DR RAJENDRA PRASAD BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of Independent India, was born on December 3, 1884. He served as the country’s first president from January 26, 1950, to May 13, 1962. A lawyer and scholar by profession, Dr Prasad was a significant figure in the Indian freedom movement. He joined the movement alongside Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi after giving up his legal career.
Prasad was well-recognised for being a devoted supporter of Mahatma Gandhi. As a student in 1906, Prasad participated in an Indian National Congress meeting as a volunteer, which marked the beginning of his involvement in the nation’s freedom effort.
On his 138th anniversary today, here are a few lesser-known facts about the First President of India
- Dr Rajendra Prasad’s father hired a Maulavi to teach him Persian.
- He is the only Indian President to have been re-elected for two consecutive terms, in 1952 and 1957.
- Dr Rajendra Prasad was conferred with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 1962
- Due to his involvement in and support of the Satyagraha Movement and the Quit India Movement, Prasad was imprisoned by the British authorities numerous times.
- After India gained its independence, Prasad oversaw the Constituent Assembly and drafted the country’s constitution. He was crucial in determining the nation’s post-independence development.
- He was instrumental in establishing the Bihari Students Conference in Patna College Hall in 1906.
- Dr Rajendra Prasad was chosen by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 to assist in a campaign to better the plight of Bihar’s peasants, who were being oppressed by British indigo planters.
- While incarcerated in Bankipur Jail for three years, he wrote his autobiography, Atmakatha.
- Dr Rajendra Prasad was a professor of English at a college in Bihar before pursuing a career in law.
- Dr Rajendra Prasad died on February 28, 1963, at the age of 78.
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