Question

contribution of sarvepalli radhakrishnan's towards indian education

Answer 1

Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan was a renowned Indian philosopher, statesman, professor, writer and educationist who brought India many laurels. This great spiritual soul has left such an indelible mark that it will remain as an eternal beacon of light for many generations to come.  The feathers in his cap are many. He was the first Vice-President of India from 1952 to 1962, honoured the chair of the President of India from 1962 to 1967 as the second President.

His contributions to Indian education are many! He not only brought laurels to the nation by occupying various prestigious posts across the world, but also spread the Indian ideology and philosophy in the world. He had an outstanding academic career and held many prestigious positions in various premier contemporary institutes. In April 1909 he taught philosophy at Madrass Presidency College. In 1918 he was appointed as Professor of Philosophy at University of Mysore. In 1921 he worked as a Professor of philosophy at University of Calcutta. Much honour came his way when he was invited to take the post vacated by by Principal J. Estlin Carpenter at Harris Manchester College. For his contributions to education he was knighted by George V in 1931. He also graced the chair of the the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. In 1936 Radhakrishnan was named Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford, and was elected a Fellow of All Souls College. That same year, and again in 1937, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.  He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1948.

S. Radhakrishnan was a prolific writer also. He wrote many articles for journals of repute like The Quest, Journal of Philosophy and the International Journal of Ethics. ‘The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore’, ‘The Principles of Upnishads’, and ‘The Reign of Religion in Contemporary Philosophy’ are a few of the famous books written by him.

After he became the President of India, many of his students wanted to celebrate his birthday on 5th September as a big event. This humble man appealed to them to celebrate his birthday as Teachers’ Day. Hence, September 5 is celebrated as Teachers Day in India and other parts of the world.