What made Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed stand out among the Presidents of India?

            Fakhruddin All Ahmed was the fifth President of India, in office from 1974 to1977. He had keen interest in many fields such as music, fine arts,  poetry and sports.

           He was the second President of India to die in office (on 11th February, 1977). Ahmed served as the President of India during the time of the Emergency.

          He met Jawaharlal Nehru in England in 1925. Inspired by Nehru, Fakhruddin All Ahmed joined the Indian National Congress, and actively participated in the freedom movement.

         He started Satyagraha on 14th December, 1940. In 1942, he was arrested for participating in the Quit India Movement, and was imprisoned for three and a half years.

He was elected to the Assam Assembly from 1957 to 1962, and again from 1962 to 1967. He remained the Minister of Finance, Revenue and Labour in the 1938 Gopinath Bordoloi Ministry.

          He joined the cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru at the Centre in January 1966. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971. In the central cabinet, he was given important portfolios relating to food and agriculture, cooperation, education, industrial development and company laws.

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