Teacher's Day 2020: How Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Special Request Turned Into A National Day To Celebrate Teachers

Happy Teacher's Day, 5 September 2020 Celebrations: Every year Teacher's Day is celebrated and students across the country pay tributes to their educators. Here is why the day is important.

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Teacher’s Day 2020: Every 5th September marks Teacher’s Day in India, it is the birthday of the First Vice President and second President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Dr. Radhakrishnan is considered one of the most influential scholars of the 20th century. He was a staunch believer in education and began his career as a teacher before taking over politics. He was beloved by his students which is why when he was asked by some students whether they could celebrate his birthday, he "instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my proud privilege, if 5th September is observed as Teachers' day”. This was in the year 1962 when the first official Teacher’s Day in India was celebrated in his honour and has continued to date. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was one of his closest friends had once quoted about Dr. Radhakrishnan: “he has served his country in many capacities. But above all, he is a great teacher from whom all of us have learnt much and will continue to learn. It is India's peculiar privilege to have a great philosopher, a great educationist and a great humanist as President. That itself shows the kind of men we honour and respect." Radhakrishnan also once said that "True teachers are those who help us think for ourselves." How it is celebrated On this day, students across India dress up as their teachers in school. They also take classes as the teacher they represent on the day. Some teachers sit in the class as students and relieve the time they themselves were students. Students celebrate their teacher with a special function organized in their honour. Teacher’s Day isn’t new to India Prior to this, Teacher’s Day was observed as Guru Purnima in the Hindu month of Ashadha which falls in June-July. It is observed on the full moon day of the month, to celebrate spiritual and academic Gurus, who were ready to share their wisdom with very little or no monetary expectation, based on Karma Yoga. Guru Purnima was observed by Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains it is also observed in Nepal.