K. R. Narayanan

While Narayanan was posted in Burma during his IFS days, he met an activist named Ma Tint Tint and they got married on 8 June 1951. She became an Indian citizen and adopted the name Usha. The couple had two daughters together.

K.R. Narayanan died on 9 November 2005, at the age of 85, due to pneumonia and renal failure.

K.R. Narayanan was born on October 27, 1920 in Travancore, Kerala to Kocheril Raman Vaidyar and Punnaththuraveettil Paappiyamma. He was born into a very poor Dalit family and was the fourth among the seven siblings. His family suffered the backlash of the prevalent caste system of those times.

He received his early education from Government Lower Primary School, Kurichithanam and later got enrolled at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School at Uzhavoor, in 1931.

He did his B.A. and M.A.’ in English Literature from the University of Travancore (presently known as the University of Kerala), in 1943. He topped the university and became the first Dalit to pass his degree with first class in Travancore.

After finishing his studies, he went to Delhi to pursue a career as a journalist. He worked for the famous newspapers like, The Hindu and The Times of India from 1944-45. He even managed to get Mahatma Gandhi’s interview during this time.

Narayanan wanted to go to England to pursue higher studies but he had a major financial constraint for which he approached J.R.D. Tata. J.R.D. gave him a scholarship, as a result of which Narayanan went to England in 1945 and studied Economics and Political Science at the London School of Economics (LSE).

He completed his B. Sc. (Economics) honors degree with specialization in Political Science in 1948 and returned to India. Harold Laski, the renowned political theorist and economist was Narayanan’s professor at LSE. Laski gave Narayanan a letter of introduction to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

After his return to India, Narayanan met Nehru and was offered a job in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). Narayanan joined IFS in 1949.

During his service in IFS, Narayanan worked as a diplomat in Rangoon, Tokyo, London, Canberra, and Hanoi. He also served as India's ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, and the People's Republic of China. He retired from IFS in 1978.

As a diplomat, he served as India's ambassador to China and the United States. In both the tenures, he played a key role in improving India's relations with China and the United States, respectively.

As a President, he brought a new dignity to the office. He was not a "rubber stamp" president and judiciously exercised the discretionary powers vested in the office of the President. He explained to the nation about his decisions, and brought openness and transparency in the functioning of the President.