“The end-product of education should be a free creative man, who can battle against historical circumstances and adversities of nature. ”
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975) was an Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President of India (1952–1962) and the second President of India from 1962 to 1967.
One of India's most distinguished twentieth-century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, his academic appointments included the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta (1921–1932) and Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford (1936–1952).
Radhakrishnan was awarded several high awards during his life, including a knighthood in 1931, the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in 1954, and honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963. Radhakrishnan believed that "teachers should be the best minds in the country". Since 1962, his birthday is celebrated in India as Teachers' Day on 5 September.
Awards and honors
- 1931: appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1931,although he ceased to use the title "Sir" after India attained independence.
- 1938: elected Fellow of the British Academy.
- 1954: The Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India.
- 1954: German "Order pour le Merite for Arts and Science"
- 1961: the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
- 1962: Institution of Teacher's Day in India, yearly celebrated at 5 September, Radhakrishnan's birthday, in honor of Radhakrishnan's belief that "teachers should be the best minds in the country".
- 1963: the British Order of Merit.
- 1968: Sahitya Akademi fellowship, The highest honor conferred by the Sahitya Akademi on a writer (he is the first person to get this award)
- 1975: the Templeton Prize in 1975, a few months before his death, for advocating non-aggression and conveying "a universal reality of God that embraced love and wisdom for all people." He donated the entire amount of the Templeton Prize to Oxford University.
- 1989: institution of the Radhakrishnan Scholarships by Oxford University in the memory of Radhakrishnan. The scholarships were later renamed the "Radhakrishnan Chevening Scholarships".
- He was nominated fifteen times for the Nobel prize in literature, and eleven times for the Nobel Peace prize.