Vice-President's Enclave: Dr M L Raja appointed as Dr S Radhakrishnan Chair
NEW DELHI: Vice-President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday nominated Dr M L Raja for the prestigious Dr S Radhakrishnan Chair for a one-year term, effective from 7 May 2025 to 6 May 2026.
The Dr S Radhakrishnan Chair was instituted by the Rajya Sabha in 2009 with the aim of promoting scholarly research on various aspects of parliamentary democracy in India.
In an official statement delivered during an event at the Vice-President's Enclave, Dhankhar announced Dr M L Raja's nomination and remarked, that the Dr S Radhakrishnan Chair was established to honour the legacy of "one of the distinguished sons of Bharat, the first Vice-President who became President, Dr S Radhakrishnan."
Dr M L Raja, from Tamil Nadu, is the second individual to be conferred with the position of Chair. Jawahar Kaul, a prominent journalist from Jammu and Kashmir, earlier served as Chair.
While Dr Raja is technically the third recipient of the position, he is second functioning Chair as the position was made operational during Dhankhar's tenure.
Speaking about the significance of the chair, Dhankhar said, "In 1962, September 5 was declared as Teacher's Day. It happens to be the birthday of Dr S Radhakrishnan. This underscores that though you may have any position — President, Vice-President. philosopher or author — social recognition comes by virtue of being a teacher for Radhakrishnan."
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