Nanjanagud Subbaraya Subba Rao (14 March 1885 – 29 June 1943) was a professor of

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

at Maharaja College, Mysore. He later became Principal of Maharaja College, Mysore and retired as the

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor i ...

University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore. The university is recognised by the University Grants Commissio ...

from 1937 - 42. Subba Rao was a student of

Alfred Marshall Alfred Marshall (26 July 1842 – 13 July 1924) was an English economist, and was one of the most influential economists of his time. His book '' Principles of Economics'' (1890) was the dominant economic textbook in England for many years. I ...

at Saint John's College, Cambridge, between 1905 and 1909 where he completed his M. A. Tripos exam and Bar-at-Law qualification. N. S. Subba Rao was a contemporary of

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

and

Arthur Cecil Pigou Arthur Cecil Pigou (; 18 November 1877 – 7 March 1959) was an English economist. As a teacher and builder of the School of Economics at the University of Cambridge, he trained and influenced many Cambridge economists who went on to take chai ...

and had a close working relationship with both of them for nearly two decades. Among the prominent contributions of N. S. Subba Rao are ''The Scouts and Guides Movement'', ''Mysore University Co-operative Society'', establishment ''of University and Central Libraries'', ''Taxation Reforms'' both at Central and State level, ''Educational Reforms'' in the form of instituting Kannada medium of instruction in high schools, Founding of the first modern ''Yoga School'' at Mysore (by helping Tirumalai Krishnamacharya), ''Economic Reforms'' through his contributions at the London Round Table Conference (1930–32) along with Sir Mirza Ismail leading to the eventual formulation of the 'Indian Constitution Act' (1935) and lastly in the ''recruitment'' of future literary scholars and writers like

M. Hiriyanna Mysore Hiriyanna (1871–1950) was an eminent Indian philosopher, Sanskrit scholar and authority on Indian aesthetics. He was a Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Mysore and a contemporary of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. His classes on Indi ...

G. P. Rajarathnam G. P. Rajarathnam (1909–1979), known by his pen name as Bhramara ''(meaning:Bee)'', was a Kannada author, lyricist and poet in Karnataka, India. Rajarathnam was well known for composing poems for children. Nissar Ahmed, once quoted as "h ...

, S. Srikanta Sastri,

Kuvempu Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (29 December 1904 – 11 November 1994), popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was ...

, T. S. Venkannayya and A. R. Krishna Shastry as faculty at the nascent University. __TOC__

Early Years

N. S. Subba Rao was born in

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city wa ...

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

on 14 March 1885. His father

Nanjanagud Nanjangud, officially known as Nanjanagudu, is a town in the Mysuru district of Indian state of Karnataka. Nanjangud lies on the banks of the river Kapila (also called Kabini), 23 km from the city of Mysore. Nanjangud is famous for the ...

Subbaraya was a lawyer by profession. Subba Rao had an elder brother N. Narasimha Murthy who was an officer in British Resident Sir Stuart Milford Fraser's office at Mysore. His younger sister was Kaveramma. Subba Rao completed his matriculation exam at Srirangapatna and then moved to Central College, Bangalore for his F. A. course. Here, he was a student of

John Guthrie Tait John "Jack" Guthrie Tait (24 August 1861 – 4 October 1945) V.D. was a Scottish educator who became principal of the Central College of Bangalore prior to the First World War. In his early adulthood, Tait was a notable sportsman playing rugby ...

(J. G. Tait) - the eminent Scottish educator and later Principal of Central College, Bangalore. At the end of the F. A. course, Tate recommended Subba Rao to Rev. William Skinner and Rev. Earle Monteith MacPhail at

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institu ...

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

for his B. A. degree. Subba Rao completed his B. A. in 1904 with a gold medal. Subsequent to this, the Mysore Government extended the 'Damodar Das Educational Scholarship' to enable his further education at Cambridge.

