India's president-elect Droupadi Murmu — first from a tribal community and the second woman overall — ended a 75-year long drought, bringing to the nation the pride that should have come earlier. The fact that an individual belonging to the tribal community — which had been instrumental in India's fight for freedom — will, for the first time, become the 'first citizen' of Independent India is indeed refreshing. Politically, her nomination and election were aided by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA coalition but her achievement is purely her own. It is her long journey as a sincere political leader that earned her reverence and support from some of the non-NDA parties and leaders as well. More than her affiliation with the BJP, it is the depth of her political career that makes her personal achievement a national one. The BJP may, however, be credited for its smart political move against the opposition which clearly showed lack of political imagination in nominating an ex-BJP ruler from Brahmin community against Murmu. The argument that Murmu's election to the top office is a result of political maneuvering and will do little to uplift the status of tribal population in the country may be heavily flawed. In the first place, there is no novelty in the fact that the Indian president is the nominal head of the nation and its powers are largely ceremonial in general circumstances. The very expectation that the president may intervene exceedingly in policy matters of the government goes against the constitutional mandate. Droupadi Murmu's presence as the nominal head of the nation is in itself a source of inspiration and influence within the ambit of the Indian Constitution. Secondly, downplaying the role of India's 15th president even before her term begins will be a grave injustice to the 25-year-long political struggle and the gritty career of a woman from Santhal tribe. It will be a folly to outrightly subdue her towering legitimacy under her political affiliation with the ruling party at the Centre. Droupadi Murmu, as the first governor of Jharkhand who completed her five-year term, had exercised her special powers to oppose the amendment to the Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908, and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, 1949 — proposed by the then BJP government in the state. Affiliation to any particular party is a political reality, even a requirement in practical terms, but this can't be used to undermine the individual achievements of a leader. It is a matter of reassurance that India's new president elect has a long history of breaking stereotypes and trailblazing untrodden paths. From being the first tribal woman to move out of her native place Rairangpur for higher studies to being the first woman to rise up to Raisina hills — Droupadi Murmu has shown that shackles can be broken. Ever since she was elected as councilor of Rairangpur in 1997, she has been working her way out silently and steadily — commanding respect across party affiliations. She has shown all throughout that her journey is not to be easily impeded — not even by the death of her eldest son in 2009, her second son in 2013 and her husband in 2014, before she was nominated the governor of Jharkhand in 2015. It is true that development of tribal population in India — which constitutes above eight per cent — will depend upon the alignment between the president's office and the PMO. However, the presence of Murmu at the helm is in itself a positive sign and invokes optimism on this front. How Murmu will (or will not) be able to utilise her position for the upliftment of Indian tribes is a consideration better left on time. For the time being, we must cherish the fact that a leader of Droupadi Murmu's calibre will represent all Indians at the international fora. It is a moment of celebration and pride. Borrowing from the Indian Prime Minister's words, "history has been scripted".