At the Muria Darbar in Jagdalpur's Sirhasar Bhawan on Friday, October 23, 2026, President Draupadi Murmu reached back to her origins to address one of India's most distinctive tribal assemblies — and her words landed with rare personal weight. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai shared the moment on X, amplifying a statement that went far beyond protocol.

Speaking at the ceremonial Muria Darbar — a traditional assembly woven into the fabric of Bastar Dussehra — President Murmu said: 'My grandfather was a Manjhi, my father was also a Manjhi, and my brothers were Manjhi too. I am also a daughter of a Manjhi, a daughter of the village headman.' The line was not a biographical footnote. It was a declaration of shared identity addressed to a community that has held its own governance traditions for centuries.

What a 'Manjhi' means in this moment

In the Santhal tribal tradition of eastern India, a Manjhi is the elected headman of a village — the first authority in matters of land, dispute, and ritual. For President Murmu, who comes from the Santhal community in Odisha, the lineage is not ceremonial. It is the lived infrastructure of the society she grew up inside. Invoking it before the Muria tribal assembly of Bastar was a gesture of solidarity across distinct but kindred indigenous worlds.

The Muria are a Gond-affiliated tribal community whose annual Darbar is a centrepiece of Bastar Dussehra — itself one of the longest-running indigenous festivals in the country, lasting 75 days by tradition. The gathering at Sirhasar Bhawan brings together community leaders, elders, and representatives in a format that predates the modern state. A sitting President's presence — and her choice to speak in the register of village headmanship — was not routine.

Bastar Dussehra's place in India's tribal calendar

Bastar Dussehra diverges sharply from the pan-Indian festival it shares a name with. Rooted in the worship of Goddess Danteshwari, it does not narrate the Ramayana or end with the burning of Ravana. Instead, it is an assertion of the region's own cosmology — a calendar of processions, assemblies, and rituals that the Muria, Gond, Halba and other communities of southern Chhattisgarh have maintained across generations. Constitutional recognition at this scale matters to communities that have long navigated the tension between state modernity and indigenous custom.

CM Vishnu Deo Sai, himself from a tribal background in Chhattisgarh, has made participation in and promotion of these events a visible part of his administration's identity. By amplifying President Murmu's remarks from the Darbar, he frames the state government's engagement with Bastar's cultural calendar as something endorsed at the highest constitutional level.

A President who traces her authority not just to Raisina Hill but to a Manjhi's courtyard — that is the image Bastar carries home from this Dussehra.