Interesting Facts about Vice Presidents of India
Vice Presidents of India stand at the second-highest level of authority as per the order of Precedence of the Government of India. Vice Presidents are just followed by the President of India who comes at the highest level of constitutional hierarchy. Vice President holds office for a period of 5 years from the date on which he enters his office. Vice Presidents are eligible for re-election. Vice President’s term can be cut short if he resigns or he is removed from Rajya Sabha through a resolution passed by a two-thirds majority of its members and likewise agreed by Lok Sabha.
The Vice President acts as ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha. Vice President presides the meetings of Rajya Sabha and all bills, resolutions, motions or questions can be taken up after his consent. In case the office of President is vacant due to unavailability, death, resignation, or removal of President, then Vice President discharges the duty of President. In case of unavailability of President, the Vice President can act as President for a maximum of 6 months of time. Vice President is also elected indirectly by an electoral college consisting of both house members. The monthly salary of the Vice President of India is Rs 1,25,000 along with other different perks and allowances. He is also entitled to receive a pension which is equal to 50 % of his monthly salary.
Some Interesting Facts about Vice Presidents of India
- The first Vice President of India was Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He served twice as the Vice President of India from the year 1952 to 1962. He was elected first in the year 1952 and then after serving the first term, got elected again in 1957.
- After serving two terms as Vice President, S Radhakrishnan was elected as the President of India in the year 1962. S Radhakrishnan was the first person who worked both as Vice President of India and President of India.
- From starting of the first Lok Sabha in the year 1952, a total of 12 Vice Presidents of India has served so far (till 2016) including Mohammad Hamid Ansari.
- 7 Vice Presidents were elevated and elected for the post of President of India. The remaining six Vice Presidents are – Gopal Swaroop Pathak, B D Jatti, Mohammad Hidayatullah, Krishan Kant, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, and Hamid Ansari.
- There are only two Vice Presidents of India who served twice (for consecutive two terms) are – S Radhakrishnan and Hamid Ansari. Hamid Ansari first served as Vice President of India from 2007 to 2012 and then from 2012 to date (the year 2016).
- The Vice President of India (later became President also) is known as a great thinker, scholar, philosopher, and known for his profound knowledge of Hindu Culture who also represented India at UNESCO – S Radhakrishnan.
- There are two Vice Presidents of India who were bureaucrats and not politicians by career. Both of them started their career in IFS (Indian Foreign Services). These two Vice Presidents are – K. R. Narayanan and Hamid Ansari.
- The only Vice President of India who married a foreign national – K R Narayanan. While he was working as IFS Officer, he married Ma Tint Tint, a Burmese national. She changed her name to Usha Narayanan later.
- The only Vice President who worked earlier as Chief Minister of a state, Cabinet minister, and also served as President of the Indian National Congress – Shankar Dayal Sharma.
- The only Vice President who belonged to BJP – Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
- Vice Presidents of India who belonged to Congress – V V Giri, B D Jatti, Shankar Dayal Sharma, R Venkatraman, Krishan Kant.
- Vice Presidents of India who didn’t belong to any political party – S Radhakrishnan, Mohammad Hidayatullah, Gopal Swarup Pathak, and Zakir Hussain.
- Vice Presidents of India who were lawyers by profession – Gopal Swarup Pathak, Mohammad Hidayatullah, R Venkatraman.
- The only Vice President (later became President) who was a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution – R Venkatraman.
- Vice President of India who was co-founder of Jamia Milia Islamia, a national Muslim University – Zakir Hussain. Zakir Hussain also served as Vice-Chancellor of AMU (Aligarh Muslim University).
- The only Vice President who fought the election for the post of President but lost – Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. He fought the election for President against Pratibha Patil.
Vice Presidents of India
| Vice President | Term | Birth – Death | Birth Place | Details |
| S Radhakrishnan | 1952-62 | 1888 -1975 | Thiruttani, Madras Presidency | Great scholar, thinker, philosopher. Worked as 2nd Vice President of India. Awarded with Bharat Ratna and British Order of Merit. His birthday is celebrated as Teachers Day. |
| Zakir Hussain | 1962-67 | 1897-1969 | Hyderabad | He was one of the founding members of Jamia Milia Islamia of Delhi. Also served as Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. Later became 3rd President of India and was the first Muslim President of India. Awarded Bharat Ratna in 1963. |
| V V Giri | 1967-69 | 1894-1980 | Berhampur, Madras Presidency | Served as minister of Labour in 1st Lok Sabha. Also worked as Governor of Karnataka, Kerala, and UP. Worked as Acting President and then later as full-fledged President of India. |
| Gopal Swarup Pathak | 1969-74 | 1896-1982 | Bareilly, United Provinces | Worked as a judge in Allahabad High Court. Also worked as Union Minister of Law in the 4th Nehru regime. Later worked as Governor of Mysore state. |
| B D Jatti | 1974-79 | 1913-2002 | Bagalkot, Bombay Presidency | Belonged to the humble Kannada Lingayat family. Started his career as a municipality member and later served as Chief Minister of Mysore state, Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry, and Governor of Odisha. Also worked as Acting President of India for a brief time. |
| Md Hidayatullah | 1979-84 | 1905-1992 | Lucknow, United Provinces | Started his career as a lawyer in Central Provinces at Nagpur. Later became Chief Justice of Nagpur High Court (Central Provinces). After independence, he became Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh state and rose to the post of Chief Justice of India. Also worked as Acting President of India for short period. |
| R Venkatraman | 1984-87 | 1910-2009 | Rajamadam, Madras Presidency | He started his career as a lawyer in Madras High Court and later in the Supreme Court of India. He also served as Finance Minister and then Defence Minister in the 2nd term Indira Gandhi government. Later served as 8th President of India. |
| S D Sharma | 1987-92 | 1918-1999 | Bhopal, Central Provinces | Joined Congress party and fought for freedom against the British. Served as President of Congress party in 1972. Served on various constitutional posts like Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Maharashtra. Later became the 9th President of India. |
| K R Narayanan | 1992-97 | 1920-2005 | Uzhavoor, Kerala | Started his career in IFS and worked as an ambassador for different countries like Japan, China, Turkey, the US, etc. Later he entered politics and worked as Cabinet minister under Rajiv Gandhi government. He also served as 10th President of India. |
| Krishan Kant | 1997-2002 | 1927-2002 | Kot Md Khan, Punjab | He was a freedom fighter who participated in Quit India Movement. He held many important positions working with congress like Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Governor of Tamil Nadu. He worked as the 10th Vice President of India. |
| Bhairon Singh Shekhawat | 2002-07 | 1923-2010 | Sikar, Rajasthan | He was an active member of BJP and served as Chief Minister of Rajasthan for three times. He became the 11th Vice President of India. |
| Md. Hamid Ansari | 2007- 2017 | 1937-living | Calcutta, W Bengal | Although he was born in Calcutta, his family and parents belong to Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. During his election for Vice President for the first term, he defeated Nazma Heptullah and then defeated Jaswant Singh during 2nd term election. He is currently serving as 12th Vice President of India. |
| M. Venkaiah Naidu | 11 Aug 2017 | 1949-living | Nellore district of the then Madras province (now in Andhra Pradesh) | He is a seasoned politician with more than 35 years of political experience on different government portfolios. He defeated his opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi supported by UPA to become 13th Vice President of India. |
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