Diwan Bahadur Sir Narasimha Gopalaswami Ayyangar (31 March 1882 – 10 February 1953) was an Indian civil servant and statesman, who served as the Prime Minister of the princely state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

and later a minister in the first cabinet of independent India. He was a member of the drafting committee of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

, the leader of the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

, a '

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

' looking after Kashmir Affairs, and the Minister for Railways. In his Kashmir Affairs role, he represented India at the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

and later drafted the

Article 370 Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, ...

of the Indian Constitution that granted autonomy to

Early life and education

Gopalaswami Ayyangar was born on 31 March 1882 in Tanjore District

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. He studied at the Wesley School, and at the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

and

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Colleges in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, whereafter, for a short period in 1904, he was an Assistant Professor in

Pachaiyappa's College Pachaiyappa's College is one of the oldest educational institutions in Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In addition, it is the first sole Indian college in Madras Presidency. History Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai is the resul ...

Career

In 1905, Ayyangar joined the Madras Civil Service. He served as a Deputy Collector till 1919, and was promoted Collector and District Magistrate in 1920. He was the Registrar-General of Panchayats and Inspector of Local Boards for seven years from 1921. During this time many villages panchayats were organized in the districts of

Ramnad Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a city Municipal Corporation in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) ...

and

Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...

. Then for three years, he was Collector and District Magistrate in

Anantapur Anantapur, officially Anantapuramu, is a city in Anantapur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Anantapuru Tehsil, mandal and also the divisional headquarters of Anantapur revenue division. The city ...

. Following that he was Inspector of Municipal Councils and Local Boards till 1932. Mr. Ayyangar served as Secretary to Government in the Public Works Department from 1932 to 1934. Finally, he served as a member of the Board of Revenue until 1937. The second phase of his career was devoted to politics. He was Prime Minister of

from 1937-1943 and was appointed

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

from 1943-1947. During that time he was Chairman of the Committee for the Indianisation of Army. From 1947-1948 he served as Minister without Portfolio in the first cabinet under

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

. This was followed by his sojourn as Minister of Railways and Transport from 1948-1952, and finally, he served as Defence Minister from 1952-1953.

Prime Minister of Kashmir (1937-1943)

Ayyangar's political career gained prominence during his tenure as Prime Minister of

(1937–43). His term ended on April 9th, 1943.

Government of India

Constituent Assembly of India

In 1946, Ayyangar 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 ...

, which convened in December 1946 with

as its president. Ayyangar was appointed to the seven-member Drafting Committee that formulated the Indian Constitution.N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
, Constituent Assembly Debates web site, retrieved 4 January 2018.

Kashmir affairs

Soon after the accession of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1947, Nehru appointed Ayyangar as a cabinet

and asked him to look after Kashmir affairs, while Nehru himself held the overall charge for Kashmir. The move caused frictions with the home minister

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

, who should have normally been responsible for Kashmir along with all other princely states. Ayyangar led the delegation representing India in the United Nations over the

Kashmir dispute The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

in 1948. In 1952, Prime Minister Nehru appointed him as India's representative in the ongoing negotiations and discussions about Kashmir at the Geneva talks. Ayyangar was the chief drafter of

which granted local autonomy to the state of

.Thalpiyal, Sheru, Maj. Gen.
"Article 370: The Untold Story."
''Indian Defence Review'' 26.1, 2011

Minister of Railways and Transport

During his tenure as Minister for Railways and Transport from 1948 to 1952, the railways experienced considerable growth and expansion in services and equipment. He was the main architect in the regrouping of the Indian Railways into six zonal systems - Central, Eastern, Northern, North-eastern, Southern, and Western. Under his leadership, the operation of the railways was smooth and productive. The railway budget also reported surplus earnings at this time.

Reorganization of Government

In 1949, he presented his report on the "Reorganization of the Government Machinery" in an effort to streamline government services and maintain efficiency in the public sphere. He recommended the establishment of four standing committees, and, as a result of this report, the Defence Committee, the Economic Committee, the Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Committee, and the Administrative Organization Committee were formed by the Union government.

Death

Ayyangar died in Madras at the age of 71 on 10 February 1953, and was survived by his wife, a son, G. Parthasarathy, who was then Assistant Editor of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', and a daughter.

Honors

A distinguished administrator and a civil servant, Ayyangar held seven titles until 1947 including the title of

Diwan Bahadur Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special ...

, the highest title awarded by a British viceroy. Other titles conferred on him by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

government were a 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 (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(CIE) in the 1935 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours list, a Companion of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(CSI) in the

1937 Coronation Honours The 1937 Coronation Honours were awarded in honour of the coronation of George VI. Royal Honours Order of the Thistle * The Queen Royal Victorian Chain * The Queen * Queen Mary * Clive, Baron Wigram Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) * The Que ...

list and a knighthood in

1941 New Year Honours The 1941 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1940.United Kingdom and Briti ...

list.London Gazette, 1 January 1941
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayyangar, N. Gopalaswami Indian Tamil people Indian civil servants Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Indian Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire People of the Kashmir conflict 1882 births 1953 deaths Politicians from Chennai Permanent representatives of India to the United Nations Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu Dewan Bahadurs Chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir (princely state) Railway ministers of India Ministers of defence of India Members of the Cabinet of India