Happy Teachers' Day: Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik's creation on Teachers' Day.
On Teachers' Day today, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders extended their greetings to the teaching community. In their messages, the President and the Prime Minister also paid tributes to former president Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an exceptional teacher and mentor on his 131 birth anniversary. Dr Radhakrishnan was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in the country in 1954. President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the National Teachers' Awards today. 46 teachers from across the country will be felicitated at an event which will be held in Delhi.
"On Teachers' Day, I pay homage to Dr S Radhakrishnan and extend greetings to all our teachers. They infuse young minds with strong values and inspire them to be curious, to seek knowledge and to dream. Doing this, they contribute immensely towards nation-building," President Kovind tweeted.
Highlighting teachers' bond with their students, Prime Minister Modi said, "Teachers' Day greetings to everyone. India pays tributes to Dr S Radhakrishnan, an exceptional teacher and mentor, on his Jayanti."
Home Minister Amit Shah also thanked teachers for their exemplary work in shaping the society.
"On Teachers' Day, nation salutes the entire teaching community for their exemplary role in building an educated and civilized society. I offer my tributes to the great philosopher, teacher and statesman, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, whose Jayanti is celebrated as Teachers' Day," he tweeted.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi greeted the teaching community by referring to them as "true nation builders".
"On the occasion of Teacher''s Day, I extend my best wishes to all the students and teachers. Our teachers are true nation builders because they have the important responsibility to shape the future of our country and to show them the right path of honesty," she said in a statement.
Remembering Dr Radhakrishnan on his birth anniversary for his contribution in the field of education, newly-appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Bandaru Dattatreya said that teacher should be in tune with the ideologies of Dr Radhakrishnan and this will be the real tribute to him.
"Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a professor and he was a very ideal educationist. He is ideal for all the teachers because he kept his ideas in practice while educating the students. And so his birthday day has been regarded as Teachers' Day. Earlier he was a professor who taught ethics and values to students with dedicated discipline," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh paid tribute to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. "Today is #TeachersDay and we recall the great philosopher and public figure Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Anybody wanting to know more of him should read an outstanding (and objective) biography of his, written by one of India's finest historians---his son Sarvepalli Gopal," Mr Ramesh tweeted.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar paid tribute to his mother on Teachers' Day.
"Mother is a teacher par excellence. She embodies infinite patience and kindness. Remember my mother Smt. Rajani Javadekar on the #TeachersDay ! I am here because of her guidance and teachings!" he tweeted.
Teacher's Day is celebrated across the country in the memory of former President Dr S Radhakrishnan, a philosopher, author and India' second president who was born on September 5, 1888. His contributions to the field of education are exemplary. In 1962, the tradition to celebrate Teachers' Day started to honour Dr Radhakrishnan and all the teachers.