PRIME MINISTERS AND PRESIDENTS OF INDIA

PRIME MINISTERS AND PRESIDENTS OF INDIA.


Prime Ministers of India


Shri Jawaharlal Nehru August 15, 1947 - May 27, 1964
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri June 9, 1964 - January 11, 1966
Shrimati Indira Gandhi January 24, 1966 - March 24, 1977
Shri Morarji Desai March 24, 1977 - July 28, 1979
Shri Charan Singh July 28, 1979 - January 14, 1980
Shrimati Indira Gandhi January 14, 1980 - October 31, 1984
Shri Rajiv Gandhi October 31, 1984 - December 1, 1989
Shri Vishwanath Pratap Singh Dec. 2, 1989 - November 10, 1990
Shri Chandra Shekhar November 10, 1990 - June 21, 1991
Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao June 21, 1991 - May 16, 1996
Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee May 16, 1996 - 1 June 1996
Shri H. D. Deve Gowda 1 June 1996 - 12 April 1997
Shri Inder Kumar Gujral 21 April 1997 - 19 Mar 1998
Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee 19 Mar 1998
Dr Manmohan Singh 2004


P.S:- Shri Gulzarilal Nanda was caretaker Prime Minister of India twice in 1960s.


Presidents of India

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Jan. 26,1950 - May 13, 1962
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan May 13, 1962 - May 13, 1967
Dr. Zakir Hussain May 13, 1967 - August 24, 1969
Shri Varahagiri Venkata Giri August 24, 1969 - August 24, 1974
Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed August 24, 1974 - February 11, 1977
Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy July 25, 1977 - July 25, 1982
Shri Giani Zail Singh July 25, 1982--July 25, 1987
Shri R. Venkataraman July 25, 1987- July 25, 1992
Dr.S.D. Sharma July 25, 1992 - July 25, 1997
Shri K R Narayanan July 25, 1997 - 2002

INDIA's NATIONAL FRUIT

A fleshy fruit, eaten ripe or used green for pickles etc., of the tree Mangifera indica, the mango is one of the most important and widely cultivated fruits of the tropical world. Its juicy fruit is a rich source of Vitamins A, C and D. In India there are over100 varieties of mangoes, in different sizes, shapes and colours. Mangoes, have been cultivated in India from time immemorial. The poet Kalidasa sang its praises. Alexander savoured its taste, as did the Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang. Akbar planted 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga, known as Lakhi Bagh.

INDIA's NATIONAL FLOWER

The Lotus or water lily is an aquatic plant of Nymphaea with broad floating leaves and bright fragrant flowers that grow only in shallow waters. The leaves and flowers float and have long stems that contain air spaces. The big attractive flowers have many petals overlapping in a symmetrical pattern. The root functions are carried out by rhizomes that fan out horizontally through the mud below the water. Lotuses, prized for their serene beauty, are delightful to behold as their blossoms open on the surface of a pond. In India the sacred lotus is legendary and much folklore and religious mythology is woven around it.

INDIA's NATIONAL TREE

Indian fig tree, Ficus bengalensis, whose branches root themselves like new trees over a large area. The roots then give rise to more trunks and branches. Because of this characteristic and its longevity, this tree is considered immortal and is an integral part of the myths and legends of India. Even today, the banyan tree is the focal point of village life and the village council meets under the shade of this tree.

INDIA's NATIONAL ANIMAL

Large Asiatic carnivorous feline quadruped, Panthera Tigris, maneless, of tawny yellow colour with blackish transverse stripes and white belly, proverbial for its power and its magnificence.
There are very few tigers left in the world today. A decade ago the tiger population in India had dwindled to a few hundreds. The Government of India, under its Project Tiger programme, started a massive effort to preserve the tiger population. Today, thanks to Project Tiger, India's population of tigers has considerably increased.

INDIA's NATIONAL BIRD

Male bird of species P. cristatus, is a native of India, with striking plumage and upper tail converts marked with iridescent ocelli, able to expand its tail erect like fan as ostentatious display. Peacocks are related to pheasants.
Found wild in India (and also domesticated in villages) they live in jungle lands near water. They were once bred for food but now hunting of peacocks is banned in India. The peahen has no plumage. These birds do not sound as beautiful as they look - they have a harsh call.

INDIA's NATIONAL SPORT

Hockey is the National Game of India. Unmatched excellence and incomparable virtuosity brought India a string of Olympic gold medals. The brilliant Indians brought a touch of black magic to their play and the ball juggling feats of the Indians were a sheer delight.
The Golden Era of hockey in India was the period from 1928 - 1956 when India won 6 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics. During the Golden Era, India played 24 Olympic matches, won all 24, scored 178 goals (at an average of 7.43 goals per match) and conceded only 7 goals. The two other gold medals for India came in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

NATIONAL SONG OF INDIA

Composed by Bankim Chandra, this song appears in the Bengali novel Anand Math. The English translation of Vande Mataram rendered by Shree Aurobindo, is considered to be the "official" and best. The first stanza of this song has been given the status of our national song.


SANSKRIT VERSION

Vande Mataram!
Sujalam,suphalam,
Malayaja shitalam,
Shasyamalamm
Mataram!

Shubharajyothsna
Pulakitayaminim
Phullakusumita drumadala
Shobinim
Suhasinim sumadhura
Bhashinim,
Sujahadam varadam,
Mataram!


ENGLISH TRANSLATION

I bow to thee, Mother,
Richly-watered,richly-fruited
Cool with the winds of the south,
Dark with the crops of the harvests,

The Mother!

Her nights rejoicing in the
Glory of the moonlight
Her lands clothed beautifully
With her trees in flowering bloom
Sweet of laughter,sweet of speech

The Mother, giver of boons,
Giver of bliss.

NATIONAL ANTHEM OF INDIA

Composed by Rabindranath Tagore, the song Jana Gana Mana was first sung on December 27, 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. On January 24, 1950, the Constituent Assembly adopted the song as the National Anthem of India.The complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza comprises the full version of the National Anthem.


TELUGU TRANSLATION

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka,jaya he
Bgarata-bhagya-vudgata
Punjab-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava shubha name jage
Tavashubha asish maange
Gaye tava jaya-gatha
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaja jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidata
Jaya he,jaya he, jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya,jaya he!!


ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Thou art the rulers of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India's destiny.
Thy name rouses the heart of
Punjab,Sind,Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and orisa and Bengal;
It echos in the hills of
the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of the Yamuna and Ganga
and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
Thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory,Victory,Victory to thee.

INDIA's NATIONAL EMBLEM

The National Emblem of India is a replica of the Lion of Sarnath, near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The Lion Capital was erected in the third century BC by Emperor Ashoka to mark the spot where Buddha first proclaimed his gospel of peace and emancipation to the four quarters of the universe. The National emblem is thus symbolic of contemporary India's reaffirmation of its ancient commitment to world peace and goodwill.

The four lions (one hidden from view) - symbolizing power, courage and confidence - rest on a circular abacus. The abacus is girded by four smaller animals - guardians of the four directions: the lion of the north, the elephant of the east, the horse of the south and the bull of the west. The abacus rests on a lotus in full bloom, exemplifying the fountainhead of life and creative inspiration. The motto 'Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below the emblem in Devanagari script means 'truth alone triumphs'.

INDIA's NATIONAL FLAG

The Indian flag was designed as a symbol of freedom. The late Prime Minister Nehru called it a flag not only of freedom for ourselves, but a symbol of freedom to all people.

The flag is a horizontal tricolour in equal proportion of deep saffron on the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is two is to three. In the centre of the white band, there is a wheel in navy blue to indicate the Dharma Chakra, the wheel of law in the Sarnath Lion Capital. Its diameter approximates the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes. The saffron stands for courage, sacrifice and the spirit of renunciation; the white, for purity and truth; the green for faith and fertility.