N. Madhava Rao

Nyapathi Madhava Rao CIE
Diwan of the Mysore kingdom
In office 1941–1945
Preceded by	Sir Mirza Ismail
Succeeded by	Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar
Personal details
Born	June 8, 1887 Masulipatnam, British India
Died	August 28, 1972(1972-08-28) (aged 85) Bangalore, India
Alma mater	Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai
Profession	civil servant
Religion	Hindu

Nyapathi Madhava Rao CIE (b. June 8, 1887 - d. August 28, 1972) was an Indian civil servant and administrator who served as the DIwan of the Mysore kingdom from 1941 to 1945.

Early life and education

Madhava Rao was born in Masulipatnam to Nyapathi Venkatakrishna Rao on June 8, 1887. His ancestors were originally Deshastha Brahmins from Maharashtra who had settled in the Telugu country and adopted Telugu as their mother tongue.

Madhava had his early education at Nobel College, Masulipatnam and graduated in arts from Pachaiyappa's College, Madras. He also studied law at Madras Law College

Mysore civil service

Madhava Rao appeared in the Mysore civil service examinations and graduated in first rank bagging the Carmichael medal. He joined the Mysore service as a Junior Assistant Commission in the Gubbi taluk of Tumkur district. Later, he was appointed member of commission to investigate a revolt in the Kollegal taluk of the then Coimbatore District. In 1921, he was appointed Secretary of the Bhadravathi Steel Works and served from 1921 to 1924. In 1927, he was appointed Chief Secretary to the government of Mysore.

Diwan of Mysore

On the retirement of the then Diwan, Sir Mirza Ismail in 1941, Madhava Rao was appointed Diwan. He served as Diwan till 1945, during a period when Mysore was gripped by severe food shortages in the wake of the Second World War. Madhava Rao is credited with having managed the situation quite well and organised a successful recovery. Madhava Rao also successful dealt with the damage caused to the Sivasamudram Electric Power Station by lightning strike in 1944.

During Madhava Rao's tenue, the Mysore Legislative Council and the Mysore Representative Assembly were combined to form a new legislative council. The first elections to the newly reorganized council were held in February 1941.

Later life

After his retirement, Madhava Rao served as a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was a member of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution headed by B. R. Ambedkar.

Madhava Rao died on August 28, 1972 at the age of 85.

Opposition to Hindi

Madhava Rao was strongly opposed to the imposition of Hindi language and favoured the continuation of English as the official language of the Indian Union.

Family

Madhava Rao married Narasamma at the age of seventeen. The couple had three daughters and three sons.

Honours

Madhava Rao was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1943.

References

• World biography, Part 2. Institute for Research in Biography.. 1948. pp. 160. 
• "Hirienniah and Madhava Rao". http://rajchat.info/vasudeva_kutumbukam/7_two_exemplary_officerst.html. 
• [http://www.sankalpindia.net/drupal/ambedkar-the-architect-indian-constitution "Ambedkar: The architect of Indian constitution

Rao"]. http://www.sankalpindia.net/drupal/ambedkar-the-architect-indian-constitution. 

Persondata
Name
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 8, 1887
Place of birth	Masulipatnam, British India
Date of death	August 28, 1972
Place of death	Bangalore, India