Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India. He rose up to great heights due to his strength of character and inner qualities of head and heart. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was born on 3 December 1884 in a small village Zeeradei in Bihar.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad’s mother was a highly religious lady. She would read spiritual scriptures before her son to instill good values of life to him. Rajendra Prasad was very respectful towards the elders.
He would politely convince people why they were wrong and corrected the wrongs of others.
Rajendra Prasad got married at the early age of 12.
Rajendra was a brilliant student from his early childhood. He went for studies in a town with his elder brother. After overcoming many hurdles, he finally completed his graduation. After that he studied law and soon became a popular lawyer.
He joined Congress in the year 1906.
He actively participated in Champaran Satyagraha and told people to stop discriminating between person to person on the basis of caste, colour and creed. Everyone should be dealt with love and respect. Rajendra Prasad began to actively participate in the freedom movements and gained widespread popularity.
In 1930, he was mercilessly beaten up by the brute British police during one of the freedom movements called Namak Satyagraha’. In the year 1933, he was imprisoned for 15 months for giving speeches against the British rule.
Rajendra Prasad suffered severe Asthmatic attacks in the jail. After getting released from the prison, he began to serve the downtrodden people of his nation.
In the year 1942, he again went to jail along with Mahatma Gandhi for raising the slogan ‘Do or Die’. He spent three years in jail and during this period of his suffering, he wrote a book ‘The India Divided’.
On 26 January, 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was appointed as the first president of India.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a simple person by nature and had limited desires. He accepted the salary of Rs. 2500 instead of 10,000, as his mission was not to enjoy the luxuries of life, but to serve the country with all his heart and soul.
On 28 February 1963, he went to his heavenly abode peacefully. This great soul of the nation shall be remembered forever for his glorious achievements.