As India voted to elect its  15th  President of India on Monday in Parliament, and the nation is all set to get its new President. The result will be declared on 21st July,  and the new President will take over on 25 July.

With curtains coming down on the tenure of 14th and current president Ramnath Kovind let’s have a look on the past presidents of India.

List of the Indian president

1. Rajendra Prasad 1950 to 1962 (12 years, 107 days)

He was a politician, lawyer, and journalist. Prasad was a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement. While studying in Calcutta, Prasad first became involved with the Indian National Congress during the 1906 annual session, which he attended as a volunteer. He officially joined the Indian National Congress in 1911, when the annual session was held in Calcutta once more.

2. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1962 to 1967) 5 years, 0 days

He was a political leader and a philosopher who served as India’s second president, he served as India’s first vice-president.

Teachers’ Day is observed to recognize the value of teachers in our lives and to honour the legacy of India’s first Vice President.

During his lifetime, Radhakrishnan received a knighthood in 1931, the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 1954, and honorary membership in the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.

3. Zakir Husain Khan (1967 to 1969) 1 year, 355 days

He was also a co-founder of Jamia Milia Islamia, where he served as vice-chancellor from 1928 until his death. Jamia became strongly involved with the Indian liberation movement under Husain. In 1963, he received the Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian honour).

Varahagiri Venkata Giri took charge of the office after the untimely death of President Zakir Hussain Khan for only 78 days. Later Mohammad Hidayatullah took over for 35 days.

4. Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1969 to 1974) 5 years, 0 days

He was a remarkable legislator, a freedom warrior, and a labour leader who dedicated his life to serving the country. VV Giri rose to prominence as a defender of the country’s working-class rights.

5. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1974 to 1977) 2 years, 171 days

He was a lawyer and the country’s second Muslim president, as well as the country’s second president to die in office.

Basappa Danappa Jatti took charge briefly for 164 days after the death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

6. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1977 to 1982) 5 years, 0 days

Following Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Anantapur in July 1929, Reddy joined the Indian struggle for independence from the British Raj and dropped out of college in 1931. He went on to hold various critical positions in independent India, including the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He was an active member of the Youth League and took part in a student satyagraha.

7. Giani Zail Singh (1982 to 1987) 5 years, 0 days

He was the first Sikh to be elected to the position. Prior to becoming president, he was a member of the Indian National Congress party and served in the Union Cabinet in various capacities, notably as the Home Minister. He was also the Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement at the time. Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi’s assassination, and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots all occurred during his reign.

8. Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1987 to 1992) 5 years, 0 days

He was an Indian lawyer, politician, and independence activist who served as a Union Minister and India’s ninth president. Venkataraman was born at Rajamadam village in Madras Presidency’s Tanjore district.

9. Shankar Dayal Sharma (1992 to 1997) 5 years, 0 days

He received the ‘Living Legends of Law Award of Recognition from the International Bar Association for his extraordinary contribution to the legal profession internationally and commitment to the rule of law.

10. Kocheril Raman Narayanan(1997 to 2002) 5 years, 0 days

He was India’s tenth president and ninth vice president. He was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academician, and politician.

11. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (2002 to 2007) 5 years, 0 days

He was an aerospace scientist from India. He worked as a scientist and scientific administrator for the next four decades, primarily at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), where he was involved in India’s civilian space program and military missile development operations.

As a result of his efforts in the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technologies, he became known as India’s “Missile Man.” In 1998, he also had a key organizational, technical, and political role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear testing, the first since the country’s first nuclear test in 1974.

12. Pratibha Devisingh Patil (2007 to July 2012) 5 years, 0 days

She was India’s first female president. She is an Indian National Congress (INC) member. She also served as the Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007.

13. Pranab Kumar Mukherjee (2012 to 2017) 5 years, 0 days

He was a senior member of the Indian National Congress and held a number of ministerial positions in the Indian government. Mukherjee served as Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012 before being elected the President. In 2019, his successor, President Ram Nath Kovind, bestowed on him India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

14. Ram Nath Kovind (2017 to 4 years, 320 days)

A politician who has been the country’s 14th and current President since July 25, 2017. He is a BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) member. He is also the first President of India from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Prior to becoming president, he served as the 26th governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and as a Rajya Sabha member from 1994 to 2006. He practiced as a lawyer for 16 years in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India until 1993, before entering politics.