Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was born to the family of Mahadev Sahai and Kamaleshwari Devi on 3rd December, 1884 in the Zeradei village of the District Siwan in Bihar. At the age of five Rajendra was sent to a Maulvi to learn Persian language which was prevalent in the society at that time. After that he joined the District school of Chhapra to get the primary education. Meanwhile at the age of 12 he got married to Rajvanshi Devi. Rajendra Prasad was a brilliant student.
At the age of 18 he stood first in the entrance examination of the Calcutta University. To continue his studies further he joined the Presidency college of Calcutta in the year 1902. He was taught by many great scientists of that time like Jagdish Chandra Bose and Prafulla Chandra Ray, later on he changed the stream of his studies to the avenues of Arts and Law from science and he did his graduation and post graduation in law with a gold medal in 1915 and went on to get his doctorate in law in the preceding years. In the meantime he joined the Dawn Society which was founded by the likes of Satish Chandra Mukherjee and Radha Kumud Mukherjee and very critical of the colonial education system.
After completing his doctorate in law Dr. Rajendra Prasad started practicing law in the state of Bihar, soon he was summoned by Gandhiji who was in Champaran on a fact finding mission, on meeting Ghandhiji he was greatly impressed by the personality. After meeting with Ghandhiji he tried to bring in simplicity in his lifestyle. Slowly he engaged himself in the National Movements and Social Works; he was so impressed by Gandhiji that he even took out his son from convent school on a call given by Gandhiji. He participated in many movements organized by Gandhiji and went to Jail for many times. He served as a president of the Indian National Congress twice.
In the year 1946 when the constituent assembly was established to form the constitution of India, he was elected as the President. After the constitution was framed and endorsed by the members on 26th of January 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was appointed the first President of the Indian Republic. He set many examples for his successors by working honestly, efficiently.
As the first President of the Indian Republic he visited many countries and tried to establish the relationships with them or strengthen the existing relationships further. After a long tenure in the office lasting for 12 years he retired. After his retirement he was awarded the Bharat Ratna to recognize his service to the nation. In the year 1963 he passed away leaving many glorious examples for his successors to follow.
