Cadambi Sheshachar Venkatachar (11 July 1899 – 16 June 1999) was an Indian Civil Servant, diplomat and the second Chief Minister of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

Early life and education

Venkatachar was born in a village about 25 km from

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family. Both his father and uncle had been educated in English, and were employed by the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Venkatachar was educated at Maharaja's Central College, Bangalore and thence at

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

, where he graduated in Chemistry in 1920. In 1921, he travelled to London and sat for the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

exam and was one of the 16 successful entrants (13 Indian and 3 European) out of the Approximately 150 who sat for the exam. He completed his probationary year of service at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and joined the

in 1922.

Career

Initially, Venkatachar served in

United Provinces of British India The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 22 March 1902 to 1937; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province h ...

and was associated closely with the Census of India, 1931. He was then appointed to the

Indian Political Service The Indian Political Department, formerly part of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India, was a government department in British India. The department looked after the diplomatic and "political" relations with the subs ...

- a rare honour, as this service was ''de facto'' reserved for British Military Officers. From 1939 to 1941, he was the Agent of the Government of India in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...

. Venkatachar was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1941 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1941 were appointments in the British Empire of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of various countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official bir ...

. In 1942, he was the commissioner of Allahabad, and was appointed a

Companion 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 (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(CIE) in the

1946 Birthday Honours The 1946 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 13 June 1946 for the United Kingdom and British Empire. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new ...

Post-Independence

In 1947, he was elected to the

Constituent Assembly of India Constituent Assembly of India was partly elected and partly nominated body to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in 1946 and nominated ...

. In October 1948, Venkatachar became the Diwan of

Jodhpur State Kingdom of Marwar, also known as Jodhpur State during the modern era, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1243 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by ''Rao Siha'', possibly a migran ...

and the Prime Minister of Bikaner State, succeeding the eminent scholar and diplomat, Sardar

Kavalam Madhava Panikkar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar (3 June 1895 – 10 December 1963), popularly known as Sardar K. M. Panikkar, was an Indian statesman and diplomat. He was also a professor, newspaper editor, historian and novelist. He was born in Travancore, then a ...

. From 10 April 1949 to 5 January 1951, he was the Regional Commissioner and Advisor (Home and Finance) to the

Rajpramukh Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain Indian provinces and states. Background The British Indian Empire, which incl ...

Rajasthan state Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwester ...

, Maharaja

Man Singh II Major General Maharaja Sawai Governor Sir Man Singh II GCSI GCIE (born Sawai Mor Mukut Singh; 21 August 1912 – 24 June 1970) was an Indian prince, government official, diplomat and sportsman. Man Singh II was the ruling Maharaja of the pr ...

. After the resignation of Heera Lal Shastri, he held the office of the

Chief Minister of Rajasthan The chief minister of Rajasthan is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian state of Rajasthan. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governors of states of India, governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto' ...

from 6 January 1951 to 25 April 1951. On 26 April 1951, a new ministry headed by Jai Narayan Vyas assumed the office. In 1951, Venkatachar became the

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

to the Ministry of States of the Government of India. In 1955, he was appointed the secretary to the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

. He served in this position till January 1958. In August 1958, Venkatachar was appointed the High Commissioner of India to Canada. He relinquished charge of the High Commissioner in October 1960, handing over to

Birendra Narayan Chakraborty Birendra Narayan Chakraborty (also Birendra Narayan Chakravarty) (20 December 1904 – 26 March 1976) was an Indian civil servant, politician and the second governor of Haryana. He attended Kolkata's Scottish Church College, and continued his ...

. He died on 16 June 1999, aged 99.

Major works

A collection of his writings edited by S. Sapru and K. M. Acharya was published under the title, ''Witness to the Century: Writings of C.S. Venkatachar, ICS''.

References

External links