Radhakrishnan A Biography

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Born of obscure parentage in a village in south India, Radhakrishnan rose steadily towards intellectual and political eminence. He went on to become a Professor at Oxford, Ambassador to Moscow, Vice-President and later President of India, and was regarded as the best twentieth century interpreter of Hindu philosophy. A perfect mix of philosopher and politician, he was a man of versatile talent and varied achievements. This biography, written by his son, Sarvepalli Gopal, is frank, objective, and philosophically detached. Relying extensively on Radhakrishnan papers still possessed by his family as well as on records and papers within the country and abroad, S. Gopal provides a biography, politics, international relations, and the Indian intellectual tradition.

About the Author

Sarvepalli Gopal (1923-2002), one of India's eminent historians, was Emeritus Professor of Contemporary History at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Review

'Sarvepalli Gopal's excellent biography of his distinguished father, once professor of eastern philosophy at Oxford and late President of India, shows that Indian biographical writing has at last found a distinct style of its own. At one affectionate and detached, Gopal has developed the Psychological and sociological tools necessary to understand the complexity and tension of a westernized Hindu.

'Dr. Gopal writes exquisite prose and his study of his distinguished parent is a model of restraint without reticence, and appreciation without extravagance.

'Masterly, and in some ways unique biography Gopal devotes many pages to the intellectual, philosophical and spiritual development of his father perhaps the greatest Indian thinker of the 20th century.'

'Gopal writes with total commitment to the subject but without being overawed by a father like Radhakrishnan. He writes with a wealth of details not available to any other writer.'

'Much more than a mere biography. It is simultaneously a philosophical portrait of India as it was transformed by one of the most distinguished intellects of our times. As such it confirms Gopal's place among historians of imminence who have created works of lasting significance.

'Dr. Sarvepalli Gopal's biography of his father stands as to literature. It is a definitive biography in sweep and style.'