Education in England

N. S. Subba Rao was at St. John's College, Cambridge from 1905 to 1909. He was a student of Alfred Marshall and studied economics, political science and European history. His contemporaries here included John Maynard Keynes and Arthur Cecil Pigou. Subba Rao published an essay titled "Political and Economic conditions of Ancient India, as described in the Jatakas", which won him the prestigious Le Bas award in 1909. He completed his Tripos exam at Cambridge (M. A. Cantab.) while simultaneously finishing his Bar-at-Law qualification. During his four years in England, Subba Rao toured France, Germany and a few other European nations before returning to India on 28 October 1909. His close friendship with Keynes was something he treasured for years to come. Both Keynes and Subba Rao maintained a close correspondence for nearly two decades. Keynes even recommended Subba Rao's name to the India Office at Calcutta for a high position in the British India Government - an offer which Subba Rao had to kindly decline owing to his sense of obligation to the Mysore Government and Royalty which had funded his higher education at Cambridge for four years. Keynes described Subba Rao as a "''Good Marshallian of the Orthodox Sect"''''.'' An excerpt from a letter from Subba Rao to Maynard Keynes:

''"My dearest Keynes, I found that a good many officers in the Secretariat (in the Mysore State Government Offices) had read your papers in the ‘Economic Journal’ and in the ‘Madras Mail’ – which surprised me, as we do not pretend to be up to date here! I miss Cambridge itself. I did not think I had become so fond of the place…. You will not believe me if I tell you how often I am back at Cambridge in my waking thoughts and dreams – with kindest regards, yours sincerely –'' N. S. Subba Rao"''.''

Return to India

N. S. Subba Rao returned to India on 28 October 1909. In 1910, he was appointed as a lecturer in Economics at Maharaja College, Mysore. Here, in addition to Economics, Subba Rao taught Political Science, European History and English Literature as well. Among his foremost students here was the future Kannada writer and poet

V. Seetharamaiah Venkataramaiah Seetharamaiah (2 October 1899 - 4 September 1983) commonly known as Vee See, was a Kannada poet, writer, essayist, critic, editor and teacher who taught Kannada literature at University of Mysore between 1928 and 1955. He is a re ...

. The University of Mysore came into existence on 27 July 1916. N. S. Subba Rao took charge as Principal of Maharaja College, Mysore from C. R. Reddy on 24 September 1917 and held the post till 1928.

University years

N. S. Subba Rao was a founding member and first professor in the newly established economics department at the nascent University of Mysore. N. S. Subba Rao was instrumental in founding a dedicated publishing division in the University of Mysore by the name of Prasaranga. In 1919, N. S. Subba Rao was invited to Ceylon to foresee the establishment of the State University in Ceylon. In July 1927, N. S. Subba Rao delivered many prominent papers on Economics and Administration in the National Educational Conference as representative of the Mysore Government. These papers won him favourable reviews by K. Myathen and E. G. McAlpine. Subba Rao founded the Mysore University Co-operative Society in 1923 to offer financial aid for the teaching fraternity. He introduced Kannada medium of instruction in High Schools across the state in July 1935. Subba Rao was Vice Chancellor of the University of Mysore and Chairman of the Academic Council from 1937 - 42. He played a key role in convincing S. Srikanta Sastri to take up writing "Sources of Karnataka History, Vol I" and getting it eventually published in 1940. Subba Rao chaired a meeting with Thomas Denham and Radha Kumudh Mukherjee in 1918 towards establishment of Mysore University library. Along with B. M. Srikantaiah and M. Venkatakrishnayya, Subba Rao took a keen interest in the establishment of the Mysore Government Central Library at Mysore. His idea for starting a "College Library Scholarship Fund" was a boon for many a poor student at the university. N. S. Subba Rao prevailed on A. R. Krishna Shastry, who was then Editor of "''Prabhuddha Karnataka''" to widen the magazine's horizons by including non-literary articles and to include contributions from readers outside the Mysore Princely State area. N. S. Subba Rao was responsible for recruiting many a future literary stalwart into the university as faculty. This was testament to his keen eye for academic talent and his administrative acumen in recruiting them into the university. This list includes the likes of M. Hiriyanna,

, S. Srikanta Sastri, T. S. Venkannayya,

and A. N. Murthy Rao among others.

Socio-political and economic reforms

Under Sir Brajendranath Seal's Vice Chancellorship, Subba Rao was a member of the Council for Political Reforms (1926–27). As Member of the Textile Tariff Board, Subba Rao was able to bring his vast Economics knowledge and experience in solving many of the tariff issues. He accompanied Diwan Sir Mirza Ismail to the London Round Table Conference (1930–32) and played a crucial role in the subsequent formulation of The Indian Constitution Act of 1935. Subba Rao presided as Secretary of Mythic Society, Bangalore from 1939 to 1942 and was instrumental in arranging many historical seminars during his tenure. This was in addition to him expanding the Mythic Society library which now holds a significant number of old inscriptions and epigraphical records. Subba Rao persuaded Maharaja Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar to allot a portion of the present day Jagan Mohan Palace at Mysore to Yoga exponent Tirumalai Krishnamacharya thus paving the way for the first formal School of Yoga in the Princely State of Mysore.

