New Delhi: The birth anniversary of Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of independent India, is being observed today, 3 December. This year marks his 137th birth anniversary.
Dr Rajendra Prasad was also a freedom fighter, teacher and lawyer. Prasad was known to be an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
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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