Giani Zail Singh, was born on May 5, 1916 in village Sandhwan in Faridkot District in a family of artisans, taken to agriculture. His father Sardar Kishan Singh owned about fifty-six acres of land which was intershared by Giani Zail Singh and his two brothers. He comes from common stock and was born in a mud house in a remote village having no pull or patronage. Giani Zail Singh, whose ascendancy in the service of the nation can be traced from the humblest of origins, combines rare qualities of head and heart.
The Giani's innings in public life have been long and varied - freedom fighter, social reformer, champion of the down-trodden, State Congress Leader, successful Chief Minister and Union Home Minister. Truly, he was a relentless fighter against princedom, feudalism and foreign domination in the pre-independence days, a tireless crusader against communalism, economic disparities and social injustice, a true friend of the down-trodden and the economically weak. The martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and his companions, valiant freedom fighters, on March 23, 1931, moved the young Giani who was then only 16. The story of Giani Zail Singh's ordeals started with setting up of the branch of the All India Congress in the State of Faridkot in 1938. Giani Zail Singh was proclaimed and treated as an ordinary criminal. The Maharaja regarded the opening of the Branch of the Congress as a challenge and the man who did it as an arch enemy. So it was that Gianiji having founded the Congress in the State of Faridkot found himself behind prison bars for five years. He was kept in solitary confinement throughout his imprisonment. Even after his release, Gianiji was harassed and he had to spend sometime outside the State. During this period he canvassed support for the freedom movement in his State. During the same period he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's message of non-violence. Adventure of Giani Zail Singh's life. Giani Zail Singh was held guilty of leading the revolt against the Raja's Government and taken into custody. Then occurred the famous Jeep Episode - a tyrannical response to Gianiji's quest to end the princely and feudal tyranny. Gianiji was bound hand and feet to a jeep and was threatened that he would be dragged along the streets unless he relented. But ultimately good sense prevailed and the threat was not carried out. When Faridkot State was merged into the State of Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Giani Zail Singh made historic contributions in removing socio-economic injustice of farm labourers, small cultivators and tenants in his capacity as a Minister for Revenue and Agriculture. The conferment of proprietary rights on the actual tillers and the abolition of absentee landlordism and the legislative steps ensuring the security of tenancy and the rights of tenants to share the lands declared as "surplus" after land-ceiling, are all to the credit of Gianiji. The protection given in PEPSU against State ejectments by landlords is till today a shining landmark in the post-freedom history of agrarian reforms in India. In 1956, Giani Zail Singh became a Member of Rajya Sabha and the Senior Vice-President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. He injected new fervour among the partymen and struggled selflessly to ensure thumping victories for the Congress in Punjab in 1962 General Elections to Punjab Vidhan Sabha and the Lok Sabha. He was taken as a Minister in the Government headed by the late Sardar Pratap Singh Kairon but in 1962, he sacrificed that office when the Chinese aggression brought new challenges in its wake. During 1962 to 1972, Giani Zail Singh waged an uncompromising battle against the forces of communalism, reaction and exploitation for about ten long years in Punjab. As a President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, the spirit he was able to infuse in the rank and file of the Congress against heavy odds, triumphed with decisive and overwhelming majority for the Congress in the 1971 Lok Sabha elections and the 1972 Punjab Vidhan Sabha poll. In March, 1972, he was elected unanimously by the Punjab Congress Legislative Party to be the Chief Minister of Punjab. For an unprecedented spell of stability for five years and three months, Giani Zail Singh accelerated the pace of Green Revolution and industrialization in the State and strengthened the forces of secularism by promoting the unity of the people of all faiths. Under his dynamic stewardship Punjab saw prosperity, stability, vitality, unity and solidarity. Inspired by the Leadership of Shrimati Indira Gandhi, Gianiji worked with dedication to make the Punjabis realize their dream of a better life. With the advent of the multiparty governments at the Centre and in certain States including Punjab towards the middle of 1977, Giani Zail Singh had to brave a fresh spate of difficulties, hardships and harassment. The trials and tribulations, however, failed to break his spirit or to deprive him of the love of the common masses. He was elected to the Seventh Lok Sabha in January, 1980, from the Hoshiarpur Constituency in Punjab with a thumping lead of over 1,25,000 votes over his nearest rival, and became Home Minister in Government of India in Smt. Indira Gandhi's Cabinet. As a Union Home Minister, Giani Zail Singh made a notable contribution in maintaining law and order, handling the Assam agitation and dealing firmly with communal riots in the country. He used his vast administrative experience spanning over more than three decades as Minister in PEPSU and Punjab and as the State Chief Minister to his great advantage. In attending to almost all the major problems facing the nation today, he has shown rare qualities of a seasoned statesman. The most striking, however, is his role in the Assam Crisis. He used all his skill in bringing round the agitation leaders to the negotiating table. His personal intervention at the crucial moments during the talks brought him many laurels, and greatly helped create a congenial climate for mutual discussions. As Home Minister he has abundantly shown his keen alertness to the numerous problems facing the nation. He has been able to strengthen the national integration and has shown tenacity in curbing violence of all types. Giani Zail Singh was elected to the highest office of the President of India on July 15, 1982 and took the oath of office on July 25, 1982. Giani Zail Singh believes in the efficiency of politeness in expression and penetrative understanding of human relations and problems. This has, however, never impaired his firmness on basic principles of approach and the fundamentals of the policy and programmes. A refined sense of humour, backed by his intense love for children and the suffering humans in all parts of the country, is his inbuilt safeguard against tensions and malice in his public conduct.
Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the sixth President of India, was a veteran statesman and administrator. He held many eminent positions in public life both before and after independence. Born in a peasant family at Illuri village in the Anantapur District (Andhra Pradesh) on May 19, 1913, Shri Sanjiva Reddy had his early education at the Theosophical High School at Adyar in Madras and later joined the Arts College at Anantapur. In 1931, the young Sanjiva Reddy gave up his studies to take part in the freedom movement. His student days were marked by Youth League and other nationalist activities. In fact, he first came into limelight when he participated in a student satyagraha. At the age of 25, Shri Reddy was elected Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Provincial Congress Committee and remained in that office for 10 years. He was in prison for a greater part of the period 1940-1945.
In March 1942, he was released for a while but in August, the same year he was re-arrested and kept in Amraoti jail in Madhya Pradesh along with Shri Prakasam, Shri Satyamurti, Shri Kamaraj, Shri Giri and others till 1945. In 1946, Shri Reddy was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly and became the Secretary of the Madras Congress Legislature Party the following year. In 1947, he became a Member of the Indian Constitutent Assembly. From April 1949 to April 1951, he was Minister for Prohibition, Housing and Forests in the composite state of Madras. In 1951, he resigned this office to contest the Election for the Presidentship of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee which he won. It was during this period that Shri Reddy suffered a terrible tragedy in the death of his five year old son in a motor accident. This shocked him so deeply that he resigned the APCC Presidentship. Later, however, he was prevailed upon to withdraw his resignation. In 1952, he was elected Member of the Rajya Sabha. In 1953, he accepted the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the Cabinet of the late Shri T. Prakasam, even though he was elected the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party. He was again elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1955 and became Deputy Chief Minister in Shri B. Gopala Reddi's cabinet. Shri Reddy became the first Chief Minister to the new State of Andhra Pradesh which was formed following the reorganization of the States in October, 1956. In 1959, he resigned the Chief Ministership to take over the Presidentship of the Indian National Congress. On the expiry of his term of office in March, 1962, he again became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. In February 1964, he voluntarily resigned the office of Chief Minister in order to set high standards of public life. He was, however, re-elected as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party but he recommended to the Governor to invite Shri K. Brahmananda Reddy, a colleague of his to form a new Ministry. On June 9, 1964, Shri Reddy was appointed a Member of the Union Cabinet formed by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and took over the portfolio of Steel and Mines. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in November, 1964. Shri Reddy was Union Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, Shipping and Tourism from January 1966 to March 1967 in the Cabinet formed by Shrimati Indira Gandhi. In the General Elections in 1967, he was returned to the Lok Sabha from Hindupur constituency in Andhra Pradesh. He was elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha on March 17, 1967, an office that won him unprecedented acclaim and admiration. Shri Reddy resigned the Speakership of the Lok Sabha on the 19th July, 1969 to contest the Presidential election on the basis of his nomination as a nominee of the Congress filed by Shrimati Indira Gandhi. It is now common knowledge that after filing this nomination Shrimati Indira Gandhi subsequently organized his defeat in the elections by unethical means. After 1969, Shri Reddy devoted his time to agriculture, which has always remained his first love. However, on May 1, 1975 he entered active politics again by addressing a public meeting at Hyderabad along with Shri Jayaprakash Narain. In March 1977, he fought the Lok Sabha election from Nandyal constituency in Andhra Pradesh as a Janata Party candidate. He was the only non-Congress candidate to get elected from Andhra Pradesh. Shri Reddy was unanimously elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha on March 26, 1977. He relinquished this office on July 13, 1977 to file his nomination for the Presidentship of the Indian Union. He was unanimously sponsored as the consensus candidate for the Presidentship by all political parties, a rare even in recent political history. He was declared elected unopposed on July 21, 1977. The degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws was conferred on Shri Sanjiva Reddy by the Sri Venkateshwara University in 1958.Shri Sanjiva Reddy married Shrimati Nagarathnamma on June 8, 1935 and they had one son and three daughters.
He was born on September 10, 1912 at Savalgi, Bijapur district of Karnataka. He was Chief Minister of Mysore State during 1958-62. He was Vice-President of India from 1974 to 1979. B.D.Jatti held the Office of the President of India temporarily from February 11, 1977 to July 25, 1977.
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was President of India of 1974 to 1977. He was educated at St. Stephen's College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and subsequently became an active member of the Congress Party. He was chosen for the presidency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974, becoming the second Muslim President in Delhi. He would later use his constitutional authority as head of state to allow her to rule by decree once emergency rule was proclaimed in 1975. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was sworn in as President on August 24, 1974 and held that office till his death on 11th February, 1977. He died while in office.
V.V.Giri was born at Berhampore, Orissa on August 10, 1894. He was responsible for the formation of the all India Trade Union Congress, of which he was President twice. A long period of his public life was devoted to building up the All India Railwaymen's Federation. He was Labour and Industry Minister in the first popular ministry in Madras during 1937-39 and served as Union Labour Minister during 1952-54. Served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Mysore.
He served as Vice-President of India from May 13, 1967 to 1969. He was Acting President from 3.5.69 to 20.7.69 after the death of Dr.Zakir Hussain.
V.V.Giri was elected to the Office of the President and was sworn in on 24.8.69. He held office till 24.8.1974. He was awarded the 'Bharat Ratna' in 1975. V.V.Giri passed away in 1980.
