Teachers' Day 2023: Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was India's India's second President.
Teachers' Day 2023: Teachers' Day celebrated on September 5 in India every year marks the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Born on September 5, 1888, in Tiruttani, Tamil Nadu, Dr Radhakrishnan was India's second President and first Vice President. He was also a scholar, philosopher, and Bharat Ratna awardee.
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But why is Dr Radhakrishnan's birth anniversary celebrated as Teachers' Day in India? Well, when he took charge as the President of India in 1962, some students sought permission from him to celebrate his birthday. Dr Radhakrishnan, however, did not approve of any fancy celebration but rather requested that the day be observed as Teachers' Day.
Since then, September 5 has been celebrated as Teachers' Day across the country. Various cultural programmes are organised in schools and other educational institutions to mark the day.
Dr Radhakrishnan wanted to acknowledge the contribution of teachers in society.
Dr Radhakrishnan always encouraged the youth to grow and step forward in shaping the world with the power of education.
"Teachers should be the best minds in the country" is what the former President believed.
Dr Radhakrishnan was born into a Telugu family in Tiruttani town. He was an ace student and received various scholarships throughout his life and he studied in schools at Tirupati and then in Vellore.
Dr Radhakrishnan studied philosophy at the Christian College, Madras. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers in the history of India to date. He held the post of Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936, followed by Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1939.
Some of his notable works are Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, Reign of Religion in Contemporary Philosophy, The Hindu View of Life, An Idealist View of Life, Kalki or the Future of Civilisation, The Religion We Need, Gautama the Buddha, India and China, and several others.