India’s second President never held elected office before becoming Vice President — he was a philosophy professor. This article covers Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s life and presidency.
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Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
A philosophy professor’s path to India’s highest office, with no elected post along the way
1936
Becomes Spalding Professor at Oxford
The first person to hold the chair, introducing Indian philosophy to a Western academic audience.
1949
Appointed Ambassador to the USSR
Chosen purely on academic standing, with no background in electoral politics.
1962
Becomes 2nd President
His birthday, 5 September, is later marked as Teachers’ Day in his honour.
An Academic’s Path
Radhakrishnan’s route to the Presidency ran entirely through scholarship and diplomacy, not party politics — unusual before or since for India’s highest constitutional office.
Must Know
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was India’s second President, serving from 1962 to 1967. He had served as Vice President immediately before that, from 1952.
- Born on 5 September 1888, he was a renowned philosopher. He taught at Mysore and Calcutta, and later became a professor at Oxford University.
- His birthday, 5 September, is celebrated in India as Teachers’ Day, in his honour.
- He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954, while still serving as Vice President.
Good to Know
- At Oxford, he held the Spalding Professorship of Eastern Religions and Ethics, helping introduce Indian philosophy to a Western academic audience.
- Before entering government service, he had no background in electoral politics. He was appointed India’s ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1949, based purely on his academic standing.
- He wrote extensively on comparative religion and philosophy, aiming to explain Hindu thought in terms Western readers could follow.
- He died on 17 April 1975, having remained a respected public intellectual well after leaving office.
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Great to Know
- Radhakrishnan’s path to the presidency ran entirely through scholarship and diplomacy, not party politics — an unusual route, before or since, to India’s highest constitutional office.
- Celebrating his birthday as Teachers’ Day reflects how strongly his public image stayed tied to his academic identity, even after a decade in the country’s two highest offices.
- His appointment as ambassador, then Vice President, then President, shows how early India’s leadership sometimes drew directly on international intellectual reputation, not just domestic political standing.
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