Rajendra Prasad Biography

Who is Rajendra Prasad?

Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India. He was an Indian independence activist and a lawyer by training. 

In this article about Rajendra Prasad, we will discuss Who is Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s full name, Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s information about his early life, and education, his tenure as President of India, and When Rajendra Prasad Died.

Rajendra Prasad’s Early Life

• Dr. Rajendra Prasad's birth date was 3 December 1884.

• Rajendra Prasad's birthplace was Ziradei, Siwan district, Bihar, India.

• His father was Mahadev Sahai Srivastava who was a Sanskrit and Persian language scholar. 

• Kamleshwari Devi, his mother, was a religious woman who used to tell her son stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

• Rajendra Prasad had four siblings, one elder brother Mahendra Prasad and three elder sisters and he was the youngest son to their parents.

• His mother died when he was a child and he was raised by his older sister Bhagwati Devi.

• Rajendra Prasad's full name is Dr Rajendra Prasad.

Dr Rajendra Prasad’s Education

• Rajendra Prasad's parents enrolled him in the Persian language, Hindi, and arithmetic classes of a Maulavi, an accomplished Muslim scholar, when he was five years old.

• He was sent to the Chapra District School after finishing his standard elementary education.

• After that, he and his older brother, Mahendra Prasad, went to T.K. Ghosh's Academy in Patna to study for two years.

• He came in first in the University of Calcutta's entrance exam and was given a scholarship of Rs. 30 per month.

• In 1902, Rajendra Prasad enrolled at Presidency College in Calcutta as a science undergraduate.

• In March 1904, he passed the F. A. at the University of Calcutta, and in March 1905, he graduated with a first division.

• Later, he decided to concentrate on the study of arts and received a first division M.A. in Economics from the University of Calcutta in December 1907. In the Eden Hindu Hostel, he shared a room with his brother.

• He was an active member of The Dawn Society and a dedicated student as well as a civic activist.

• In the hall of Patna College in 1906, Prasad was instrumental in the founding of the Bihari Students Conference. It was India's first organisation of its kind.

• Rajendra Prasad took the Masters of Law examination at the University of Calcutta's Department of Law in 1915, passed it, and was awarded a gold medal. In 1937, he earned his doctorate in law from Allahabad University.

Rajendra Prasad Family

• Rajendra Prasad was married to Rajavanshi Devi in June 1896 at the early age of 12.

• He had one son Mrityunjaya Prasad who was also a Politician.

Rajendra Prasad’s Career as a Teacher

• As a teacher, Rajendra Prasad worked in a variety of educational institutions.

• He became a professor of English and then the principal of Langat Singh College in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, after completing his M.A. in economics. However, he later dropped out of college to pursue legal studies at Ripon College in Calcutta.

• He served as a Professor of Economics at Calcutta City College in 1909 while pursuing his law studies in Kolkata.

Rajendra Prasad Career as a Lawyer

• Rajendra Prasad was appointed to the High Court of Bihar and Odisha in 1916.

• In 1917, he was elected as one of the first members of the Patna University Senate and Syndicate.

• He also practised law in Bhagalpur, Bihar's well-known silk city.

Till now we got to know Who is Dr. Rajendra Prasad, his early education, his family, and his career. Now let us discuss the major part of Rajendra Prasad's life.

Rajendra Prasad Involvement in the Indian Independence Movement

• While studying in Calcutta, Rajendra Prasad first became involved with the Indian National Congress during the 1906 annual session, which he attended as a volunteer. He officially joined the Indian National Congress in 1911, when the annual session was held in Calcutta once more.

• In 1916, he met Mahatma Gandhi at the Indian National Congress's Lucknow Session. Mahatma Gandhi invited him to accompany him on one of his fact-finding missions in Champaran.

• He was so inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's determination, bravery, and conviction that as soon as the Indian National Congress passed the motion of non-cooperation in 1920, he left his lucrative legal profession as well as his duties at the university to support the movement.

• In response to Gandhi's call for a boycott of Western educational institutions, he told his son, Mrityunjaya Prasad, to drop out of school and enrol in Bihar Vidyapeeth, an institution he and his colleagues developed on the traditional Indian model.

