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N Madhava Rau

Early Life:

N Madhava Rau was born in 1887 and obtained degrees from Noble College, Masulipatam and Government Law College, Madras.

He worked extensively with several Princely States, primarily Mysore. After joining Mysore in 1907 he rose through the ranks and became Dewan between 1941 and 1946.


Role in India’s Independence Movement:

Rau was a part of the Round Table Conferences. He was also involved in the drafting of the Government of India Act, 1935.


Contribution to Constitution Making:

In early 1946 he was the Constitutional Adviser to the Princely States in Orissa. Later, in July 1947, he joined the Constituent Assembly from the Orissa Princely States.

He was a member of the Drafting Committee. In the Assembly he intervened on issues relating to village panchayats and federalism.



(Members of the Drafting Committee.Sitting L to R: Madhava Rau,  Syed Muhammad Saadulla, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Sir Benegal Narsing Rao.

Standing L to R: S. N. Mukherjee, Jugal Kishor Khanna and Kewal Krishnan.)


Later Contributions:

Post independence, Rau was a member of the Provincial Parliament between 1950 and 1951. Later, he retired from public life.


(Reference:  Granville Austin, The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation, OUP)

Member, Drafting Committee.

  1. Rau supported the development of village panchayats. 
  2. He argued for ‘savings banks’ to be included under the State List as opposed to the Union List.