B. N. Rau

Who was B. N. Rau?

Sir Benegal Narsing Rau, CIE, was an Indian civil servant, jurist, diplomat and statesman known for his key role in drafting the Constitution of India. He was also India's representative to the United Nations Security Council from 1950 to 1952. His brothers were Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Benegal Rama Rau and journalist and politician B. Shiva Rao.

One of the foremost Indian jurists of his time, Rau helped draft the constitutions of Burma in 1947 and India in 1950. As India’s representative on the United Nations Security Council, he was serving as president of the council when it recommended armed assistance to South Korea. Later he was a member of the Korean War post Armistice United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission.

A graduate of the Universities of Madras and Cambridge, Rau entered the Indian civil service in 1910. After revising the entire Indian statutory code, he was knighted and made judge of the Bengal High Court at Calcutta. His writings on Indian law include a noted study on constitutional precedents as well as articles on human rights in India. He served briefly as Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state. From February 1952 until his death, he was a judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice, The Hague. Before his election to the court, he was regarded as a candidate for secretary-general of the United Nations.