Remembering Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on Teacher’s Day

Chandigarh: Each year the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of India, is celebrated as Teacher’s Day. Dr Radhkrishanan was a distinguished academic, philosopher, and scholar known for his work on comparative religion and the philosophical thought associated with it. Before being appointed as the first Vice-President of India in 1952, Dr Krishnan served as the Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mysore and then held the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the Calcutta University. Perhaps, his most notable term as a teacher was with Oxford University where he was the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics from 1936 to 1952.
How did Dr Radhakrishnan’s birthday come to be celebrated as the Teacher’s Day? It has an interesting story attached to it. By the time Dr Radhakrishnan was elected as the President of India he had already gained a formidable reputation in his field. His students, friends and admirers were present across the length and breadth of the country. One day a group of his former students expressed their desire to celebrate his birthday on September 5. To this he replied, “Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if September 5th is observed as Teachers’ Day.” His wish was carried out religiously and since 1962 September 5 is dedicated every year to the Teachers in India.
Dr Radhakrishnan was born in Sarvepalli village in the erstwhile Madras Presidency on 5 September 1888. He was a bright student throughout his career, winning scholarships whenever the opportunity presented itself. He graduated from the Madras Christian College with a Master’s degree in Philosophy in 1906. Studying philosophy was not an outright choice of Dr Radhakrishnan. He chose the subject, in which he excelled later, on account of financial constraints. He didn’t have money to buy books. It so happened that one of his cousins graduated in Philosophy from the same college and passed on his Philosophy books to Dr Radhakrishnan. Since he did not have money to buy books, Dr Radhakrishnan found it best to take the subject under the circumstances.
He was awarded a number of prizes throughput his life. He was one of the select academics to be knighted in 1931. He received the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India, in 1954. He was chosen as an honorary member of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.
He remained a humble, down-to-earth individual throughout his life. He firmly believed that teaching as profession was one of the noblest and “teachers should be the best minds in the country.” Dr Radhakrishnan breathed his last on April 17, 1975, leaving an everlasting imprint on the sands of time, a standard worthy of emulation for every teacher across the globe.