In memoriam: Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Born on October 27, 1920 at the little village of Uzhavoor in Kottayam, Kerala, K R Narayanan was the only Dalit - as well as the only Malayali -- to have been President. He took over the task from Dr Shankar Sharma on July 25, 1997 and handed the reins to his successor, Dr Abdul Kalam, on July 25, 2002.
The fourth of seven children, he was born to a practitioner of traditional Indian medicine. Interestingly, though his date of birth was February 4, 1921, his uncle chose October 20 arbitrarily for the school records simply because he didn't know the actual date.
As a schoolboy, Narayanan was often unable to pay his fees. His elder brother -- confined to the home on account of asthma -- would borrow books from other students, copy and give them to Narayanan. After studying at St. Mary's High School in Kuravilangad and completing his intermediate at C M S College, Kottayam, Narayanan obtained his Masters in English literature from the University of Travancore. He stood first, becoming the first Dalit to obtain the degree with a first class there.
Image: K. R. Narayanan's house Uzhavoor in Kottayam and the school in which he studied.
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