List of Presidents of India

Table columns:
№
Name (birth–death)
Photograph
Elected
Took office
Left office
Term (in months)
Vice President
Candidate of[12]
Candidate of[12].1
Notes

Table rows:
cells: 1
Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963)
1952 1957
26 January 1950
12 May 1962
120
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Indian National Congress
Prasad, from Bihar, was the first President of independent India and also the longest-serving President, as the only president to serve two terms in office.[6][13][14] He was also a freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement.[15]
cells: 2
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)
1962
13 May 1962
13 May 1967
60
Zakir Husain
Independent
Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher and writer and also held the position of vice-chancellor of the Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University.[16] He received the Bharat Ratna award in 1954 before becoming the President.[17] He was the first President from South India.[18]
cells: 3
Zakir Husain (1897–1969)
1967
13 May 1967
3 May 1969
24
Varahagiri Venkata Giri
Independent
Husain was vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and a recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.[19] He died in office, the first to do so. He was also the shortest-serving President. He was also the first Muslim President.[20]
cells: –
Varahagiri Venkata Giri* (1894–1980)
–
3 May 1969
20 July 1969
3
–
–
He was elected Vice President of India in 1967. Following the death of President Zakir Husain, Giri was appointed as Acting President.[21] He resigned after a few months to take part in the presidential elections.[8]
cells: –
Mohammad Hidayatullah* (1905–1992)
–
20 July 1969
24 August 1969
1
–
–
Hidayatullah served as the Chief Justice of India and was also a recipient of the Order of the British Empire.[22] He served as Acting President until the election of Giri as the President of India.[23]
cells: 4
Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894–1980)
1969
24 August 1969
24 August 1974
60
Gopal Swarup Pathak
Independent
Giri was the first person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and served as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to Ceylon (Sri Lanka).[24]
cells: 5
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977)
1974
24 August 1974
11 February 1977
36
Gopal Swarup Pathak (1974) Basappa Danappa Jatti (1974–1977)
Indian National Congress
Ahmed served as a Minister before being elected as president. He died in 1977 before his term of office ended, and was the second Indian president to die in office.[25] He was also president during Emergency.[26]
cells: –
Basappa Danappa Jatti* (1912–2002)
–
11 February 1977
25 July 1977
6
–
–
Jatti was the vice president of India during Ahmed's term of office, and was sworn in as Acting President upon Ahmed's death. He earlier served as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore State.[25][27]
cells: 6
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996)
1977
25 July 1977
25 July 1982
60
Basappa Danappa Jatti (1977–1979) Mohammad Hidayatullah (1979–1982)
Janata Party
Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Reddy was the only Member of Parliament from the Janata Party to get elected from Andhra Pradesh.[28] He was unanimously elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha on 26 March 1977 and relinquished this office on 13 July 1977 to become the 6th President of India.[23]
cells: 7
Zail Singh (1916–1994)
1982
25 July 1982
25 July 1987
60
Mohammad Hidayatullah (1982–1984) Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1984–1987)
Indian National Congress
In March 1972, Singh assumed the position of Chief Minister of Punjab, and in 1980, he became Union Home Minister. He was also secretary general to Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) from 1983 to 1986[29]
cells: 8
Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009)
1987
25 July 1987
25 July 1992
60
Shankar Dayal Sharma
Indian National Congress
In 1942, Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvement in the Indian independence movement.[30] After his release, he was elected to independent India’s Provisional Parliament as a member of the Congress Party in 1950 and eventually joined the central government, where he first served as Minister of Finance and Industry and later as Minister of Defence.[31]
cells: 9
Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999)
1992
25 July 1992
25 July 1997
60
Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Indian National Congress
Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian Minister for Communications. He also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra.[32]
cells: 10
Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1920–2005)
1997
25 July 1997
25 July 2002
60
Krishan Kant
Independent
Narayanan served as India's ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, China and United States of America. He received doctorates in Science and Law and was also a chancellor in several universities.[33] He was also the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University.[34] He was the first Dalit President.[35]
cells: 11
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931–2015)
2002
25 July 2002
25 July 2007
60
Krishan Kant (2002) Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (2002–2007)
Independent
Kalam was an educator and engineer who played a leading role in the development of India's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.[36] He also received the Bharat Ratna. Kalam died following a heart attack while delivering a speech in Shillong.[37][38][39]
cells: 12
Pratibha Patil (1934–)
2007
25 July 2007
25 July 2012
60
Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Indian National Congress
Patil was the first woman to become the President of India. She was also the first female governor of Rajasthan.[40][41]
cells: 13
Pranab Mukherjee (1935–)
2012
25 July 2012
25 July 2017
60
Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Indian National Congress
Mukherjee held various posts in the cabinet ministry for the Government of India such as Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.[42]
cells: 14
Ram Nath Kovind (1945–)
2017
25 July 2017
Incumbent
–
Venkaiah Naidu
Bharatiya Janata Party
Kovind was governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2006. He is the second Dalit president (after K. R. Narayanan) and is the first President from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is an active member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his youth.[43]

Questions about this table:
originalText: who became the first president of free india
answer: answerTexts: Rajendra Prasad