Knitwear to Nationhood

Rise of CP. Radhakrishnan, Southern Sage as Vice President

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In a country that celebrates the poetry of paradox, where tradition and transformation often walk hand in hand, the ascent of Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan to the Vice Presidency of India feels like a narrative steeped in both destiny and discipline. The 15th Vice President of the Republic and the new Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Radhakrishnan embodies a blend of grassroots commitment and statesmanlike restraint ,a reflection of Tamil Nadu's intellectual grace married to the ideological sinew of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

His journey, stretching from the spinning mills of Tirupur to the high dais of Parliament, is not merely political advancement; it is an ode to perseverance, the story of a man who wove both yarn and ideology into enduring fabric.

A Son of the Soil

Born on May 4, 1957, in the industrious heart of Tirupur, the "knitwear capital of India" - Radhakrishnan grew up amid the hum of looms and the rhythm of enterprise. The soil of Tamil Nadu's Kongu belt, known for its hardworking people and quiet patriots, shaped his ethos early. A Bachelor of Business Administration from V.O. Chidambaram College in Thoothukudi, he chose enterprise over ease, politics over privilege, and service over comfort.

Between 1985 and 1998, when India was just beginning to open its economic frontiers, Radhakrishnan had already crossed borders, pioneering the export of 100% cotton knitted fabrics to Bangladesh and forging trade linkages across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This entrepreneurial exposure gave him a pragmatic understanding of India's industrial and social challenges, insights that would later inform his administrative and political style: practical, people-oriented, and patient.