Dr Rajendra Prasad
Term of office: January 26, 1950 to May 13, 1962
The longest serving President, it is said Mahatma Gandhi saw a great deal of himself in Dr Prasad.
Before he became the first President of Independent India, Dr Prasad had already played a pivotal role in India's Independence movement. He was President of the Constituent Assembly that framed the Constitution of India.
A day before India's first Republic Day on January 26, 1950, his sister, who had lived with him since she was widowed at 19, died. Such was his commitment that it was only after returning from the Republic Day parade that Dr Prasad conducted her cremation.
The only President to have two terms in office, he retired in 1962 and was subsequently awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian award.
He spent the last few months of his life in retirement at the Sadaqat Ashram on the banks of the Ganga in Patna. It was from this ashram that the freedom struggle was channelised in Bihar.
After spending less than a year at the ashram, Dr Prasad died on February 28, 1963. The Mahatma's last words were 'Hey Ram,' Rajendra Prasad died, saying 'Ram, Ram.'
Photograph: Press Information Bureau
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