N. S. Subba Rao

N. S. Subba Rao was born in Srirangapatna, Mysore on 14 March 1885. His father Nanjanagud 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{{Cite web|last=TATE|first=JOHN GUTHRIE|title=TAIT, JOHN GUTHRIE - Biography (Cambridge University)|url=https://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-2018.pl?sur=&suro=w&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=TT880JG&sye=&eye=&col=all&maxcount=50|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Cambridge Alumni Database}}{{Cite web|title=Papers of John Guthrie Tait, 1861-1945, Professor of English literature and principal of the Central College, Bangalore, India - Archives Hub|url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb559-ms29|access-date=2022-01-09|website=archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk}}{{Cite web|last=Archives|first=The National|title=The Discovery Service|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F31225|access-date=2022-01-09|website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk|language=en-GB}} (J. G. Tait) - the eminent Scottish educator{{Cite book|last=Scott|first=Walter|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/476644/Copyright?|title=The journal...1829-32|date=1946|publisher=Oliver for the Editor|location=Edinb}} and later Principal of Central College, Bangalore.{{Cite web|title=John Guthrie Tait (1861-1945)|url=https://data.bnf.fr/fr/14491892/john_guthrie_tait/|access-date=2022-01-09|website=data.bnf.fr|language=fr}} 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 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.

File:Keynes 1933.jpg

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",{{Cite book|last=Rao|first=Nanjanagud Subbaraya Subba|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-dAAQAAMAAJ|title=Economic and Political Conditions in Ancient India: as Described in the Jatakas|publisher=Wesleyan Mission Press|year=1911|location=Bangalore|pages=1–106|language=English}} 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.{{Citation|last=Chandavarkar|first=Anand|title=Keynes: The Guru|date=1989|url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374775_8|work=Keynes and India: A Study in Economics and Biography|pages=150–179|editor-last=Chandavarkar|editor-first=Anand|series=Keynesian Studies|place=London|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|language=en|doi=10.1057/9780230374775_8|isbn=978-0-230-37477-5|access-date=2022-01-02}} 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.{{Cite journal|last=Chandavarkar|first=Anand G.|date=1983|title=Keynes and India: A Centennial Review and Appraisal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4372286|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=18|issue=28|pages=1233–1237|jstor=4372286|issn=0012-9976}}{{Cite book|last=Keynes|first=John Maynard|title=Keynes Writings on India|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|pages=5, 6|language=English}}{{Cite book|last=Chandavarkar|first=A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0RWHDAAAQBAJ&dq=Keynes+and+Subba+Rao&pg=PA166|title=Keynes and India: A Study in Economics and Biography|date=1990-01-22|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-37477-5|language=en}} 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".

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.{{Cite book|last=Mysore|first=University|title=Maharaja College Brochure|publisher=University of Mysore|year=2016|location=Mysore|pages=1|language=English}} Among his foremost students here was the future Kannada writer and poet V. Seetharamaiah. The University of Mysore came into existence on 27 July 1916.{{Cite web|title=About UOM|url=http://uni-mysore.ac.in/english-version/about-uom|access-date=2022-01-03|website=uni-mysore.ac.in}} 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.

File:Maharaja College Group Photo with N. S. Subba Rao and B. M. Srikantaiah.jpg

N. S. Subba Rao was a founding member and first professor in the newly established economics department at the nascent University of Mysore.{{Cite web|title=drkps: A Brief Early life sketch and Educational Carrier|url=http://www.drkps.com/cetest-firstpage/a-brief-early-life-sketch-and-educational-carrier.html|access-date=2022-01-06|website=www.drkps.com}} N. S. Subba Rao was instrumental in founding a dedicated publishing division in the University of Mysore by the name of Prasaranga.{{Cite web|title=All works of G Hanumantha Rao should be published: Prof TV Venkatachala Shastry – Mysuru Today|url=https://citytoday.news/all-works-of-g-hanumantha-rao-should-be-published-prof-tv-venkatachala-shastry/|access-date=2022-01-03|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2019-11-17|title=UoM Prasaranga to publish research thesis in book form again|url=https://starofmysore.com/uom-prasaranga-to-publish-research-thesis-in-book-form-again/|access-date=2022-01-03|website=Star of Mysore|language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Subba Rao|first=N. S.|date=3 January 2022|title=University of Mysore Calendar for 1937 - 38|url=https://ia601609.us.archive.org/31/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.85871/2015.85871.University-Of-Mysore-The-Calendar-For-1937-1938-Vol-Ii.pdf|access-date=3 January 2022|website=Internet Archive.org}} 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.{{Cite web|title=S Srikanta Sastri (Part 5) {{!}} Prekshaa|url=https://www.prekshaa.in/s-srikanta-sastri-part5|access-date=2022-01-03|website=www.prekshaa.in}} 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, G. P. Rajarathnam, S. Srikanta Sastri, T. S. Venkannayya, Kuvempu and A. N. Murthy Rao among others.

