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Each year, December 3 marks the birthday of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first president of India and a distinguished lawyer. On this special day, India observes Advocates’ Day to honour the brilliance, integrity and service of him to the nation. He wasn’t just the president and a lawyer, but also a great freedom fighter and scholar. His speeches and writing reflect on the importance of honesty, equality, responsibility, democracy, unity and more. Even today, his quotes and words inspire millions of people.

Dr Rajendra Prasad was born on 3 December 1884, in a Kayasth family in Ziradei, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Siwan district, Bihar). His father was also a scholar of Sanskrit and Persian, and his mother was a storyteller of Ramayana and Mahabharata. He was the youngest child and had one elder brother and three elder sisters. After completing schooling, he went to the University of Calcutta, securing rank 1 through a scholarship in 1902. He graduated with first division in 1905 and later did an MA in economics in 1907.

Dr Rajendra Prasad’s Journey of Becoming A lawyer and Freedom Fighter

After completing his MA, he became an English professor, and later he pursued his law studies in 1909. In 1915, Rajendra Prasad passed the master’s in law examination and won a gold medal and completed his doctorate from Allahabad University. In 1916, he joined the Patna and Odisha High Court. During the Lucknow session of the Congress party held in the same year, he met Mahatma Gandhi, and from here his freedom-fighting journey started. After India became a Republic in 1950, he was elected as the first president of India and served for 12 long years until 1962 before retiring. On 28 February 1963, Dr Rajendra Prasad died at the age of 78. He was also honoured with the Bharat Ratna Award.

As we celebrate this day as the birth anniversary of him, let’s take a look at some of the best and inspirational quotes by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

Rajendra Prasad On Law, Justice, and the Constitution

1. "A Constitution like a machine is a lifeless thing. It acquires life because of the men who control it and operate it."

2. "If the people who are elected are capable and men of character and integrity, they would be able to make the best even of a defective constitution. If they are lacking in these, the constitution cannot help the country."

3. "If the bar is weak, the Judiciary will be weak. There can be no question about that, and if we want to have a strong judiciary, we must start with a strong bar."

4. "The lawyer is there principally as an officer of the court, to help and assist the court; winning of a case is only an incidental thing."

5. "Our republic has been founded on the belief that all men are created equal."

6. "We have been able, on the whole, to draft a good constitution which I trust would serve the country well."

7. "What is wrong in principle cannot be right in practice."
(Jo baat siddhant mein galat hai, vah baat vyavahar mein bhi sahi nahin hai.)

8. "The purpose of law is to serve the people, not to be a source of fear or oppression."

9. "The tendency now is to confine all appointments to the higher posts in the judiciary to the members of the bar. If the bar is strong, it also provides the Government with a field for the recruitment of good judges."

 

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Quotes On Life, Character, and Wisdom

10. "One must learn to play one's age."

11. "Do not ever let your age dominate you."

12. "Simple living, truthful living. The best life in the world."
(Sada jeevan, saccha jeevan. Jag mein sabse accha jeevan.)

13. "I am at a stage where I understand my age very well."

14. "If one refuses to succumb to temptations, success will not elude one all the time."

Rajendra Prasad On Education, Youth and Harmony

15. "The main object of education, in my opinion, is the establishment of a twofold harmony in every individual—harmony within his own self and harmony with other living beings in the whole world."

16. "The responsibility for rebuilding the world lies mainly on the shoulders of the youth."

17. "No system can be said to be successful unless it can help in the growth of a full man."

18. "Education must equip pupils with health of body, mind, and spirit, so that they can cope with all kinds of difficulties in life."

19. "The teacher can only sow the seed, but there must be the capacity in the person to whom the seed is sown to make it sprout, grow, blossom and fructify."

20. "The policeman's baton cannot prevent the danger (of internal jealousies and dissensions). It is only through good education, and this can be done only by our universities."

21. "Students derive as much knowledge from their social and cultural environment as they do from the lectures of their professors and from their textbooks."

 

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On Duty, Patriotism and National Character

21. "In attaining our ideals, our means should be as pure as the end!"

22. "Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

23. "Today, for the first time in our long and chequered history, we find the whole of this vast land... brought together under the jurisdiction of one constitution and one union."

24. "We must never forget that simplicity, humility, and dedication are the true hallmarks of national service."

25. "Our commitment must not be to a position, but to the principles that guide the nation."

26. "The true strength of a nation lies in the character of its citizens."

27. "The greatest victory is not over an external enemy, but over the internal weaknesses of the self."

28. "A life dedicated to the service of others is the most complete life one can live."

29. "The path to the destination should be as righteous as the destination itself."
(Manzil ko pane ki disha mein aage badhte hue yaad rahe ki manzil ki or badhta rasta bhi utna hi nek ho.)

30. "National devotion is not about waving the flag or singing the anthem; it is a resolve to work continuously for the country."

31. "It is the duty of every citizen to act with a sense of responsibility toward the nation."

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