Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, at the pilgrim town of Tiruttani near Chennai.
He was the second son of a poor couple. It is said that his father did not want his son to learn English, and wanted him to be a priest instead. However, the boy was so talented that his parents decided to send him to a school run by German Missionaries at Tirupati.
He went on to study philosophy at the Christian College, Madras and got a Master’s Degree in Arts.
In 1929, Radhakrishnan was invited to take the post vacated by Principal in Manchester College, Oxford. This gave him the opportunity to lecture to the students of University of Oxford on Comparative Religion.
In 1936, Radhakrishnan was named the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford, a post which he held until he was named the first Vice President of India in 1952.
Radhakrishnan is the great Guru of all times. He is a multi-faceted personality—an eminent educationist, an interpreter of religions, a philosopher, a cultural ambassador, a biographer and above all a universal man who relentlessly propagated the ideal, ‘the whole world is a family’. In all these vocations, he continued to lead his brethren towards wisdom. As an educationist, he considered education as not a mere passport to get a job or social superiority.
After 1946, his philosophical career was cut short when his country needed him as ambassador to UNESCO and later to Moscow. He was later to become the first Vice-President and finally the President (1962-1967) of India.
When he became the President of India in 1962, some of his students and friends requested him to allow them to celebrate his birthday, September 5.
He replied, “Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as ‘Teacher’s Day’. Since then, Teacher’s Day is celebrated in India.
He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954. The University of Oxford instituted the Radha-krishnan Chevening Scholarships and the Radhakrishnan Memorial Award in his memory.
He breathed his last on 17 April, 1975. He was the first dignitary to be awarded Bharat Ratna in 1954.
