Sir Narayanan Raghavan Pillai, of Elenkath,
KCIE,
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(24 July 1898 – 31 March 1992), popularly known as "Rag", was an Indian civil servant. He served as the first
Cabinet Secretary in independent India, 1950–1953,
[
] and as the second
Secretary General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
in the
Ministry of External Affairs, He also served as India's Ambassador to France.
Career
Pillai was born in
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populatio ...
,
Travancore State
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
(now Kerala) on 24 July 1898, in a distinguished ancient
Nair
The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histo ...
family of Elankath in South Travancore. He was a matrilineal descendant of Dewan
Nanoo Pillai. Elankom Gardens in Diamond Hill, Trivandrum is named after the family's town house. He read English and became a Bachelor of Arts
first-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
in 1918 from
Madras University
The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...
, subsequently receiving a government scholarship to study at
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
. There, he took the
Tripos
At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...
in Natural Sciences in 1921 and a Tripos in Law in 1922, both times with first-class honours.
Joining the Indian Civil Service in 1922, Pillai initially served in the Central Provinces as an assistant commissioner and as an officiating deputy commissioner from March–November 1927.
During his career with the ICS, Pillai was appointed to various secretarial positions in the then
United Provinces. He successively served as an assistant collector of customs at Chennai (December 1927 – May 1929) and as deputy director of commercial intelligence at Kolkata (May 1929 – March 1932). He was promoted to deputy secretary in March 1932, joining the Commerce Department.
He was advanced to temporary joint secretary (June 1934) and to joint secretary (officiating) in February 1936, being appointed collector at Karachi in April 1936.
From April 1937, he was an officer on special duty with the Commerce Department, and was appointed as a deputy commissioner in July. He was promoted to joint secretary in the Commerce Department in April 1938, to additional secretary in February 1941 and finally to full secretary in October 1942.
Pillai served as the Commissioner General for Economic and Commercial Affairs in Europe until 1953, residing in Paris. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Travancore in 1953. He was a founding member of the first Governing Body of NCAER, the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi, India's first economic policy institute established in 1956.
Later life
During the 1960s, he served as managing director of two business firms in New Delhi, after which he emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1968. A trail of correspondence in the columns of the London Times in the 1970s or thereabouts regarding the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens developed to include other treasures acquired by the British from various parts of their Empire and someone suggested that the legendary Koh-i-noor diamond should be returned to India. The subject was brought to a close by a letter from Pillai in which he said that, although the diamond rightfully belonged to India he felt that Indians everywhere were happy for it to remain where it was (and still is) among the Crown Jewels.
In his last years, he resided at 26 Hans Place in
Kensington, Knightsbridge. He died on 31 March 1992, just short of 94.
Personal life
In 1928, he married and the couple had two sons.
Nisha Pillai
Nisha Pillai is an Indian journalist based in London. She is a main news anchor for BBC World News.
Early life
Pillai was born in Kolkata, India, and grew up in Mumbai. When she was 14, her family moved to London, England. She attended a girls ...
, the former BBC presenter, is one of his grandchildren.
Honours
He was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in 1937,
Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:
#Knight Grand Commander (GCIE)
#Knight Commander ( KCIE)
#Companion ( CIE)
No appoi ...
(CIE) in the
1939 Birthday Honours
The King's Birthday Honours 1939 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the o ...
and
Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:
#Knight Grand Commander (GCIE)
#Knight Commander ( KCIE)
#Companion ( CIE)
No appoi ...
(KCIE) in the
1946 Birthday Honours.
Pillai was awarded the
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...
by the Government of India in 1960 and was made an honorary Fellow of
Trinity Hall, his old college, in 1970.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Cabinet Secretariat in IndiaReference to the "late N.R.Pillai"*''Who's Who'' A&C Black Press, 1992
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, N. R.
Indian civil servants
Indian Civil Service (British India) officers
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs
Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
Indian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Indian knights
Indian emigrants to England
1898 births
1992 deaths
Cabinet Secretaries of India
Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India