Sri Aurobindo's thoughts on education still inspire me, says India's new president Droupadi Murmu

INDIAN president Droupadi Murmu, who had worked as a teacher decades ago, on Monday (25) said thoughts of renowned Indian philosopher and nationalist Sri Aurobindo on education continue to inspire her.

In her acceptance address at the Central Hall of the Indian parliament soon after being sworn in as the 15th president of India, she recalled that decades ago, she had the opportunity to work as a teacher at Sri Aurobindo Integral School in Rairangpur, her home town in the eastern coastal state of Odisha.

"After a few days, we will observe the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo's thoughts on education continue to inspire me," she said.

Aurobindo had proposed that education is nothing but bringing out and nurturing the latent potentialities.

President Murmu, who is India's first tribal and second woman head of the state, said she has had an active association with educational institutions, serving in various positions as a public representative and then as the governor of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

"I have closely observed the enthusiasm and self-confidence of the youth of the country. Our revered Atal ji (late Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee) used to say that when the youth of the country progress, they not only create their own destiny, but also shape the fate of the country. Today we are witnessing it come true," Murmu said.

Belonging to Mayurbhanj, one of the most remote and underdeveloped districts of the country, Murmu earned her Bachelor's degree in Arts from Bhubaneswar's Ramadevi Women's College and served as a junior assistant in the irrigation and power department in the Odisha government.

She also served as an honorary assistant teacher in Sri Aurobindo Integral School in Rairangpur.