Dr. Rajendra Prasad – The First President Of India.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India, he was an Indian political leader and lawyer by training who was also the architect of the Indian Constitution.

In 1946 after the election he served as Minister of Food and Agriculture in the central government and after independence in 1947, Dr. Prasad was elected as President of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Constitution of India. After the constitution came into force in our country in 1950, about 3 years after independence, he was elevated to the position of President of the highest post of the country. He was awarded India’s highest honor “Bharat Ratna” in the year 1962.

Rajendra Prasad was an honest, loyal and high-minded nobleman, who devoted his entire life to the service of the nation. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a politician with a very calm and serene nature, who believed in a policy of simple living, high thinking. He had contributed significantly in the fight to liberate slave India from the clutches of the British.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a true country devotee along with being a dutiful, honest politician. With this, he was greatly influenced by the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. Rajendra Prasad considered Gandhiji as his ideal and followed the ideals given by him. He along with Mahatma Gandhi Ji gave his support in many freedom movements against the British. Rajendra Prasad played an active role in Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement in 1931 and the Quit India movement in 1942. During these movements, he also had to endure the torture of jail.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was one of the main Congress leaders of the state of Bihar. Along with the post of the President of the Congress, he also played the responsibility of the post of Food and Agriculture Minister at the Center very well.

He also promoted education in the country while holding many important posts in politics. At the same time, besides possessing the qualities of an honest politician, he also had literary talent, many of his articles like Bharatodaya, Bharat Mitra became very popular.

3rd December is celebrated as Advocate’s Day to mark the birth anniversary of Rajendra Prasad, India’s First President, and a very eminent lawyer.

Early life

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was born on December 3, 1884, to the house of Mahadev Sahay and Kamleshwari Devi of Jiradei village in Siwan district of Bihar. He was the youngest child of his parents. His father Mahadev Sahay was a great scholar of Sanskrit and Persian languages, while his mother was a religious woman.

Rajendra Prasad had a profound influence on his mother’s personality and values. When Rajendra Prasad was just 12 years old, then according to the practice of child marriage, he was married to Rajvanshi Devi.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was an intelligent child since his childhood. Whose ability to learn, understand was very strong. At the young age of 5 years, Rajendra Prasad had very good knowledge of Hindi, Urdu, and Persian language. He had his early education from his village Jiradei. Since childhood, he was very promising in his studies and had a keen interest in his studies.

Due to this, he gave the entrance exam at Calcutta University for his further studies, he got the first position in this examination, after which he was given a monthly scholarship of Rs 30 for studying at Kolkata University. In the year 1902, Dr. Rajendra Prasad took admission to the Presidency College, Kolkata for his graduation.

Here he was educated by the great scientist and eminent teacher Jagdish Chandra Bose. After this, in 1907, he received his MA in Economics from Kolkata University and after that, he got a master’s degree in law. At the same time, he was also given a gold medal. He also got the degree of Ph.D. (Doctorate) in Law. After completing his law studies, he came to his state Patna and started practicing law, gradually he became very popular among the people as a good advocate.  At the same time, he got the attention of the freedom movement being run to liberate the country, and then he devoted himself completely to the service of the country.

Career

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was greatly influenced by the efforts made by Mahatma Gandhi for the independence of the country, Gandhiji’s ideology had such a profound effect on him that he became a strong supporter of Gandhiji, and Gandhiji fights against the British and supported him in the ongoing movements.

During Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement, Dr. Rajendra Prasad left his job and played an important role in this movement. Subsequently, when Gandhi was on a mission to find facts in the Champaran district of Bihar, he came very close to Gandhiji and began to follow the ideals of Gandhiji. With a new energy and enthusiasm, he participated in India’s independence movement.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad gave his support like a true patriot in Gandhiji’s Non-Cooperation Movement, Namak Satyagraha (1930), while during this he also had to face many tortures in jail. After his release from prison, he worked for the relief of those suffering from a terrible earthquake in Bihar. During this, he was made the President of the Indian National Congress, given his systematic and organizational skills. At the same time, he worked for many years in the post of Congress President.

In the year 1942, Dr. Rajendra Prasad also played an important role in the “Quit India Movement” launched by Gandhiji against the British, although during this time he had to face a jail sentence. After his release from prison, he held the responsibility of the post of Food and Agriculture Minister at the Center under the leadership of the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Shortly before the country attained independence, the constitution was formed in July 1946, when Dr. Rajendra Prasad was appointed its president. He presided over the Constituent Assembly till the year 1949. Along with Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, Rajendra Prasad also played an important role in the framing of the Constitution.

Rajendra Prasad the first President of India

About 2 and a half years after independence, on 26 January 1950, when the Constitution came into force in our country and our country became an independent democratic, secular republic. During that time Dr. Rajendra Prasad was made the first President of the country. While in this highest position of the country, he did many important things for the country and promoted foreign policy with the promotion of education in the country.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first person in the country who has held the office of President twice in his life. He led the country’s skilled leadership as President for nearly 12 years. After this, in the year 1962, he resigned from the post of President and went to his home state Patna.

Death of Rajendra Prasad

After serving the country selflessly for many years and leading the country as President, Rajendra Prasad decided to dedicate the last moments of his life to social service.

Rajendra Prasad spent the last days of his life in his state Bihar. Rajendra Prasad, who was devoted to public service till his last breath, died in the Sadaqat Ashram in Patna on February 28, 1963.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Awards

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the country who was dedicated to the service of the nation, was awarded India’s highest honor “Bharat Ratna” in the year 1962 for his significant contribution to the political and social field.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad wanted to develop India. He constantly changed the Indian law and order and along with his colleagues started trying to make it more strong. We as a citizen of India should be responsible to help the government in the development of our country so that we can increase the status of India in the eyes of the world.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a great politician and true country devotee with versatility, who continued to serve the country throughout his life. At the same time, he is not among us today, but his significant contribution to the nation and his sacrifice, dedication, and sacrifice in the freedom struggle will always be remembered. Even today, there is a lot of respect in the mind of every countryman for him. Rajendra Prasad was a truly heroic son of the country, on which every Indian is proud.