Context
- September 5th is celebrated as Teachers’ Day in India. The day commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
About Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- Birth:
- Born on September 5, 1888, he served as 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967 and 1st Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962.
- He was born in a Telugu Brahmin family.
- He was also a renowned scholar, philosopher, and Bharat Ratna awardee.
- Literary Works
- Radhakrishnan’s philosophy was grounded in Advaita Vedanta.
- He also authored the book ‘The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore’ in 1917.
- His other works include Indian Philosophy, (1923-27), The Philosophy of the Upanishads (1924), An Idealist View of Life (1932), Eastern Religions and Western Thought (1939), and East and West: Some Reflections (1955).
- Awards and Honours:
- He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 1954.
- He received a knighthood in 1931 and honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.
- He was elected chairman of UNESCO’s executive board in 1948.
- Contributions to the Society:
- He was one of the founders of Helpage India, a renowned NGO for elderly underprivileged in India.
- He was the first Indian to hold a chair at the University of Oxford – the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics (1936-1952).
- He defended Hinduism against “uninformed Western criticism” and played a major role in the formation of contemporary Hindu identity.
Source: FE
