Happy Teacher's Day

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan’s birthday is designated as Teacher’s day in India - to appreciate the vital role that teachers play in shaping our future.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (September 5, 1882- April 17, 1975), first Vice-president and then the President of India from 1962 to 1967, was one of the greatest scholars of Indian and Western philosophies in recent times. He wrote several volumes on Indian philosophies and Vedanta, including commentaries on Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Brahm Sutras.

In 1962, when Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan began serving as the second president of India, it was suggested that his birthday be celebrated as ‘Radhakrishnan Day”. However, he declined this move and said that “Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as Teachers’ Day.”

Radhakrishnan was born in 1882 in a town called Tirutani in Andhra Pradesh. Though his father wanted him to take on the role of a priest, the boy’s talents brought him to join schools in Tirupati and Vellore. He eventually joined Christian College, Madras, in order to study philosophy.

He believed that the study of Indian philosophy and its interpretation in western terms would cast off inferiority complex and give his countrymen a new sense of esteem. As a professor at the Presidency College in Madras and the University of Calcutta, he was very popular among students and was seen as an evocative teacher.

He later served as the Vice Chancellor of both Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University and was recognized by Oxford University when he was called to fill the Chair of Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions. In 1939, he was elected ‘Fellow of the British Academy’.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once said “He has served his country in many capacities, but above all, he is a great teacher from whom all of us have learnt much and will continue to learn. It is India’s peculiar privilege to have a great philosopher, a great educationist and a great humanist as her President,”

Radhakrishnan was awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the ‘Bharat Ratna’, in 1984 and the British Order of Merit in 1963.

Despite all his achievements and contributions, Radhakrishnan remained a teacher throughout his life. Teachers’ Day is celebrated - not only to honor the memory of India’s first Vice President and then President – but also to commemorate the importance of teachers in our lives.