Dr Radhakrishnan's successor was the acclaimed educationist, Dr Zakir Hussain.

Born in Qaimganj in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh, he studied at the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College, now known as the Aligarh Muslim University. At 23, he and a group of other students and teachers established a national Muslim university called the Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. He was an extraordinary teacher, someone who translated Plato’s Republic into Urdu. Soon after joining the Jamia Millia he left for Germany to study further.

After he acquired a doctorate in economics from the University of Berlin he returned to the Jamia Millia in 1926 as its vice-chancellor. He was just 29!

In November 1948, Dr Hussain was appointed vice-chancellor of his former alma mater, the Aligarh Muslim University. Twice nominated a member of the Rajya Sabha, he was appointed governor of Bihar and served in Patna from 1957 to 1962.

In 1963, a year after he was appointed vice-president, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna (he had already won the Padma Vibushan in 1954) for his services to the nation. Dr Hussain was sworn in as President on May 13, 1967. In a deeply moving inaugural speech he said all of India was his home and all its people his family.

February 17, 1969. Dr Zakir Hussain arrives to address Parliament. Accompanying him are Vice-President Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Lok Sabha Speaker Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, B N Banerjee, then the secretary-general, Rajya Sabha and S L Shakdher, then the secretary-general, Lok Sabha among others. Tragically, just over two months after this photograph was taken, Dr Hussain died on May 3, 1969, the first President to die in office. Vice-President Giri and Speaker Reddy then contested the ensuing Presidential election.

Also see: President at the Frontier