Teachers Day
Teachers' Day is celebrated on the 5th of September, the birth anniversary
of my pre-eminent predecessor, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was one
of the great scholars and philosophers of our country. When he became the
President of India in 1962, his admirers requested him to allow them to
celebrate his birthday. Dr Radhakrishnan, who himself was an accomplished
teacher, said, "instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my
proud privilege if the 5th of September is observed as Teachers' Day''. It is
my privilege to join you in paying tribute to him and all teachers on this
occasion. Our gurus down the ages-from saints and seers of Vedic times to
Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhiji-have bequeathed a
unique legacy to us which has nourished our minds and intellect. In more
recent times, among many others, scholars like Chandrasekhara Venkata
Raman, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Amartya Sen have contributed
to the development of Physics and Economics and laid down theories that
have been recognised, accepted and acclaimed throughout the academic
world. I salute all these savants! Friends, to build India of our dreams, the
first and foremost task before us is to improve the quality of Education. In a
nation whose demography is young-both in age and spirit, teachers have
the responsibility of providing education which is rich in values and modern
in content. Having been a teacher myself, I have always drawn inspiration
from these words of Swami Vivekananda "Education is the process by which
character is formed, strength of mind is increased, and intellect is
sharpened, as a result of which one can stand on one's own feet. And that a
teacher's sacred duty is to invoke the spirit of inquiry in his pupils." I still
cannot find better words of inspiration for the teaching fraternity. Your sacred
duty is to enable your pupils to construct
of my pre-eminent predecessor, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was one
of the great scholars and philosophers of our country. When he became the
President of India in 1962, his admirers requested him to allow them to
celebrate his birthday. Dr Radhakrishnan, who himself was an accomplished
teacher, said, "instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my
proud privilege if the 5th of September is observed as Teachers' Day''. It is
my privilege to join you in paying tribute to him and all teachers on this
occasion. Our gurus down the ages-from saints and seers of Vedic times to
Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhiji-have bequeathed a
unique legacy to us which has nourished our minds and intellect. In more
recent times, among many others, scholars like Chandrasekhara Venkata
Raman, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Amartya Sen have contributed
to the development of Physics and Economics and laid down theories that
have been recognised, accepted and acclaimed throughout the academic
world. I salute all these savants! Friends, to build India of our dreams, the
first and foremost task before us is to improve the quality of Education. In a
nation whose demography is young-both in age and spirit, teachers have
the responsibility of providing education which is rich in values and modern
in content. Having been a teacher myself, I have always drawn inspiration
from these words of Swami Vivekananda "Education is the process by which
character is formed, strength of mind is increased, and intellect is
sharpened, as a result of which one can stand on one's own feet. And that a
teacher's sacred duty is to invoke the spirit of inquiry in his pupils." I still
cannot find better words of inspiration for the teaching fraternity. Your sacred
duty is to enable your pupils to construct