DR. SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN : the father of Teachers Day । Dr. sarvepalli radhakrishnan biography । dr. sarvepalli radhakrishnan essay

 DR. SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN : the father of Teachers Day

 

Introduction :- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the first Vice President of India, who also became the second President of India. But, his academic achievements were more commendable than his political success.

Childhood :-  Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born to Sarvepalli Veeraswami and Sitamma on 5th September 1888. He was born in a native Telugu speaking Brahmin community in the town of Thiruttani, then in Madras presidency.Father of Dr. Radhakrishnan worked for a local landlord as a revenue officer. He completed his primary education from Thiruttani Kendriya Vidyalaya. Later he moved on to study in Hermannsburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati and Government High Secondary School, Walajapet.

Political Career :-  Dr. Radhakrishnan had an excellent academic career and he taught in a number of prestigious institutes and also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Andhra University.The political career of Dr. Radhakrishnan started late, around the age of 43 years. In 1931, he was nominated to the Committee for Intellectual Cooperation which was an advisory organization for the League of Nations. Its main objective was to promote international exchanges between scientists, researchers, teachers, and intellectuals. This gave him international recognition as a representative of Hindu ideas and philosophy. After India gained independence, he was sent as India’s representative to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) from 1946-1952 and later as the Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952.His excellent academic record and stint at the UNESCO and Russia got him elected to the Constituent Assembly of India. In 1952, he was elected as the Vice President of India and later he also served as the second President of India from 1962 to 1967.

Awards and Memorial :- Besides Bharat Ratna, he also won many awards throughout his life. He won the Templeton award which he donated to Oxford University. Furthermore, he also won the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. In order to pay him honor forever, the university started Radhakrishnan Scholarship which they later renamed as Radhakrishnan Chevening Scholarship. 

An Advocate of Hindu Philosophy :- Dr. Radhakrishnan played a vital role in the spread of the true meaning of Hindu philosophy to the western world. There was a lot of misconception about Hindu religious philosophy and the Indian way of life; Dr. Radhakrishnan was the only renowned Indian face in the international community who did a lot to clear this doubt and misconception. He was highly successful in defending Indian philosophy on a global platform. Many of his writings have placed the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta at a dominating position in the world. The world began to understand the philosophy of Vedanta and Hinduism, due to the works of Dr. Radhakrishnan. Dr. Radhakrishnan functioned as a global representative of Hindu philosophy and tradition. Western society began to recognize Hinduism as a spiritual concept. Many world philosophers have highly regarded Dr. Radhakrishnan for acting as a bridge between the West and East. In truth, Dr. Radhakrishnan had an excellent knowledge of both Indian as well as western traditions and philosophy, which has played a vital role in his acting as a bridge between the two worlds. His excellent knowledge of both western and eastern world philosophies had made him feel at home even in the western world. For this reason, he had always held as the representative of Hindu philosophy to the rest of the world.

Conclusion :- To sum it up we can say that, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a great man who loved to teach. For his efforts in teaching, we celebrate his birthday as Teacher’s Day in India. Besides, he was a great teacher, philosopher, and author.