With the announcement of the date for the presidential elections, the countdown has begun for the big day, July 18, when legislatures will elect India’s 15th president. As the curtain draws back on the tenure of the 14th and current President Ramnath Kovid, let’s take a look at India’s past presidents.
List of Indian President
1. Rajendra Prasad 1950 to 1962 (12 years, 107 days)
He was a politician, lawyer and journalist. Prasad was a central figure in the Indian independence movement. While studying in Calcutta, Prasad first became involved with the Indian National Congress in the annual session of 1906, which he attended as a volunteer. He officially joined the Indian National Congress in 1911, when the annual session was again held in Calcutta.
2. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1962 to 1967) 5 years, 0 days
He was a political leader and a philosopher who served as the second President of India, he served as the first Vice President of India.
Teachers’ Day is celebrated to recognize the value of teachers in our lives and to honor the legacy of the First Vice President of India.
During his lifetime, Radhakrishnan was knighted in 1931, Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 1954, and an honorary member of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.
3. Zakir Husain Khan (1967 to 1969) 1 year, 355 days
He was also a co-founder of Jamia Milia Islamia, where he served as vice-chancellor from 1928 until his death. Jamia became heavily involved in the Indian liberation movement under Husain. In 1963, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian honour).
Varahagiri Venkata Giri took over the office after the untimely death of President Zakir Hussain Khan for just 78 days. Later, Mohammad Hidayatullah took over for 35 days.
4. Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1969 to 1974) 5 years, 0 days
He was an outstanding legislator, freedom warrior, and labor leader who dedicated his life to service to the country. VV Giri has become known as a defender of the rights of the country’s working class.
5. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1974 to 1977) 2 years, 171 days
He was a lawyer and the country’s second Muslim president, as well as the country’s second president to die in office.
Basappa Danappa Jatti briefly took office for 164 days after the death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
6. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1977 to 1982) 5 years, 0 days
After Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Anantapur in July 1929, Reddy joined India’s struggle for independence from the British Raj and dropped out of the university in 1931. He went on to hold various critical posts in independent India, including that of Prime Minister in leader of Andhra Pradesh. He was an active member of the Youth League and participated in student satyagraha.
7. Giani Zail Singh (1982 to 1987) 5 years, 0 days
He was the first Sikh to be elected to this post. Prior to becoming President, he was a member of the Indian National Congress party and served in the Union Cabinet in various capacities including as Home Secretary. He was also president of the Non-Aligned Movement at the time. Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 all took place during her reign.
8. Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1987 to 1992) 5 years, 0 days
He was an Indian lawyer, politician and independence activist who served as Union Minister and ninth President of India. Venkataraman was born in Rajamadam village in Tanjore district of Madras Presidency.
9. Shankar Dayal Sharma (1992 to 1997) 5 years, 0 days
He received the Living Legends of Law Award of Recognition from the International Bar Association for his extraordinary contribution to the legal profession internationally and his commitment to the rule of law.
10. Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1997 to 2002) 5 years, 0 days
He was the tenth president and ninth vice-president of India. He was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academician and politician.
11. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (2002 to 2007) 5 years, 0 days
He was an aerospace scientist from India. He worked as a scientist and science administrator for the next four decades, mainly at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where he was involved in the Indian civil space program and military missile development operations.
As a result of his efforts in developing ballistic missile and launch vehicle technologies, he became known as India’s “Missile Man”. In 1998, he also played a key organizational, technical and political role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear test, the first since the country’s first nuclear test in 1974.
12. Pratibha Devisingh Patil (2007 to July 2012) 5 years, 0 days
She was India’s first female president. She is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC). She also served as Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007.
13. Pranab Kumar Mukherjee (2012 to 2017) 5 years, 0 days
He was a prominent member of the Indian National Congress and held several ministerial posts in the Indian government. Mukherjee served as the Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012 before being elected President. In 2019, his successor, President Ram Nath Kovind, awarded him India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.
14. Ram Nath Kovind (2017 at 4 years, 320 days)
Politician who is the 14th and current president of the country since July 25, 2017. He is a member of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). He is also the first President of India from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Prior to becoming President, he served as the 26th Governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1994 to 2006. He practiced as a barrister for 16 years in the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court of India until 1993, before entering politics.
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