Rajendra Prasad

Rajendra Prasad grew up in a small village in Bihar, where he was known as a very quiet, very hard-working boy. He became a top student, then a lawyer, and joined Gandhi in the freedom movement.

After Independence he was chosen to be the very first President of the new Republic of India. He always wore simple khadi clothes, spoke softly, and treated everyone from ministers to farmers with the same kindness.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was born in 1884 in Ziradei, Bihar.

A brilliant student, he topped the University of Calcutta's entrance examination and went on to become a leading lawyer. He joined Gandhi during the Champaran Satyagraha of 1917, helping farmers who were being forced to grow indigo, and later gave up his law practice for the freedom movement.

He presided over the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of India between 1946 and 1949. When India became a republic on 26 January 1950, he was elected the first President and served two full terms until 1962 — still the longest presidential tenure in Indian history.

He was a scholar of Sanskrit, spoke several languages, and wrote thoughtful books on the freedom movement and Indian society. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1962 and is remembered as a quiet, humble builder of the Indian republic.