• In October 1934, he was elected President of the Indian National Congress during the Bombay session.

• When Subhash Chandra Bose resigned in 1939, he was re-elected president.

• Congress passed the Quit India Resolution in Bombay on August 8, 1942, which resulted in the arrest of many Indian leaders.

• Rajendra Prasad was apprehended and sent to Bankipur Central Jail in Patna's Sadaqat Ashram. He was finally released on June 15, 1945, after nearly three years in prison.

• On September 2, 1946, he was assigned the Food and Agriculture Department after the establishment of an Interim Government of 12 nominated ministers led by Jawaharlal Nehru.

• On December 11, 1946, he was elected President of the Constituent Assembly.

• After J. B. Kripalani resigned, he became Congress President for the third time on November 17, 1947.

Humanitarian Services of Rajendra Prasad

• During the great flood of Bengal and Bihar in 1914, he volunteered his services to help with relief efforts. He personally provided food and clothing to the victims.

• Rajendra Prasad was in jail when the Bihar earthquake struck on January 15, 1934. On January 17, he set himself the task of raising funds by forming the Bihar Central Relief Committee. He was in charge of the relief fund collection, which totaled over Rs 38 lakhs.

• During the Quetta earthquake in 1935, he founded the Quetta Central Relief Committee in Punjab, despite British attempts to prevent him from leaving the region.

Rajendra Prasad President of India

• On January 26, 1950, two and a half years after India's independence, the Constitution of Independent India was ratified, and Rajendra Prasad was elected the country's first president.

• He acted independently of any political party as President of India, as mandated by the Constitution.

• As India's ambassador, he travelled widely around the world, establishing diplomatic relations with foreign countries.

• In 1952 and 1957, he was re-elected for two consecutive terms, making him India's first two-term president.

• During his rule, the Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan were opened to the public for the first time for about a month, and it has since become a major tourist attraction in Delhi and other parts of the world.

• Rajendra Prasad operated independently of politics, fulfilling the constitutionally mandated position of the president.

• Following the squabble over the Hindu Code Bill's enactment, he became more involved in state affairs.

• He declared his retirement from the presidency in 1962, after twelve years as president.

• He returned to Patna on 14 May 1962 after relinquishing the office of President of India, preferring to remain in the Bihar Vidyapeeth campus.

When did Rajendra Prasad Die?

• Rajendra Prasad died on February 28, 1963, at the age of 78 in Patna.

• Rajendra Prasad's wife died 4 months before him on 9 September 1962.

• He was buried at Mahaprayan Ghat, Patna, Bihar, India.

• He is honoured at the Rajendra Smriti Sangrahalaya in Patna.

Awards and Scholarly Details

• Rajendra Prasad was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian award in 1962.

• Rajendra Prasad was a scholar who has written 8 books during his lifetime.

• Satyagraha at Champaran in 1922.

• Division of India 1946.

• Atmakatha was an Autobiography of Dr. Rajendra Prasad written during a three-year prison term in Bankipur Jail.

• Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, Some Reminiscences in 1949.

• Bapu Ke Kadmon Mein in 1954.

• Since Independence in 1960.

• Bharatiya Shiksha.

• At the feet of Mahatma Gandhi.

In this biography about Rajendra Prasad, we have gone through Who is Rajendra Prasad, the full name of Rajendra Prasad, his early life and education, his family, his political career, being Rajendra Prasad President of India, his award and Scholarly details, and his death.

Conclusion

The first President of independent India was Dr. Rajendra Prasad. His contribution to the country is even more extensive. Along with Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Lal Bahadur Shastri, he was a prominent leader of the Indian Nationalist Movement. He was one of those dedicated people who gave up a lucrative career to work for greater goal-achieving independence for the Motherland. Following independence, he became the president of the Constituent Assembly, which was tasked with drafting the nation's constitution. To put it another way, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a key figure in the formation of the Republic of India.

So it is important for students to study the biography of Rajendra Prasad to understand his patriotism and sacrifice made to the country.