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If you ask the Indians about who is more important, the President or the Prime Minister, a common answer will be gathered, setting the winning percentage tilted to the column of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister and the President, both are the supreme heads of the Government. But the result of the survey won’t be a misconception. What the citizens perceive is the active participation of the Prime Minister in various public events and exposure to media. They believe what they see right in front of their eyes, which I suppose is a common human persona. 

President, the crucial component of a Constitution and a successful government, is kind of a desk job. However, it doesn’t reduce the importance of the position. The President is the almighty, not for the power but also due to his/her proliferating intellect. And, who can be better than a highly educated scholar possessing imperative experience for a Presidential post?

As the **10th President of India** (1997-2002), we had **Kocheril Raman Narayanan (K. R. Narayanan)**, an expert emissary with a didactic mind. He was also the 9th Vice President of India (1992-1997).

His poverty-stricken background didn’t cage his wings. His father, **Kocheril Raman Vaidyar,** encouraged his son, observing his son’s brilliance, and didn’t worry him with the financial ups and downs. A dedicated Narayanan noted the lectures from outside the school when he was unable to pay the fees. His family was so poor that he couldn’t afford to buy books. His brother, **Neelakantan,** used to stockpile them from others and let his brother study the pages he copied from those. Narayanan was later aided financially by the **Travancore Royal family** with the granting of a scholarship.

Narayanan’s meritorious pathway took a leap from there. He completed his **B.A. and M.A.** from the **University of Travancore** in the subject of English Literature. He was glorified as the first Dalit to achieve a first-class degree in Travancore. He worked in the most popular newspapers of India- **The Hindu and The Times of India,** where his career was boosted by an interview he took of Mahatma Gandhi, promoting the notion of non-violence.

> Narayanan was garlanded with a scholarship of 16,000 from Tata to fund his study in subjects of economics, politics and journalism at the London School of Economics. He was honoured with the Bachelor of Economics, driven by a specialization in political science.
> 

**Nehru** greatly leveraged his political career. Over his solicitation, he annexed himself in the **IFS** **(Indian Foreign Service)** in 1949. He served as an ambassador in Rangoon, Tokyo, London, Canberra and Hanoi embassies. 

> He was the Second Secretary of the Indian Liaison Mission in Tokyo, First Secretary in the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom, Deputy Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs, Ambassador to Thailand and Turkey, Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.
> 

When Shankar Dayal Sharma presided over, Narayanan was elected as the **Vice-President of India** in 1992. The former Prime Minister, V. P. Singh and the Janata Dal had proposed his name. Earlier, a confusion of supporting Communism took away opportunities from Narayanan. This time, he announced that he was no admirer of Communism from the very beginning. Though the Communists were slightly offended, but anyhow supported him due to the special circumstances foreshadowing the country.

With collecting a winning percentage of 95 in the Electoral College, he triumphed the results of the Presidential Poll. **Narayanan became the first Dalit President of India and the first Malayali representative securing the power of the highest office of India.**

> He took the pledge as the President of India in 1997 in the observance of J. S. Verma, the Chief Justice in the Central Hall of Parliament.
> 

“So my image of a President is of a working President, not an executive President, but a working President, and working within the four corners of the Constitution”, that’s how Narayanan reckons the duties and the true worth of the post, which leads you to be the nation’s father. His words were accentuated in a grand showdown between **Narayanan and BJP government** regarding the issue of Babri Masjid. His infuriation towards the **Babri Masjid-Ram Temple dispute** wasn’t discreet. He elucidated that the event was the greatest catastrophe on India, after the bout of Mahatma Gandhi’s death. Remember, the ‘special circumstances’? Yes, this was it. It is said that he returned his cabinet resolutions looking for foisting of President’s authority in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (1997-98)

The discordances between **Narayanan and Atal Bihari Vajpayee** started in 2000 and continued till 2002. The proposal of **reappraisal of the Constitution** sent by Vajpayee and his bunch in 2000,  was stamped as **denied** from Narayanan’s side. He denounced Vajpayee for not providing any protection or sharp presence of mind during **the riot of communities in Gujarat (2002)**. To control and resort the situation, troops were suggested to be sent there. But, Vajpayee didn’t make any effort or take it into consideration. Narayanan opined that it was the most gruelling conundrum of his political career.

Narayanan is particularly remembered for his stemming of concerns for the minority. Being a President came much later in case of fulfilling responsibilities, but first and prior was always an advocate of the minor groups- **Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes.** 

> In the course of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Republic Day (2000), Narayanan talked about the social, political and economic equity that remains unchanged even today, and how enraging it is, though it has been almost 50 years since India had won the title of a ‘Republic’.
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> Narayanan backed the “Women’s Reservation Bill” and stated that democracy can be called successful if the women can contribute to the political processes by not being mere voters, but leaders and representatives who’re elected.
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Unfortunately, on **November 09, 2005,** we lost our great President due to pneumonia. A President, who never hesitated or kept quiet from speaking his mind, standing up for what’s right fearlessly, is what this country needs and is what the countrymen search in the vote candidature.

He was given a chair, the highest and priciest in the country. Instead of sitting quietly to maintain what he owns, he stood up, courageously expressed what's right. He is our 10th President, the lionheart. 