Lectures and collected writings

In 1910, Subba Rao delivered a lecture at Mythic Society, Bangalore elaborating on the paper which had won him the 'Le Bas' award at Cambridge. This was later published in the Quarterly Journal of Mythic Society (QJMS) Issue of 1910 and later by Wesleyan Mission Press in 1911. Subba Rao's foreword to M. N. Srinivas' "Marriage and Family in Mysore" published in 1942 is considered a seminal work for its depth and understanding of the prevalent sociological realities of Mysore state. N. S. Subba Rao's monograph on changing realities of Education in India came forth under the title of "Education in Changing India" in 1933. His essay on Vocational Training in India came forth under the title of "Vocational Education" in 1932. N. S. Subba Rao delivered a series of lectures as part of the Sir William Meyer Lectures Series from 1932 - 33 at Madras on "Some Aspects of Economic Planning".These were later published by Bangalore Press in 1935. Subba Rao delivered a guest lecture at the 'Indian Economic Association', Allahabad in 1929. In 1940, Subba Rao delivered the inaugural address of 'All India Economic and Political Congress' at Mysore. In 1943, he delivered ten lectures on 'Rural Reconstruction in India' at Delhi University as part of 'Sir Kikibhai Premchand Lecture Series'.

Recognition

In recognition of a lifetime of contribution to the Princely State of Mysore, the Maharaja of Mysore Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar conferred on N. S. Subba Rao the 'Rajakaryapraveena of the Gandabherunda Order' in 1937. The University of Mysore has instituted 'The N. S. Subba Rao Cash Prize' to the student with the highest marks in the M. A. Economics each year. Poet Laureate

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

had a fond relationship with N. S. Subba Rao through their many correspondences and even introduced him at one of the International Conferences as a "''Prince Among Men!''". N. S. Subba Rao was appointed as Honorary Secretary of 'Inter-University Association' from 1923 - 25. He presided over the 'All India Educational Conference' in 1931. N. S. Subba Rao also presided over the Kannada Sahitya Sammelan at Bombay in December 1935.

Death

N. S. Subba Rao passed away on 29 June 1943 at the age of 58 years at

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Bibliography

* Venkatachala Sastry, T. V. (2019). ಬದುಕು, ಬರೆಹ, ನೆನಪು - ಉಪಕುಲಪತಿ ಏನ್. ಎಸ್. ಸುಬ್ಬರಾಯರು (Biography of N. S. Subba Rao) (in Kannada). Bangalore: Vasantha Prakashana. pp. 10–14. * Murty, Vohra; K. Satchidananda, Ashok. (1989). Radhakrishnan - His Life and Ideas. State University of New York Press. p. 17. . * Sondekoppam Naganath, Bhagirath. (2021). Memorable Mysoreans - A Collection of Biographical Sketches. Notion Press Media Pvt. Ltd. p. 54. . * Chandavarkar, Anand, (1989). Keynes: The Guru. Keynes and India: A Study in Economics and Biography, Keynesian Studies, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 150–179, . * Chandavarkar, Anand, (1983). Keynes and India: A Centennial Review and Appraisal. Economic and Political Weekly. 18 (28): 1233–1237. . * Keynes, John Maynard. Keynes Writings on India. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 5, 6. * Singleton, Mark (2010). Yoga Body - The Origins of Modern Posture Practice. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 177. . * Srinivas, M. N. (1942). Marriage and family in Mysore. Bombay: New Book Co. * Mandelbaum; M. Albert; Lasker, David Goodman; Ethel; Gabriel Ward (1963). Resources for the Teaching of Anthropology-Volumes 95–96. California, USA: University of California Press. p. 206. * Sondekoppam Naganath, Bhagirath. (2022). A Visionary Educationist of Mysore - Rajakaryapraveena N. S. Subba Rao. Star of Mysore Newspaper, Mysore, p.6 * Tait, John Guthrie (1920 - 32). Tait Papers - Archives of University of Cambridge (Centre of South Asian Studies)

References

External links

Official Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subba Rao, N. S. Scholars from Karnataka Indian social sciences writers People from Mysore district Kannada people Academic staff of the University of Mysore 1885 births 1943 deaths University of Mysore