India’s thirteenth President had already held more major Cabinet portfolios than almost anyone in the country’s history, before he ever moved into Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Portfolio: The specific area of government a Minister is responsible for, like Finance or Defence.
Non-partisan: Not favouring or belonging to any political party.
Padma Vibhushan: India’s second-highest civilian honour, after the Bharat Ratna.
Pluralism: The idea that many different religions, cultures, and views can coexist within one society.
1India’s 13th President, and a Five-Decade Career
Must Know
- Pranab Mukherjee was India’s thirteenth President, serving from 25 July 2012 to 25 July 2017.
- Born on 11 December 1935 in Mirati, Bengal, he was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969, with Indira Gandhi’s backing.
2Finance, External Affairs, Defence — Then Giving It All Up
Must Know
- Over a five-decade career, he held several of the country’s most powerful Cabinet posts. He was Finance Minister twice (1982–1984 and 2009–2012). He was External Affairs Minister twice too (1995–1996 and 2006–2009). And he was Defence Minister from 2004 to 2006.
- To contest the presidency, he resigned from the Lok Sabha, the Finance Ministry, and the Congress party. The office of President is meant to be non-partisan, so anyone contesting it steps away from active party politics first.
- He won the presidential election and was sworn in on 25 July 2012.
True or False: Mukherjee stayed on as Finance Minister and a Congress party member while campaigning for President.
3World’s Best Finance Minister, and a Padma Vibhushan
Good to Know
- In 1984, Euromoney magazine named him the world’s best finance minister. This was based on his first stint holding that job.
- He received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in 2008 — before he ever became President.
4No Second Term, and a Bharat Ratna Afterward
Good to Know
- Observers noted he was more actively engaged in day-to-day governance than most of his predecessors. He drew on his decades of administrative experience.
- After 2017, he chose not to seek a second term, retiring from politics due to age-related health concerns.
- He died on 31 August 2020, after brain surgery left him in a coma, followed by septic shock caused by a lung infection.
- He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2019 — India’s highest civilian honour. It was presented by his successor, President Ram Nath Kovind, citing his decades of public service rather than his presidency specifically.
Think it through. Mukherjee’s Bharat Ratna citation focused on his decades of public service, not his time as President specifically. Why might his career before the presidency matter more to that honour than the presidency itself?
Show the explanation
Because the Presidency, by constitutional design, is a largely ceremonial office with little room for a single office-holder to leave a distinct personal mark. Mukherjee’s five decades running Finance, External Affairs, and Defence, by contrast, involved real, hands-on decisions that shaped the country’s economy and foreign policy directly. A Bharat Ratna citation naming “public service” broadly, rather than the presidency specifically, reflects an honest assessment of where his most consequential work actually happened. It’s a useful reminder. Reaching the country’s highest constitutional office doesn’t automatically become someone’s most historically significant achievement. For many Presidents, including Mukherjee, the road to the office mattered more than the office itself.
5The RSS Speech That Split His Own Party
Great to Know
- In June 2018, well after leaving the presidency, Mukherjee addressed a graduation ceremony at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. The RSS is a Hindu nationalist organisation. His own Congress party has long opposed it.
- The visit drew sharp criticism from Congress colleagues. Even his own daughter spoke up. She worried it would be used to spread misleading claims about him.
- In his speech, Mukherjee didn’t back away from his own views. He stressed pluralism — the idea that many different views and cultures can live together. He also spoke of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, meaning “the world is one family.” And he criticised the “unhealthy political strife” he saw in current politics.
True or False: at the 2018 RSS event, Mukherjee’s speech avoided his own views and simply praised the organisation.
Think it through. Mukherjee had already left the presidency and had no formal office left to protect. Why did he still choose a genuinely controversial platform to speak from, instead of a safer one?
Show the explanation
Because leaving formal office didn’t erase his sense that some ideas were worth saying, wherever an audience willing to hear them existed. A former President still carries real public weight, even without any actual power. He chose a controversial venue, and used it to argue for pluralism instead of avoiding the topic. That choice was itself a message: these values shouldn’t only be preached to audiences who already agree. It also shows something about life after the presidency generally. A former President is no longer bound by the office’s non-partisan rule, and can speak, and provoke debate, in ways they couldn’t while still serving. Mukherjee’s choice used exactly that new freedom, rather than fading quietly out of public life.
Quick Q&A
- What three top Cabinet posts did Mukherjee hold before becoming President? Finance Minister, External Affairs Minister, and Defence Minister.
- Why did Mukherjee resign from the Lok Sabha and Congress before the presidential election? Because the office of President is meant to be non-partisan.
- When was Mukherjee awarded the Bharat Ratna? In 2019, presented by his successor Ram Nath Kovind, for his decades of public service.
- What made Mukherjee’s 2018 RSS speech controversial? He was a lifelong Congress leader addressing an event at the RSS headquarters — an organisation his own party has long opposed.
MCQ on Test Yourself
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Related reading
- Pratibha Patil — his predecessor as President.
- Ram Nath Kovind — who succeeded him, and later presented his Bharat Ratna.
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