“A working president...working within the four corners of the Constitution,” was how KR Narayanan once described himself. Narayanan, who served as the 10th president of India from 1997-2002, was also not particularly enthused at being labelled the “first Dalit president”. As he himself once said, “It used to disturb me because the Dalit aspect was not predominant in the mind of people who supported me during the process of the elections.” His discomfort was not rooted in denialism as much as dissuading citizens from getting carried away by symbolism alone. The highest office of the land demanded an incumbent who...