Dr Rajendra Prasad Birth Anniversary: All you need to know about India’s first President

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was not just a liberation warrior for India but also a lawyer, educator, and author. Between the years 1950 and 1962, he served as India's first ever President. His term lasted till 1962.

Rajendra Prasad, who would go on to become India’s first president, was born on December 3, 1884 in Ziradei, which was then a part of Bengal Presidency (present-day Bihar). Dr. Rajendra Prasad was not just a liberation warrior for India but also a lawyer, educator, and author. Between the years 1950 and 1962, he served as India’s first ever President. His term lasted till 1962.

During the time of the Indian Independence Movement, Rajendra Prasad became a member of the Indian National Congress. He became one of the most influential figures to emerge from the state of Bihar and was a fervent follower of Mahatma Gandhi throughout his life. In addition to making a contribution to the fight for independence, he served as the first and longest-serving President of India. The “Salt Satyagraha” of 1931 and the “Quit India Movement” of 1942 were both movements in which he was an active participant. He was imprisoned along with a large number of other prominent freedom fighters.

The Indian Constitution was largely shaped by the contributions that Dr. Rajendra Prasad made to the process. In 1962, he was presented with the Bharat Ratna, which is India’s highest civilian honour. The death of Dr. Rajendra Prasad occurred on February 28, 1963, when he was 78 years old.

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All about Dr Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President

Prasad was a graduate of the Calcutta Law College. He came from a landowning family of low means and had a traditional upbringing. After beginning his legal career in the Calcutta High Court, he moved his practise to the Patna High Court in 1916 and simultaneously established the Bihar Law Weekly.

In 1917, he was enlisted by Mahatma Gandhi to assist in a campaign that aimed to improve the living conditions of peasants in Bihar who were being exploited by British indigo planters. In 1920, he joined the noncooperation movement, and as a result, he gave up his legal career.

He taught English in a college in Bihar at one point, but subsequently he went on to earn a degree in law and became a lawyer. In addition to his studies in law, Dr. Rajendra Prasad worked as a professor at a college in Kolkata. After that, he attended Allahabad University to earn his PhD in Law from that institution.

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