5. Do you think Dr Rajendra Prasad should have punished the stationmaster after he became president? Why?
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Answer:
The date 26 January, 1950, heralded in many changes for India as its newly minted constitution was pressed into service. One of those changes was that the country ceased to be a constitutional monarchy, with the British King as head of state, and became a republic. This meant that the representative of the British Crown, the governor-general, would have to give way to a president. On that date, therefore, the last governor-general of India, C Rajagopalachari, swore in Rajendra Prasad as President of the Republic of India.
This passing of the baton, while smooth in outward appearance, was actually preceded by a fierce political tug of war, as Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel jostled for influence within the government.
Tale of two candidates
By mid-1949, the constitution-making process was drawing to a close and the need to choose a president, to act as head of the new republican state, was looming. For this post, Nehru preferred Rajagopalachari, a scholar-politician from Madras. Rajaji, as he was fondly called, was already governor-general at the time and appointing him president would involve nothing more than a change of title.
Patel, though, had other ideas and supported Bihar Congressman Rajendra Prasad instead. To some extent, this split was driven by ideology. Rajaji and Nehru agreed with each other on the type of secularism India should follow, an idea Patel did not quite buy into: the Sardar would once call Rajaji “half a Muslim” and Nehru “the Congress’ only nationalist Muslim” (the latter was also a backhanded dig at Abul Kalam Azad). Rajaji had also, back in the day, opposed and eventually dissociated himself from the Quit India Movement, a fact that rankled with many Congressmen.
Patel’s choice, Rajendra Prasad, was like him a social conservative. As president, Prasad would bitterly oppose Nehru’s Hindu Code Bills, which gave women greater rights. He would also help rebuild the Somnath Temple, after the Sardar’s death. His most interesting clash with Nehru though was over the very date of Republic Day: Prasad wanted it moved because he thought the day to be astrologically inauspicious.
Mostly, however, this clash was nothing but your garden-variety political turf war and was driven by Patel’s desire to put a check on Nehru’s power. A year later, Patel would even manage to push his own candidate as Congress President, tartly remarking: “At the time of Rajen babu’s election he [Nehru] got a slap in the face. This is the second.”
Patel outmanoeuvres Nehru
His decision made, Patel privately communicated his support to Prasad. He did not, however, publicly reveal his hand, preferring to bide his time.
Rash and impetuous, with characteristic disdain for the nitty-gritty, Nehru preferred to take a more direct and ultimately imprudent approach. With murmurs swirling around in the Congress of Prasad’s candidature, Nehru wrote directly to him on 10 September 1949, expressing the opinion that “Rajaji might continue as president” and Prasad was not welcome since “it would involve a change and consequent rearrangements”.
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