Election of Rajendra Prasad as the President

The returning officer informed the Assembly, “I have to inform honourable Members that only one nomination paper has been received for the office of the President of India. The name of that candidate is Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

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26 January 1950 was the date when India came to be a Republic. The Constitution of India came into force on this day. One of the less talked about fallout was that India got its First President and the post of Governor General was abolished. C. Rajgopalachari was the last Governor General, and the only Indian ever, till this day. A post of President was created and Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who was the President of the Constituent Assembly till then, became the President.

The Constituent Assembly elected Rajendra Prasad to the office on 24 January 1950 where H.V. R. Iengar was the Returning Officer and Secretary, Constituent Assembly.  

H.V. R. Iengar

The returning officer informed the Assembly, “I have to inform honourable Members that only one nomination paper has been received for the office of the President of India. The name of that candidate is Dr. Rajendra Prasad. His nomination has been proposed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and seconded by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Under sub-rule (1) of rule 8 of the Rules for the election of the President, I hereby declare Dr. Rajendra Prasad to be duly elected to the Office of President of India.”

Jawaharlal Nehru in the Constituent Assembly

Jawaharlal Nehru addressed Rajendra Prasad and said, “We welcome you Sir, as our leader, as the Head of the Republic of India, and as a comrade who has faced without flinching all the crisis and troubles that have confronted this country during the past generation. One task is accomplished today in this Assembly and this Assembly will cease to be, having done its work or rather it will suffer a sea change and emerge as the Parliament of the Republic of India. One task is accomplished that we set for us long ago. Other tasks now confront us. One dream that we dreamt for years past has been realised, but we confront again other dreams and other tasks, perhaps more arduous than the one we have already accomplished. It is a comfort for us all to know that in these future tasks and struggles, we shall have you as the Head of this Republic of India, and may I, Sir, pledge my loyalty and fealty to this Republic of which you will be the honoured President.”

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the Constituent Assembly

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel said, “This is a red letter day in the history of India, and we have no manner of doubt that under your wise judgment, your unruffled and cool temperament and your method of dealing with men and things, the honour and prestige of the country will rise as days go by and under your distinguished leadership the country will attain the status which it deserves among the nations of the world. I pray God may give us all the good sense to give you unreserved loyalty and complete cooperation in the heavy task which God has put upon you.”

Dr. H. C. Mookerjee

Dr. H. C. Mookerjee remarked, “I belong to a particular political organization. The fact that you have been elected to fill your very high position unanimously is the clearest possible proof that you are not the choice of a particular dominant political party, but the choice of the whole nation.”

Hussain Imam

Hussain Imam of Bihar believed this to be an honour for the province of Bihar. He said, “Mr. President, it is a day of happiness for all, especially for us Biharis, as it is after centuries that a Bihari has been able to give its services to India in the manner and in the personality of your goodself. We, Sir, in this House, have known your goodness and known all your qualities of head and heart, and we could not but be happy at the choice which has been made. We all of us without any distinction of caste, creed or community congratulate you from the bottom of our heart and hope that you will fulfil this place with honour, dignity and benefit to the people of India.”

Dr. Rajendra Prasad at several occasions tried to stop the members from praising him. In the end he stopped members and told, “When I sit listening to laudatory speeches — and although I have, tried to cut that down to some extent, here also I have had to submit to it to a certain extent, — I am reminded of a story in the Mahabharata, which is so full of piquant situations, and the solution that was found by Shree Krishna, who solved all those difficult and apparently insoluble problems which arose was this. One of those days, Arjun took a vow that he would perform a certain thing before the sun set on that day and that if he did not succeed, he would bum himself on a pyre. He unfortunately did not succeed. And then the problem arose as to what was to be done. In fulfilment of that vow, he would have to burn himself. This, of course, was unthinkable so far as the Pandavas were concerned. But Arjuna was adamant in his resolve. Shri Krishna solved this problem by saying, “if you sit and praise yourself or listen to praise by others, that would be equivalent to committing suicide and burning yourself; So you had better submit to that and your vow will be fulfilled.” Very often I have listened to such speeches in that spirit. Because, I have felt that there, are many things which I am not able to fulfil, which I am not able to accomplish, and the only way in which I can fulfil these things is to commit that kind of suicide.”


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Md Umar Ashraf

Md. Umar Ashraf is a Delhi based Researcher, who after pursuing a B.Tech (Civil Engineering) started heritagetimes.in to explore, and bring to the world, the less known historical accounts. Mr. Ashraf has been associated with the museums at Red Fort & National Library as a researcher. With a keen interest in Bihar and Muslim politics, Mr. Ashraf has brought out legacies of people like Hakim Kabeeruddin (in whose honour the government recently issued a stamp). Presently, he is pursuing a Masters from AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, JMI & manages heritagetimes.in.