Every year, India celebrates National Teachers' Day on September 5th in honour of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birth anniversary, recognizing his immense contributions and achievements. Born on September 5, 1888, Dr. Radhakrishnan served as the President of India and was a distinguished scholar, philosopher, and Bharat Ratna awardee.
Hailing from a poor Telugu Brahmin family, Dr Radhakrishnan completed his entire education through scholarships. He earned a master's degree in Philosophy and published the book 'The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore' in 1917. He also served as Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936 and later became Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1939, succeeding Madan Mohan Malviya.
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Throughout his life, Dr Radhakrishnan was a brilliant student and a beloved teacher. In 1962, while serving as India's second President, his students approached him to celebrate his birthday as a special day. However, Dr. Radhakrishnan requested that September 5th be observed as Teachers' Day to recognize the invaluable contributions of teachers to society.
Despite his numerous accomplishments, Dr Radhakrishnan always considered himself a teacher. Teachers' Day is celebrated in his memory to honour India's first Vice President and acknowledge teachers' crucial role in our lives.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once remarked about Dr Radhakrishnan, "He has served his country in many capacities. But above all, he is a great teacher from whom we have learned 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 our President."
