Madhavi Gaur
September 11, 2023 03:00
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Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian leader known for his roles as a philosopher and politician. He served as India's second president from 1962 to 1967. Read more about his early life, education, awards and death in the article given below.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, hailing from India, was a multifaceted individual renowned as a scholar, politician, philosopher, and statesman. His significant contributions include serving as India’s inaugural Vice President and subsequently as its second President.
Throughout his lifetime and career, Radhakrishnan passionately engaged as a writer, dedicating his efforts to elucidating, defending, and disseminating his faith, which he identified variously as Hinduism, Vedanta, and the religion of the Spirit. His objective was to demonstrate that his version of Hinduism not only possessed philosophical rigor but also upheld ethical viability.
What sets Radhakrishnan apart is his remarkable ability to seamlessly navigate both Indian and Western philosophical contexts, skillfully incorporating insights from Western and Indian sources into his writings. Consequently, within academic circles, Radhakrishnan emerged as a symbol representing Hinduism to the Western world.
This biography of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan will delve into his early life, familial background, educational journey, career as an educator, political endeavors, and his eventual passing.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, in Tiruttani, which is now in Tamil Nadu, India. He came from a Telugu-speaking Niyogi Brahmin family. His father, Sarvepalli Veeraswami, worked as a revenue official for a local zamindar. His mother was named Sarvepalli Sita, and their family hailed from Sarvepalli village in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district. Radhakrishnan spent his early years in the towns of Thiruttani and Tirupati.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a prominent Indian philosopher, educator, and statesman, played a significant role in shaping India’s intellectual and educational landscape in the 20th century. He was born on September 5, 1888, in Tiruttani, which is now part of Tamil Nadu but was once part of British India’s Madras Presidency. Radhakrishnan became India’s first vice president in 1952 and held this position until 1962.
During his tenure as Vice President, he was known for his dignified and effective leadership. He was subsequently elected as the President of India and served from 1962 to 1967, where he emphasized the importance of culture and education.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is remembered as a visionary philosopher, a champion of education, and a statesman who represented India on the global stage. His efforts to promote the understanding of Indian philosophy and culture, both within India and abroad, continue to have a lasting impact. Although he passed away on April 17, 1975, his legacy continues to inspire generations of scholars, educators, and leaders in India and beyond.
Radhakrishnan’s academic journey was marked by excellence and scholarly pursuits. He commenced his primary education at Thiruttani’s K.V High School. In 1896, he continued his education at the Hermannsburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati and later at Walajapet’s Government High Secondary School.
For his high school education, he enrolled at Vellore’s Voorhees College. After completing his First of Arts class, he joined Madras Christian College, earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the same institution in 1906.
One of Radhakrishnan’s early academic achievements was his bachelor’s degree thesis, “The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions,” which he wrote in response to criticism that Vedanta lacked ethical foundations. This thesis garnered praise from his professors, Rev. William Meston and Dr. Alfred George Hogg, and was published when Radhakrishnan was just twenty years old.
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At the age of sixteen, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan married Sivakamu, who was a distant cousin. Their marital union spanned over fifty-one years, characterized by happiness and mutual support. The couple had six children, consisting of five daughters and one son. Notably, his son Sarvepalli Gopal became a renowned Indian historian and author, known for writing biographies of both his father and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Radhakrishnan’s academic journey was marked by numerous significant milestones. He began his career as a professor, initially at the Madras Presidency College’s Department of Philosophy in April 1909. Later, in 1918, he assumed the role of Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mysore, where he taught at Maharaja’s College.
During this period, he contributed scholarly articles to prestigious journals like The Quest, Journal of Philosophy, and the International Journal of Ethics. His first book, “Rabindranath Tagore’s Philosophy,” was published during this phase, in which he asserted that Tagore’s philosophy epitomized the genuine expression of the Indian spirit.
In 1921, Radhakrishnan was appointed as a professor of philosophy at the University of Calcutta, where he held the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science. His academic pursuits also led him to international platforms, where he represented the University of Calcutta at the British Empire Universities Congress in June 1926 and attended the International Congress of Philosophy at Harvard University in September 1926.
One of his notable lectures during this period was the Hibbert Lecture on the Ideals of Life, delivered at Manchester College, Oxford, in 1929. It was later published as “An Idealist View of Life” in book form. In 1931, he was invited to Manchester College to fill a vacancy left by Principal J. Estlin Carpenter, which afforded him the opportunity to deliver a Comparative Religion lecture to University of Oxford students.
In recognition of his contributions to education, Radhakrishnan was knighted by King George V in 1931. He continued to serve in various academic roles, including Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. In 1936, he was elected as a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and appointed as the Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford.
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Radhakrishnan’s political involvement expanded in the years following India’s independence. From 1946 to 1951, he served as a member of UNESCO’s Executive Board and headed the Indian delegation. He also became a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly during this period.
Balancing his academic commitments with his roles in UNESCO and the Constituent Assembly, Radhakrishnan took on new challenges. In 1949, he was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Moscow by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a position he held until 1952. His election to the Rajya Sabha allowed him to translate his philosophical and political beliefs into action.
In 1952, Radhakrishnan was elected as India’s first Vice-President, and in 1962, he assumed the role of the country’s second President. His presidency was marked by a focus on world peace and universal fellowship, prompted by global crises like the Korean War and hostilities between India and Pakistan.
He questioned the effectiveness of international organizations like the League of Nations and advocated for a new form of internationalism grounded in metaphysical foundations to foster mutual understanding and tolerance among cultures and nations.
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Radhakrishnan’s intellectual contributions bridged Eastern and Western thought. He defended Hinduism against uninformed Western criticism while integrating Western philosophical and religious ideas.
As a prominent spokesman for Neo-Vedanta, his metaphysics drew from Advaita Vedanta but was reinterpreted for a modern audience. Radhakrishnan acknowledged the truth and diversity of human nature, grounded in and endorsed by the absolute, or Brahman. He viewed theology and creeds as intellectual formulations and symbols of religious experience or intuitions.
Radhakrishnan categorized religions based on their interpretation of religious experience, with Advaita Vedanta occupying the highest position due to its reliance on intuition. He considered Vedanta the highest form of religion, as it provided direct intuitive experience and inner realization.
Radhakrishnan’s wife, Sivakamu, passed away on November 26, 1956, and he remained a widower until his own passing. In 1967, he retired from public life and spent his final eight years in the house he designed in Mylapore, Madras. On April 17, 1975, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan passed away, leaving behind a lasting legacy of scholarship, philosophy, and political leadership.
Throughout his life, Radhakrishnan received numerous awards and honors for his exceptional contributions:
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