Ram Nath Kovind
Former President of India
Who is Ram Nath Kovind?
Ram Nath Kovind (Hindi: Rām Nāth Kovind, pronounced [ɾɑm nɑt̪ʰ koʋɪnd̪] ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. Kovind was born to Maiku Lal and Kalawati in a Koli family during the British Raj on, in Paraunkh village in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh, as the youngest of five brothers and two sisters. His father Maikulal ran a shop and was also a farmer and a local vaidya (doctor). His mother Kalawati was a homemaker. Kovind was born in a mud hut, which eventually collapsed. He was only five when his mother died of burns when their thatched dwelling caught fire. Prior to his presidency, he served as the Governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and as a Member of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh for two successive terms.
Prior to entering politics, he was a lawyer and he practised in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India until 1993. Kovind later donated the land to the community.
Historical significance
He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh as well as the first member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become the president of India.
