Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963) was the first President of the Republic of India. An independence activist and a prominent Gandhian, Rajendra Prasad was a close associate of Gandhi’s from the time of the Champaran Satyagraha in 1916. Prasad was elected president of the Indian National Congress in 1934, and again in 1939. He served as President of the Constituent Assembly which drafted India’s Constitution over 1948 and 1949. On 26 January 1950, Rajendra Prasad was sworn in as the first President of India. He remained in the post for twelve years, before resigning in 1962. He was also honoured with the Bharat Ratna that year.