70 Years of Independence: From Rajendra Prasad to Rabindra Nath Tagore, India's 'FIRST' in every walk of life post indepenence

The nation is on the cusp of celebrating its 71 st Independence Day. As citizens, our chest swells with pride when we recount the remarkable achievements our country has over the last seven decades since independence. India’s rise to an Asian superpower has been a story of great strength resolve and will power of its countrymen who have endured and braved hardships and put the interest of the country as paramount.

More importantly, the country was fortunate to have the right kind of visionaries who lend their wisdom and foresight towards nation building. It would be very interesting to recall the 'very first' who occupied offices of high esteem and power, steering the ship of the nation. There have been exemplary citizens who became the first to achieve something notable in their respective areas of work, be it winning laurels for the country in the sporting arena or receiving the Nobel prize for their outstanding work in art, science or literature.

So here is an exhaustive list of those who were the first to occupy key Government offices and

President of Indian Republic: Dr. Rajendra Prasad

First Vice President of Indian Republic - Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

First Prime Minister – Jawaharlal Nehru

First Women Prime Minister – Indira Gandhi

First Governor-General of Indian Union - C Rajagopalachari

First Chief of Army Staff - Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja

First Air Chief Marshal -  Subroto Mukherjee

First Indian Naval Admiral - Ram Dass Katari

First Param Vir Chakra winner: Major Som Nath Sharma

First Chief Election Commissioner - Sukumar Sen

First Chief Justice of India – H C Kania

First Speaker - Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar

 

First Indian to go to space - Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma

First Indian women to go to space - Kalpana Chawla

First Indian to win an individual Olympic medal – Kashab Jadhav

First Indian to receive Bharat Ratna award - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C. V. Raman

First Indian to win Nobel Prize – Rabindra Nath Tagore

First Indian to win Gold medal at Olympics- Abhinav Bindra