On 26th January 1950, India adopted a Constitution and in the process, changed itself from a Commonwealth Dominion to a Republic. Since it had also adopted the Westminister Parliamentary system, the country needed a ceremonial Head of State. The Constitution designated this Head of State to be the “Rashtrapathi” or President of India.
The President of India is indirectly elected via an Electoral College comprising of all Members of Parliament, all Members of Legislative Assemblies/Councils (parliaments at state level). They serve five year terms and are term limited to two terms only, thus making them the only Central level political official to be term limited.
Although, the position is strictly ceremonial, there have been some interesting holders of the office.
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- Dr. Sarvepali Radhakrishna
- V V Giri
- Zakir Hussein
- Gulzari Lal Nanda
- Giani Zail Singh
- C Venkataraman
- Shankar Dayaal Sharma
- K R Narayanan
- Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam
- Pratibha Patil
- Pranabh Mukherjee
- Droupadi Murmu
