News Highlight:
- Nation pays tribute to first President Dr Rajendra Prasad on 138th Birth Anniversary.
- President Droupadi Murmu paid floral tributes to the first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, on his 138th birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 3 December.
Dr Rajendra Prasad:
- Dr Rajendra Prasad was the first President of independent India. His contribution to the nation runs much deeper. He was one of the prominent leaders of the Indian Nationalist Movement alongside Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
- Early Life and Education:
- Rajendra Prasad was born to7
- Mahadev Sahai and Kamleshwari Devi at Zeradei, in the Siwan district of Bihar, on December 3, 1884.
- He was the youngest kid in the family.
- He was a meritorious student; he received his early education from Moulavi, an accomplished Muslim scholar, who taught him Persian, Hindi and arithmetic.
- He later studied at the Chapra District School and T.K. Ghosh’s Academy in Patna.
- he moved to Calcutta, where he secured a scholarship at the Presidency College for a degree in science.
- He later changed his stream of studies from science to arts, attaining his MA in Economics in 1907.
- won a doctorate in law from Patna University. In 1916, he commenced his legal career in the Patna High Court.
- Role in the Nationalist Movement:
- Prasad’s involvement in the country’s freedom movement started during his student days when he attended an Indian National movement as a volunteer in 1906. He was subsequently elected to the AICC.
- He joined the organisation in 1911, and a few years later, he met Mahatma Gandhi.
- Inspired by the Mahatma, he quit his legal career and jumped into the freedom movement. He participated in the non-cooperation movement in 1920. Gandhi’s dedication and conviction deeply moved him.
- Gandhi undertook the ‘Champaran Satyagraha’, and Dr Prasad offered his wholehearted support to the cause.
- In 1920, when Gandhi announced the commencement of the Non-cooperation movement, Dr Prasad gave up his lucrative law practice and dedicated himself to the cause of freedom.
- He led the programs of non-cooperation in Bihar. He toured the state, holding public meetings and making heartfelt speeches in the support of the movement.
- He undertook the collection of funds to enable the continuation of the movement.
- He urged people to boycott Government schools, colleges and offices.
- He started the National College in Patna in 1921.
- President of the Bombay Session:
- Nationalist India expressed its admiration by electing Rajendra Prasad as the President of the Bombay session of the Indian National Congress in October 1934.
- He was elected President for the second time in 1939 when Subhash Chandra Bose resigned from the post. His third stint as the President of the All India Congress Party was in 1947 when J. B. Kripalani resigned from the post.
- Nationalist India expressed its admiration by electing Rajendra Prasad as the President of the Bombay session of the Indian National Congress in October 1934. He was elected President for the second time in 1939 when Subhash Chandra Bose resigned from the post.
- His third stint as the All India Congress Party President was in 1947 when J. B. Kripalani resigned from the post.
- Role in Quit India Movement:
- Dr Rajendra Prasad became very much involved in the Quit India movement launched by Gandhi in 1942. He led protests and demonstrations in Bihar (Patna in particular).
- The nationwide uproar demanding independence instigated the British Government to undertake mass arrest of all influential Congress leaders. Dr Prasad was arrested from Sadaqat Ashram, Patna and was sent to Bankipur Central Jail where he spent 3 years imprisonment.
- He was released on 15 June 1945. Dr Prasad embraced an austere and simplified life. He readily gave up on luxuries like servants and riches. He renounced his pride and ego and even started performing household chores like sweeping, washing and cooking.
- First President of Independent India:
- Dr Rajendra Prasad was selected as the Food and Agriculture Minister in the interim Government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1946. Soon he was elected President of the Constituent Assembly on December 11, the same year.
- He presided over the Constituent Assembly from 1946 to 1949 and helped frame the Constitution of India. On January 26, 1950, the Republic of India came into existence, and Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected the country’s first-ever President.
- Literary work of Dr Rajendra Prasad:
- Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, Some Reminiscences
- Satyagraha at Champaran
- Atmakatha
- Division of India
- Since Independence.
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu