Presidents Of India Since The Country Became Republic | IN PICS

Here is a look at some of the presidents of India since Independence.

Presidents Of India

Rajendra Prasad was an Indian politician, lawyer, independence activist, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of the Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He had joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian freedom struggle and became a major leader from the region of Bihar and Maharashtra. (Image: Getty)

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian philosopher and politician, who served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967 and first Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962. One of the most distinguished twentieth-century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, he defended Hinduism against what he called "uninformed Western criticism". Radhakrishnan was awarded several high awards during his life, including a knighthood in 1931, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 1954. Since 1962, his birthday has been celebrated in India as Teachers’ Day on 5 September every year. (Image: Getty)

Varahagiri Venkata Giri was an Indian politician and activist from Berhampur in Odisha who served as the 4th President of India from 1969 to 1974 and 3rd Vice President from 1967 to 1969. He is the first president to be elected as an independent candidate. After the end of his full term, Giri was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 1975 for his contributions in the area of public affairs. The image shows VV Giri (L) with Vietnamese leader Nguyen Thi Binh. (Image: Getty)

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with Indian National Congress in the independence movement, Reddy went on to hold several key offices as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, a two-time Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a Union Minister, before becoming the Indian president. The image shows Reddy (R) with Spanish King Juan Carlos of Borbon. (Image: Getty)

Zail Singh was the seventh President of India, serving from 1982 to 1987, and the first Sikh to hold the office. Before being the president, Singh was a politician with the Indian National Congress and had held several ministerial posts in the Union Cabinet, including that of Home Minister. Singh also served as the Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1983 to 1986. The image shows Singh with Fidel Castro (L), president of Cuba and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. (Image: Getty)

Shankar Dayal Sharma was the 9th President of India, serving from July 25, 1992 to July 25, 1997. A Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh, Sharma had been the Chief Minister of Bhopal State from 1952–1956, and held Cabinet portfolios after that. (Image: Rashtrapati Bhavan)

Kocheril Raman Narayanan (R) was an Indian diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the tenth President of India from 1997 to 2002 and the ninth Vice President of India from 1992 to 1997. He described himself as a "working president" who worked "within the four corners of the Constitution". He presided over the golden jubilee celebrations of Indian Independence and in the 1998 general elections, he became the first Indian president to vote when in office, setting a new precedent. (Image: Getty)

APJ Abdul Kalam was and Indian scientist, who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. Widely referred to as the "People's President", Kalam returned to his civilian life of education, writing and public service after a single term. He received several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. (Image: Getty)

Pratibha Devisingh Patil was the 12 President of India and the first woman president from the year 2007 to 2012. A member of the Indian National Congress, Patil previously served as the Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007, and was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. (Image: Getty)

Pranab Mukherjee was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 to 2017. In his political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Before his election as president, Mukherjee was the Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012. He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 2019. (Image: Getty)

Ram Nath Kovind is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the BJP and the second person after KR Narayanan, from the Dalit community to occupy the post. Before his presidency, he served as the Governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and as a Rajya Sabha MP from 1994 to 2006. Before entering politics, he was a lawyer for 16 years and practised in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India till 1993. (Image: Getty)

Droupadi Murmu is an India politician who is currently serving as the 15th President of India from July 25, 2022. She is a member of the BJP and the first person belonging to the tribal community and also the second woman after Pratibha Patil to hold the office. Prior to her presidency, Murmu served as the ninth Governor of Jharkhand between 2015 and 2021, and held various portfolios in the cabinet of Government of Odisha between 2000 to 2004. (Image: Getty)