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Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the second President of India and served from 1962 to 1967. He is regarded as one of India’s most eminent scholars and wrote extensively on Indian philosophy and religion. Lifelong he defended Hindu traditions and culture against criticism from the West. September 5, his birthday, is observed as Teachers Day in India, in his honour.
An Indian politician who served as the 13th President of India, Pranab Mukherjee was a veteran with a political career spanning over five decades. He occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India, such as Defence, Finance and External Affairs. He was honored with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 2019.
Born to a modest Ayurveda practitioner in a Kerala village, K. R. Narayanan initially dabbled in journalism and then studied political science at LSE. He later served as the president of India, becoming the first Dalit to achieve the feat. He had also been an ambassador to the U.S. and China.
Dr. Zakir Husain was the third President of India and was the first President to die in office . During his lifetime, he helped found the National Muslim University which was later renamed Jamia Millia Islamia. He was honored with India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna in 1963.
Pratibha Patil served as the president of India from 2007 to 2012 and was the first and only woman to have held the position. The INC member had also been the governor of the Indian state of Rajasthan earlier. She had started her political career as an MLA from Jalgaon.
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy had initially been part of the Indian independence movement. He was the first chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and later served as the president of India. He had also headed the Indian National Congress and had been the speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Former president of India Shankar Dayal Sharma was born in a small village near Bhopal in India. His interest in law got him to Harvard and Cambridge, and he later participated in the Indian independence movement. He also headed the Indian National Congress and was the first chief minister of Bhopal.
V. V. Giri served as the fourth president of India and was in the office from 1969 to 1974. For his immense contributions to the development of public affairs, V. V. Giri was honored with the Bharat Ratna. However, his presidency is often criticized as he was considered a rubber stamp president who subordinated himself to the prime minister.
Zail Singh was the seventh President of India and was the first Sikh to occupy the office. Before becoming the President, he served as the Home Minister of India in Indira Ganhi's cabinet. The latter part of his presidency was marked by tension with the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the country's fifth president from 1974 to 1977. He became only the second Indian president to die in office. He was also only the second Muslim to serve as the president of India. He signed the proclaimation by which the Emergency was imposed in India
Mohammad Hidayatullah was an Indian lawyer, politician, and academician. He served as the chief justice of India from 1968 to 1970. He also served as the sixth Vice President of India. An eminent scholar, Hidayatullah was the president of Indian Society of International Law, Indian Law Institute, and the Indian branch of International Law Association.
Ramaswamy Venkataraman was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and politician. He served as the eighth president of the country from 1987 to 1992. His five-year term as the president witnessed the emergence of coalition politics in India. Prior to becoming the President, he also served as the Union Finance Minister and Defence Minister.
Basappa Danappa Jatti was a politician who served as the vice president of India from 1974 to 1979. He also served as the acting president of the country for a brief period in 1977. Jatti was a soft-spoken person who rose from a humble beginning. He was also a religious man and helped found a religious organization called Basava Samithi.
