A galaxy of personalities who had entered the Rashtrapati Bhavan have had a Tamil Nadu connection.
Of 14 Presidents the country has seen in over seven decades, six had links with Tamil Nadu in one way or the other. Also, two unsuccessful contestants — T.N. Seshan and Lakshmi Sahgal — were the well known products of institutions of the State.
The country’s second President, S. Radhakrishnan, who was born in the pilgrim town of Tiruttani, in September 1888, spent most of his formative years in the State, initially as a student and later as a teacher. Apart from having his secondary education in Tiruttani for some years, he did his higher studies at Voorhees College, Vellore, Madras Christian College and the Teachers’ College, Saidapet, Chennai. In 1909, he joined the Presidency College, Chennai, as a teacher. He later entered the Madras Provincial Education Service as a lecturer. By the time he was 23, he was Assistant Professor of Philosophy. Five years later, he was a professor. As they say, there was no turning back. He came back to Chennai after spending 15 years in New Delhi as Vice-President and President (1952 to 1967). In April 1975, he died at a nursing home in the State capital.
