10 lines on dr sarvepalli radhakrishnan in english

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a great Indian philosopher, a patriotic politician and a statesman who had dedicated much of his life to enriching Indian education and Indian philosophy. He was born on 5th September 1888 at Tiruttani in Tamil Nadu although his family belonged to the Telugu-speaking Brahmin community. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s father was a subordinate revenue clerk Sarvepalli Veeraswami while his mother’s name was Seethamma. He was born second of the three children in his family and got married to his wife Sivakamu at the age of 16 and they have 6 issues.

Education and Academic Career

Radhakrishnan studied at K. V. High School in Tiruttani and Hermannsburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission School, Studied B. A and M.A. at Madras Christian College in the year 1906. In his early academic writings, he directed some of his academic attention to defending Indian philosophy especially Vedanta against critics concerning their ethical structure.

He started teaching at Madras Presidency College in the year 1909 and was a professor at the University of Mysore and the University of Calcutta. As the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford, Radhakrishnan contributed towards putting Indian philosophy on the map of the Western world.

Political Career

However, it may be noted that Radhakrishnan entered politics relatively late in his age. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru chose him as the First Vice President of India in August 1952 and he held this post until May 1962. In the same year, he was elected as the Second President of India and continued to hold this office till May 1967. In his presidency, he paid a lot of attention to education and culture with the voice and the spirit of democracy and Indian philosophy on the world stage.

Dr. Radhakrishnan died on April 17th, 1975 but his memories live through his works, especially in education. Holding the value and ideal of a teacher and belief in the potential of education, his birthday, the 5th of September is recognized as Teachers’ Day in India. Recalled as a philosopher who sought to synthesize both the Indian and Western philosophies and significantly impacted comparative religion and ethics.

There are a good number of presidents who are former teachers or professors in India but to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the former President of India, September 5 is designated as Teachers’ Day in India to pay respect to him as well as to teach appreciation for the teaching profession. This tradition started in the year 1962 when he was elected as the President of the Indian Republic. 

Students and friends persuaded Radhakrishnan to accept the gift of celebrating his birthday but he proposed that instead of his birthday being celebrated in that manner, it be used to celebrate the Teachers’ day for all teachers in the entire country.

According to Radhakrishnan, the teachers are one of the most important people and they have great responsibility and opportunities to build up the society and mold the students. Teachers’ Day was also because of his hardworking humility to institute the day during which students can show appreciation to their teachers. Since then, September 5 has been a day people celebrate educators and what they do for society.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's contributions as an educator, philosopher, and statesman continue to inspire generations. His emphasis on the value of teachers is celebrated annually on Teachers' Day, honouring his vision of education’s role in society. His life remains a testament to the power of knowledge and cultural synthesis.