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.{{Cite web|title=Report of the Indian Tariff Board Cotton Textile Industry Enquiry 1927|url=http://indianculture.gov.in/report-indian-tariff-board-cotton-textile-industry-enquiry-1927-0|access-date=2022-01-03|website=INDIAN CULTURE|language=en}} 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.{{Cite book|last=Indian Government.|url=http://archive.org/details/indianroundtable029616mbp|title=Indian Round Table Conference Proceedings|date=1931|publisher=Government Of India.|others=Osmania University, Digital Library Of India}} Subba Rao presided as Secretary of Mythic Society, Bangalore{{Cite web|title=About Mythic Society|url=https://mythicsociety.org/about-mythic-society/|access-date=2022-01-06|website=Mythic Society|language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite book|last=Krishnamacharya|first=Tirumalai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tUgBIrn5REwC|title=Yoga Body - The Origins of Modern Posture Practice|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|year=2010|isbn=9780199745982|location=USA|pages=177|language=English}}

File:Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar 1881-1940.jpg

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.{{Cite book|last=Srinivas|first=M. N.|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/162786|title=Marriage and family in Mysore|date=1942|publisher=New Book Co|location=Bombay}}{{Cite book|last=Mandelbaum; M. Albert; Lasker|first=David Goodman; Ethel; Gabriel Ward|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7_-zCNiFJEC|title=Resources for the Teaching of Anthropology-Volumes 95–96|publisher=University of California Press|year=1963|location=California, USA|pages=206|language=English}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Education in Changing India|url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=24008&recCount=25&recPointer=1&bibId=7668078|access-date=2022-01-02|website=catalog.loc.gov}} His essay on Vocational Training in India came forth under the title of "Vocational Education" in 1932.{{Cite web|title=Vocational Education|url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=24008&recCount=25&recPointer=0&bibId=10201876|access-date=2022-01-02|website=catalog.loc.gov|language=en}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Some aspects of economic planning; being Sir William Meyer lectures, 1932-33, University of Madras|url=https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=24049&recCount=25&recPointer=2&bibId=5960067|access-date=2022-01-02|website=catalog.loc.gov|language=en}} 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'.

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.{{Cite book|last=Srinivas|first=Mysore Narasimhachar|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/500183776|title=Marriage and family in Mysore.|date=1979|publisher=AMS Press|isbn=978-0-404-15975-7|location=Place of publication not identified|language=English|oclc=500183776}}{{Cite book|last1=Mandelbaum|first1=David Goodman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7_-zCNiFJEC&dq=Rajakaryapraveena+N.+S.+Subba+Rao&pg=PA206|title=Resources for the Teaching of Anthropology|last2=Lasker|first2=Gabriel Ward|last3=Albert|first3=Ethel M.|date=1963|publisher=University of California Press|language=en}} 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 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!".{{Cite book|last=Venkatesh Iyengar|first=Masti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtHtDwAAQBAJ|title=AKASHVANI - Vol. XXVI. No. 44. ( 29 OCTOBER, 1961 )|publisher=Publications Division (India), New Delhi|year=1961|location=New Delhi, India|pages=53|language=English}} 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.

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

• 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. {{ISBN|978-1-4384-1401-0}}.
• Sondekoppam Naganath, Bhagirath. (2021). Memorable Mysoreans - A Collection of Biographical Sketches. Notion Press Media Pvt. Ltd. p. 54. {{ISBN|978-1-68509-787-5}}.
• Chandavarkar, Anand, (1989). Keynes: The Guru. Keynes and India: A Study in Economics and Biography, Keynesian Studies, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 150–179, {{ISBN|978-0-230-37477-5}}.
• Chandavarkar, Anand, (1983). Keynes and India: A Centennial Review and Appraisal. Economic and Political Weekly. 18 (28): 1233–1237. {{ISSN|0012-9976}}.
• 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. {{ISBN|978-0-19-974598-2}}.
• 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{{Cite web|date=2022-01-08|title=A Visionary Educationist of Mysore -1: Rajakaryapraveena N.S. Subba Rao|url=https://starofmysore.com/a-visionary-educationist-of-mysore-1-rajakaryapraveena-n-s-subba-rao/|access-date=2022-01-08|website=Star of Mysore|language=en-US}}
• Tait, John Guthrie (1920–32). Tait Papers - Archives of University of Cambridge (Centre of South Asian Studies){{Cite web|title=» Tait Papers|url=https://www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk/archive/papers/item/tait-papers/|access-date=2022-01-09|website=www.s-asian.cam.ac.uk}}

{{Reflist|group=References}}

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• [https://www.srikanta-sastri.org/n-s-subba-rao Official Webpage]

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Category:Scholars from Karnataka

Category:Indian social sciences writers

Category:People from Mysore district

Category:Kannada people

Category:Academic staff of the University of Mysore

Category:1885 births

Category:1943 deaths

Category:University of Mysore

Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge