by a local teacher. When she was 18 years old, she passed the matriculation exam and became the first Dalit woman to do so in Odisha. Draupadi’s struggle for education inspired other Dalit women in her village to fight for their rights.
In 1929, she founded the Mahila Dalit Mahasabha (Women’s Dalit Association) to empower Dalit women and help them assert their rights. Under her leadership, the Mahila Dalit Mahasabha organised protests against child marriage, dowry, and caste discrimination. Draupadi’s work for social reform earned her the nickname “Jagjivan Ram of Odisha”. She was arrested several times during her lifetime but she never gave up fighting for the rights of Dalit women.
In 2006, she was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor. Here are 10 lines on Draupati murmu:
10 Lines On Draupadi Murmu
- Droupadi Murmu was born to a Santali family on 20 June 1958.
- She was born in Rourkela, Odisha, India.Â
- She is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water in the Government of Odisha.Â
- She belongs to the Biju Janata Dal political party. Murmu started her career as a lecturer in Sambalpur University.Â
- She later quit her job to join politics. In 2014, she was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly from the Raghunathpalli constituency.Â
- In 2019, she was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in the Naveen Patnaik government.
- As a Minister, Murmu has worked towards empowering women and improving the lives of tribals in Odisha.Â
- She has also launched several schemes for the development of rural areas in the state.
- Murmu is a recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar, which is the highest civilian award for women in India.Â
- She has also been honored with the Laxmibai Kelkar Award by the Government of Maharashtra.
Also read: 10 Lines on Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Short Essay on Draupati Murmu
Draupadi Murmu was the first woman President of India. Droupadi Murmu was born to a Santali family on 20 June 1958, in a village in Orissa. Her father was a schoolteacher and her mother was a homemaker. She did her schooling from a village school and later attended college in Cuttack.Â
After college, she joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1955. She served in various posts in the Indian government including as the District Collector of Jabalpur and Director of Food and Civil Supplies in Madhya Pradesh. In 1974, she became the first woman to be appointed as the Secretary to the Government of India.
She also served as the Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein from 1985 to 1989.In 1990, she was elected as the Vice-President of India and became the first woman to hold that office. In 1997, she became the first woman to be elected as the President of India. During her tenure as President, she promoted education for girls and women’s empowerment.