Dr. Rajendra Prasad Indian Freedom Fighter

1. RAJENDRA PRASAD:

Date of Birth: December 3, 1884 and Date of death: February 28, 1963
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Indian Freedom Fighter
Rajandra Prasad was born in a Bihar village in Chapra on December 3, 1884, the son of a landlord. His first school was the Chapra District School, where the Headmaster, Khirode Chandra Ray Chaudhury, recognized his remarkable gifts. He passed the Entrance examination from the Patna District School, standing first in the Calcutta University, whose jurisdiction in those days extended from Bengal 'undivided) and Bihar to Burma including Assam, Orissa etc.
He now came to Calcutta and joined the Presidency College where he studied Science with Dr. J. C. Bose and Dr. P. C. Ray as also the Humanities. Again he topped the list of successful candidates at the next examination (F.A). He graduated with Honours in English in 1906 and History and secured the Eshan scholarship. The next year he took his M. A. degree (in English) and in 1910 he took his degree in Law and joined the bar of the Calcutta High Court. When Patna High Court was established (1917), he shifted his practice to that Court.
Meanwhile, from his student-day in Calcutta, he came under the influence of Satis Mukherjee's 'Dawn Society'. He also acted as a volunteer at the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1906 and heard the speeches of the leaders of the time, Surendranath Banerjee, Gokhale and others. In 1917, his fateful meeting with Gandhiji took place over the Champaran agrarian troubles. So deep was the Mahatma's influence over Rajendra Prasad, that he joined the Congress, after the Satyagraha movement. He became President of the Bihar Congress unit in 1920. Soon then he became the General Secretary of the Congress. He joined the Civil Disobedience Movement and suffered arrest and imprisonment in 1930. He did a youngman's job in organising relief in the areas divested by the Bihar Earthquake of 1934. Rajendra Prasad's dignity, sincerity, devotion had by now so impressed his older colleagues that in 1934 he was elected President of the National Congress at its Mumbai (Bombay) Session.
In 1946, Rajendra Prasad joined the Interim Government of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the Minister of Food and Agriculture. A firm believer in the maximization of agricultural production and amelioration of the lot of the peasants, he gave the slogan of "Grow More Food". The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, under his able and active guidance, launched an effective campaign to that end. In view of his family background and active involvement in the cause of the peasants, he believed that any effort to integrate the village life should be based on the Gandhian values.
When the Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946 to frame a Constitution for free lndia, Dr.RajendraPrasad, who had been elected as a member of the Assembly from the Bihar Province, was given the onerous responsibility of being its President. As President of the Constituent Assembly, he guided and regulated its proceedings with utmost firmness, infinite patience, incisive intellect and abundant grace. He always permitted members to have a free, frank and full discussion on issues before them and won the appreciation of every section of the House for his qualities, objectivity and impartiality. When the Constitution was finally adopted on 26 November 1949, Rajendra Prasad, in his characteristic humility, heartily congratulated of the Constituent Assembly for accomplishing the stupendous task of framing the Constitution.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was unanimously elected as the provisional President of India on 24 January 1950, the penultimate day of the last session of the Constituent Assembly. He took the oath of office on 26 January1950. It was indeed a rare honour that the person who presided over the Constitution-making body was also given the equally challenging task of defending, protecting and preserving the Constitution. In 1952, he was elected as the first President of the Republic of India and was re-elected as the President of India for the second term in 1957.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad relinquished the office of the President of India in 1962, an office which he had adorned for 17 long years and shifted to an Ashram in Patna. He spent the remaining part of his life in its peaceful and quiet surroundings 1963. The entire nation mourned the sad demise of this colossus who had stridden across India's national scene for decades. Condoling the death of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, described him as "an outstanding patriot and a selfless worker in the cause of our freedom whose sacrificial services will always be remembered". In recognition of the yeoman's service rendered by this illustrious son of India, Dr.Rajendra Prasad was conferred the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian award, in 1963.