Which of the following Presidents of India received the Bharat Ratna award before assuming the office of the President of India?

Introduction / Context:
The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of India, conferred for exceptional service in any field of human endeavour. Some individuals who received this honour later went on to occupy high constitutional offices, including that of the President. This question asks which President of India had already been awarded the Bharat Ratna before becoming President. This tests the aspirant's awareness of important personalities and the timeline of their awards and offices, which is a common theme in general knowledge and Indian Polity sections.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The focus is on Presidents of India who are also Bharat Ratna awardees.
• The question specifically asks for a case where the award preceded the presidency.
• Four Presidents are listed as options, all historically real office holders.
• The task is to match the correct timeline between award and office.

Concept / Approach:
Among the Presidents listed, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a renowned philosopher, scholar, and statesman. He served as the first Vice President of India and later as the second President. He was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 1954 for his contributions to education and philosophy, well before he became President in 1962. In contrast, Dr. Rajendra Prasad received the Bharat Ratna after his presidential tenure, and the other names listed either did not receive the award or did so in a different sequence. The correct approach is to recall the specific year of the Bharat Ratna for Radhakrishnan and compare it to the years of his presidency.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Step 1: Recall that Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was awarded the Bharat Ratna in the mid nineteen fifties for his scholarly contributions. Step 2: Remember that he became President of India later, from 1962 to 1967. Step 3: Recognise that Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President, received the Bharat Ratna at the end of his public life and that the award followed his presidency, not the other way around. Step 4: Note that V. V. Giri and Fakruddin Ali Ahmed are not typically listed among Bharat Ratna awardees in standard exam summaries. Step 5: Therefore identify Dr. S. Radhakrishnan as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick cross check can be done by listing Presidents who received the Bharat Ratna and checking the sequence. Dr. Rajendra Prasad received it after demitting office. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan had already been honoured by 1954 before his presidency. Dr. Zakir Husain and some later Presidents do not appear in Bharat Ratna lists in the same way, while more recent awardees like Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Pranab Mukherjee received the award either before or after their terms but are not among the options here. This timeline based verification supports the choice of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan as the only option that fits the condition given in the question.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Dr. Rajendra Prasad: Although he did receive the Bharat Ratna, it was conferred after his tenure as President and therefore does not satisfy the phrase before becoming President. V. V. Giri: He is remembered as a trade union leader and President, but he is not generally listed among Bharat Ratna recipients in standard competitive exam references. Fakruddin Ali Ahmed: He also served as President, yet there is no widely recognised record of him being a Bharat Ratna awardee. These options therefore do not meet the chronological requirement stated in the question.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes assume that all early Presidents received the Bharat Ratna either before or after office and answer based on guesswork. Another common confusion comes from mixing up dates and not clearly remembering when Radhakrishnan was honoured. To avoid this, aspirants should learn a short list of Bharat Ratna awardees and mark those who also held high offices along with the rough sequence of events. This small investment of effort makes similar questions about awards and offices easy to answer under exam conditions.

Final Answer:
The President of India who received the Bharat Ratna before assuming the presidency was Dr. S. Radhakrishnan.