Former President Pranab Mukherjee died on August 31 at the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi cantonment following a 21-day battle with multiple ailments. He was 84. 

Mukherjee was the 13th President of India from 2012 to 2017. 

In 2019, he was conferred India’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna. 

Born on December 11, 1935 in the village of Mirati in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, Mukherjee received early lessons in life from his freedom fighter parents.

He started his political career in 1969 as a Rajya Sabha member for the Bangla Congress which subsequently merged with the Congress.

It was a life of many firsts and accomplishments for one of the country’s most respected politicians, famed for his encyclopedic memory, razor sharp intellect and deep insights into issues.

In 1982, he became India’s youngest finance minister when he was just 47. In the years that followed, he served as India’s minister for external affairs, defence, finance and commerce and was the first Indian president to have done so.

Mukherjee managed the rare distinction of serving three prime ministers as minister — Indira Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. 

He was India’s only non-prime minister who was leader of the Lok Sabha for eight years (2004-2012). He was leader of the Rajya Sabha from 1980-85.

Mukherjee served in the Rajya Sabha for five terms and in the Lok Sabha twice and was one of India’s longest serving parliamentarians.

From 2004-2012, he played a key role in critical decisions of the Manmohan Singh-led government on issues such as Right to Information, food security as well as the setting up of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Metro Rail project. 

Mukherjee penned books which include ‘The Dramatic Decade’, ‘The Turbulent Years’ and ‘The Coalition Years’, all parts of a trilogy throwing light on his extensive political journey and experiences. Another book — ‘The Presidential Years’ — is expected to be released later this year.

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