Ieagle1: Improved article clarity and structure

2026-03-23T15:10:24Z

Improved article clarity and structure

imported>Rdp060707: Reverted edits by 117.230.53.131 (talk) to last revision by Certes: not providing a reliable source (WP:CITE, WP:RS)

2021-08-13T04:51:00Z

Reverted edits by 117.230.53.131 (talk) to last revision by Certes: not providing a reliable source (WP:CITE, WP:RS)

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{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox civil servant
| name = N. R. Pillai
| image =
| birth_place = [[Trivandrum district|Trivandrum]], [[Travancore State]], [[British India]]<br>(now in [[Kerala]], India)
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1898|07|24}}
| death_date = {{death_date and age|df=yes|1992|03|31|1898|07|24}}
| death_place = [[Kensington]], [[London]], [[England]], United Kingdom
| order =
| office = 1st [[Cabinet Secretary (India)|Cabinet Secretary of India]]
|term_start = 1950
|term_end = 1953
|primeminister = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
|predecessor = post established
|successor = [[Y. N. Sukthankar]]
| office2 = 5th [[List of ambassadors of India to France|Ambassador of India to France]]<br />
|term2 = June 1959 - 1961
|predecessor2 = [[K. M. Panikkar]]
|successor2 = [[Ali Yavar Jung]]
|birth_name = Elenkath Narayanan Raghavan Pillai
|nationality = [[India]]n
|alma_mater =
}}

'''Sir Narayanan Raghavan Pillai, of Elenkath,<ref>Dewan Nanoo Pillai by K. R. Elenkath, Trivandrum, 1982 see chapter titles family members</ref>''' [[Order of the Indian Empire|KCIE]], [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (24 July 1898 – 31 March 1992), popularly known as "'''Rag'''", was an Indian civil servant who was the second Secretary General in the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]], as well as the first [[Cabinet Secretary (India)|Cabinet Secretary]] in independent India, a post he held from 6 February 1950 until 13 May 1953.<ref name=Kapur>{{cite book|last=Kapur|first=Harish|title=Foreign Policies of India's Prime Ministers|year=2009|publisher=Lancer Publishers|location=Delhi|isbn=9780979617485|pages=444|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQkH1fIiZI0C&q=N.%20R.%20Pillai%20ambassador%20china&pg=PA32}}</ref> He also served as India's Ambassador to France.

==Career==
Pillai was born in [[Trivandrum]], [[Travancore State]] (now Kerala) on 24 July 1898, in a distinguished ancient [[Nair]] family of Elankath in South Travancore. He was a matrilineal descendant of Dewan [[Nanoo Pillai]]. Elankom Gardens in Diamond Hill, Trivandrum is named after the family's town house.<ref>See K. R. Elenkath, supra</ref> He read English and became a Bachelor of Arts [[first-class honours]] in 1918 from [[Madras University]], subsequently receiving a government scholarship to study at [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]]. There, he took the [[Tripos]] in Natural Sciences in 1921 and a Tripos in Law in 1922, both times with first-class honours.

Joining the Indian Civil Service in 1922, Pillai initially served in the Central Provinces as an assistant commissioner and as an officiating deputy commissioner from March–November 1927.<ref name="record_list">{{cite book|pages=301|title=The India Office and Burma Office List: 1945|publisher=Harrison & Sons, Ltd.|year=1945}}</ref> During his career with the ICS, Pillai was appointed to various secretarial positions in the then [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]]. He successively served as an assistant collector of customs at Chennai (December 1927 – May 1929) and as deputy director of commercial intelligence at Kolkata (May 1929 – March 1932). He was promoted to deputy secretary in March 1932, joining the Commerce Department.<ref name="record_list"/> He was advanced to temporary joint secretary (June 1934) and to joint secretary (officiating) in February 1936, being appointed collector at Karachi in April 1936.<ref name="record_list"/> From April 1937, he was an officer on special duty with the Commerce Department, and was appointed as a deputy commissioner in July. He was promoted to joint secretary in the Commerce Department in April 1938, to additional secretary in February 1941 and finally to full secretary in October 1942.<ref name="record_list"/>

Pillai served as the Commissioner General for Economic and Commercial Affairs in Europe until 1953, residing in Paris. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Travancore in 1953. He was a founding member of the first Governing Body of NCAER, the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New Delhi, India's first economic policy institute established in 1956.

==Later life==
During the 1960s, he served as managing director of two business firms in New Delhi, after which he emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1968. A trail of correspondence in the columns of the London Times in the 1970s or thereabouts regarding the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens developed to include other treasures acquired by the British from various parts of their Empire and someone suggested that the legendary Koh-i-noor diamond should be returned to India. The subject was brought to a close by a letter from Pillai in which he said that, although the diamond rightfully belonged to India he felt that Indians everywhere were happy for it to remain where it was (and still is) among the Crown Jewels.<ref> See Sir Raghavan Pillai; Appreciation in ''The Times'' (London, England). (15 April 1992): News: p15. </ref>

In his last years, he resided at 26 Hans Place in [[Kensington]], Knightsbridge. He died on 31 March 1992, just short of 94.

==Personal life==
In 1928, he married and the couple had two sons [ KS Pillai (RBI)]. [[Nisha Pillai]], the former BBC presenter, is one of his grandchildren.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pillai|first=Nisha|title=Tandoored Legs|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?224119|work=Outlook Magazine|access-date=10 October 2012}}</ref>

==Honours==
He was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in 1937,<ref>{{cite web|title=Supplement to the London Gazette, 29 January 1937|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34365/supplements/698|publisher=HMSO|access-date=13 October 2012}}</ref> [[Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire]] (CIE) in the [[1939 Birthday Honours]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Supplement to the London Gazette, 6 June 1939|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/34633/supplements/3856|publisher=HMSO|access-date=13 October 2012}}</ref> and [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] (KCIE) in the [[1946 Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Supplement to the London Gazette, 4 June 1946|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/37598/supplements/2762|publisher=HMSO|access-date=13 October 2012}}</ref>

Pillai was awarded the [[Padma Vibhushan]] by the Government of India in 1960 and was made an honorary Fellow of [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge|Trinity Hall]], his old college, in 1970.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100301095859/http://cabsec.nic.in/sec.htm Cabinet Secretariat in India]
*[http://karavallil.net/FAMILY.aspx Reference to the "late N.R.Pillai"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120324110008/http://www.claudearpi.net/maintenance/uploaded_pics/ZhouonMcMahon.pdf]
*''Who's Who'' A&C Black Press, 1992

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, N. R.}}
[[Category:Indian civil servants]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to England]]
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Cabinet Secretaries of India]]
[[Category:Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India]]

N. R. Pillai - Revision history

Ieagle1: Improved article clarity and structure

imported>Rdp060707: Reverted edits by 117.230.53.131 (talk) to last revision by Certes: not providing a reliable source (WP:CITE, WP:RS)