Have you ever wondered why the Constitution of India was implemented on January 26, 1950 while it was ready by November, 1949?

The date of January 26 holds a special place in India's fight for independence. It was on this day, in 1929 Lahore session, that Congress declared Purna Swaraj. People of the Constituent Assembly wanted to make this day memorable and hence it was chosen as India's Republic Day.

Rajendra Prasad, the first president of India, was not happy with the selection of this day, though. He was a devout Hindu and believed the day wasn't good as per astrology. Pandit Nehru was a man with a modern approach; he did not regard astrology. Nehru's decision was welcome, and Rajendra Prasad took the oath as the president on January 26, 1950 at 10:24 am.

This was in fact a consolation prize for Nehru in his ideological battle he had lost a long time ago, the battle to make Rajagopalachari the President.

During 1949, when the process of drafting of the Constitution was in its last phase, the tension surrounding the election of new president of independent India rose. Nehru thought that Rajagopalachari should be the first president of the country; firstly because he was already acting as the governor general and to make him the president, only a mere change in the title was required and secondly since Rajagopalachari's secularist approach was quite similar to that of Nehru's. At the same time, many Congress leaders were unwilling to accept Rajagopalachari because he left the Quit India Movement in the middle.

In June 1949, Blitz reported, "Rajaji's supporters argue that the health of Rajendra Prasad does not allow him for such hard work. At the same time many Congress leaders are not willing to accept Rajaji due to his past. "

Nehru was so desperate for Rajagopalachari's election that he didn't cared about lying. RNP Singh, a former intelligence officer, mentions the same in his book "Nehru A Troubled Legacy". Nehru wrote a letter to Prasad on September 10, 1949, informing him that he spoke to Sardar Patel about the new president and that Rajaji's appointment for the post was decided.

Rajendra Prasad was furious with this idea of Sardar Patel. The next day he wrote a counter letter to Nehru in which he told Nehru that he should be treated fairly given his status in the party, he also sent a copy of this letter to Sardar Patel.

When Nehru read the letter he accepted that his strategy backfired and he planned of a story in his defense.

In his reply, he wrote, "Sardar Vallabhbhai has nothing to do with whatever I wrote. I wrote that based on my estimates. Vallabhbhai don't know anything about this."

After all, why did Nehru never want Rajendra Prasad to be the president?

Congress used to be an organization where many ideologies coexisted. The battle was for the main ideology of the Congress. Nehru was a supporter of socialism, influenced by Russia's progress, and he was against the interference of religion in politics. But Rajendra Prasad had different thoughts.

Read the Hindi version on The Lallantop.

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