In Pics: The Presidents of India

As the race to the Rashtrapati Bhawan heats up, we take a look at its occupants so far.

Term (Jan 26, 1950-May 13, 1962) One of the architects of the Indian Republic, having drafted its first constitution and serving as the first President of independent India. Rajendra Prasad is the only president in India to have been elected twice for the post.

Term (May 13, 1962 - May 13, 1967) One of India's most influential scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan is credited with building bridges between the East and the West by showing that the philosophical systems of each tradition are comprehensible within the terms of the other. Among the many honours he received were a knighthood (1931), the Bharat Ratna (1954) and the Order of Merit in 1963. Sept 5, his birthday, is celebrated as Teachers' Day in India.

Term (May 13, 1967 - May 3, 1969) An educationist and thinker par excellence, Dr Hussain founded the Jamia Millia Islamia and was the Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University. The first elected Muslim president of India, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1963.

Term (May 3, 1969 - July 20, 1969 and Aug 24, 1969 - Aug 24, 1974) Varahagiri Venkata Giri served as the Governor of UP (1957%u20131960), Kerala (1960%u20131965) and Mysore (1965%u20131967). Giri became acting President in 1969 upon the death in office of Dr Zakir Hussain and decided to run for that position in the ensuing election. The Congress leadership chose to support Neelam Sanjiva Reddy for the position, but being Indira's choice, Giri was able to prevail. He received the Bharat Ratna in 1975.

Term (Aug 24, 1974 - Feb 11, 1977) Picked for the presidency by Indira Gandhi in 1974, he became the second Muslim to be elected to the post. He is known to have issued the proclamation of Emergency by signing the papers at midnight after a meeting with Indira Gandhi the same day.

Term (July 25, 1977 - July 25, 1982) In 1969, Indira Gandhi, knowing that Sanjiva Reddy was too independent a person to toe her line, ensured the victory of V V Giri as India's President. Reddy left Congress. He entered active politics again in 1975 along with Jayaprakash Narayan. In July 1977, he was elected the President, the youngest ever to hold the post.

Term (July 25, 1982 - July 25, 1987) "If my leader (Indira Gandhi) had said I should pick up a broom and be a sweeper, I would have done that. She chose me to be President," Singh was quoted to have said after his election. His term was marked by Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He died of injuries in 1994 after a car accident.

Term (July 25, 1987 - July 25, 1992) Venkataraman had the unique distinction of working with four Prime Ministers, and appointing three of them: V P Singh, Chandra Shekhar and P V Narasimha Rao, during his five-year term, which saw the advent of coalition politics in India. Seen in the picture with veteran BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Vice-President of India (2002-07).

Term (July 25, 1992 - July 25, 1997) Sharma was known to be a stickler for parliamentary norms. He is known to have broken down in the Rajya Sabha once while witnessing the members of the House create a din on an issue. During his last year as President, it was his responsibility to swear in three Prime Ministers.

Term (July 25, 1997 - July 25, 2002) A magazine described K R Narayanan's journey from a 'chetta kudil' (meanest hut) to Rashtrapathi Bhavan as a saga which has no parallel in India and is certainly more remarkable than that of Abraham Lincoln from a log cabin to the White House. Known as an activist President, his interventions during the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 is unparalleled by the otherwise non-partisan standards of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Seen here with the BJP veteran Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Term (July 25, 2002 - July 25, 2007) Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam's popularity as President is unparalleled. Being a bachelor, he literally threw open the haloed doors of the Rashtrapati Bhawan for people from all walks of life, and of course children. It was because of his popularity that he was reconsidered for the post by the NDA - and Mamata Banerjee - for the current elections, but Kalam declined to contest.

Term (July 25, 2007 - till date) Pratibha Devisingh Patil created history by becoming the country's first woman President. Patil surprised the nation by being chosen the UPA-Left's consensus candidate for the Presidential election. Although hers was a largely insignificant presidency, Patil's foreign tours that allegedly cost the public exchequer a whopping Rs 205 crore created a lot of controversy during her tenure.