Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a renowned Indian philosopher and statesman, was born on September 5, 1888 in Tiruttani, Tamil Nadu. He was the first Vice-President of India (1952–1962) and, subsequently, the second President of India (1962–1967).
Radhakrishnan, born into a Telegu brahmin family of Tiruttani, was the son of Sitamma. His early years were spent in Tiruttani and Tirupati.
He graduated with a Master’s in Arts from Madras University. In partial fulfilment for his M.A. degree, Radhakrishnan wrote a thesis on the ethics of the Vedanta, titled, ‘The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions’.
In April 1909, he was appointed to the Department of Philosophy at Madras Presidency College. From then on, he was engaged in the serious study of Indian philosophy and religion, and was a teacher of Philosophy.
In 1918, he was appointed Professor of Philosophy, University of Mysore. Three years later, he was appointed to the most important philosophy chair in India, King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science in the University of Calcutta.
Radhakrishnan represented University of Calcutta at the Congress of the Universities of the British Empire in June 1926 and the International Congress of Philosophy at the Harvard University in September 1926. At the Philosophical Congress at Harvard, the lack of spiritual note in modern civilisation was the focus of his address.
In 1929, Radhakrishnan was invited to take the post vacated by Principal J. Estin Carpenter in Manchester College, Oxford. This gave him the opportunity to lecture to the students of Oxford on comparative religion. During that visit, he also gave the Hibbert Lectures on ‘An Idealist View of Life’ to audiences at the universities of London and Manchester.
From 1936-39, Radhakrishnan was the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford. In 1939, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy. From 1939-48, he was the Vice-Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University, India. He later held offices that dealt with India’s national and international affairs.
He was the leader of the Indian delegation to UNESCO during 1946-52. He was the Ambassador of India to USSR during 1949-52. He was Vice-President of India from 1952-1962 and the President, General Conference of UNESCO, from 1952-54. He held the office of Chancellor, University of Delhi, from 1953-62. From May 1962 to May 1967, he was the President of India.
Aldous Huxley observed that Dr Radhakrishnan “is the master of words and no words”.
Radhakrishnan was married to Sivakami, a distant cousin, in 1904 when 16 years of age. Sivakami died in 1956. They were married for over 51 years. The couple had five daughters and a son. Their son Sarvepalli Gopal is a notable historian.
Radhakrishnan received a Kinghthood (1931), the Bharat Ratna (1954) and the Order of Merit in1963. His birthday is celebrated as Teachers Day.
|