Teachers' Day 2018: A day to Commemorate Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Teachers' Day is here again and schools, colleges, and other educational institutions are galore with celebrations. Celebrated on the 5th of September every year, Teachers' day is one of the rarest occasions that allows students to express their gratitude towards their teacher.

Teachers' Day is celebrated annually across the educational institutions of the country to honor Indian philosopher and statesman and the first Vice president of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Born in a Telugu family of Andhra Pradesh, he inherited his surname from his forefathers who hailed from Sarvepalli village located in Nellore district.

A teacher, author, philosopher, and politician, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan served as the first Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962 and the second president of India from 1962 to 1967.

He finished a Master's qualification in Philosophy in 1906 from Madras Christian College. In 1909, Radhakrishnan joined Department of Philosophy at the Madras Presidency College and later joined as a teacher of Philosophy at Maharaja's College, University of Mysore. He was also the Vice-chancellor of Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University.

Teachers' Day and Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

It is said that after Dr. Radhakrishnan became the President of India, some of his students wanted to celebrate his birthday, but he instead asked them to celebrate September 5 as Teachers' Day and since then, this day has been celebrated as Teachers' Day.

Dr. Radhakrishnan was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954. Even during the British regime, he was given knighthood in 1931 and privileged participation of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.