<p>One of the most influential figures who shaped the Constitution of India was not a member of the Constituent Assembly, did not deliver any speeches in the Assembly, and had no final say in how the Constitution would look like. Yet, the Constitution bears his unmistakable imprint.</p>.<p>I am talking about Benegal Narsing Rau who was constitutional adviser to the Constituent Assembly between 1946 and 1948. Rau – who died on November 30, 1953, at the age of 66 – was a man who wore many hats during the course of his career in and out of government in the first part of the 20th century. Entering the then Imperial Civil Services in 1909, he served not only as a bureaucrat in Bengal province but was also elevated as a judge of the Calcutta High Court. He was briefly India’s representative to the UN and then elected to the International Court of Justice. Yet, he will be most remembered for his role in helping shape India’s Constitution.</p>.<p>We get a sense of the importance of Rau’s contributions in some of the closing speeches in the Constituent Assembly. Dr Rajendra Prasad is effusive in his praise for Rau, noting how he brought his administrative experience and knowledge of constitutions worldwide while preparing the draft constitution. Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar and Jaspat Roy Kapoor also acknowledge Rau’s contribution, especially in ensuring that all the members were well equipped with constitutional precedents from around the world. Rau, it is said, was also the one who “internationalised” India’s Constitution by travelling around the world, speaking to experts and helping incorporate the best ideas he could find.</p>.<p>Dr Ambedkar also acknowledges in the Assembly that credit being given to him has to be shared with Rau and the Drafting Committee. Rau had prepared the first draft of the Constitution which was then considered and improved upon by the Committee before taking the final shape that it did after much debate and deliberation in the Assembly. The small minded, sometimes, try to use this fact as a way to discredit Ambedkar’s contribution to the Constitution but acknowledging Rau’s role does not diminish Ambedkar’s vision or prominence in the process.</p>.<p>When it came to the Constitution, Rau was something of an idealist as his biographer Arvind Elangovan points out in Norms and Politics: Sir Benegal Narsing Rau in the Making of the Indian Constitution. Even before work on the Constitution started, as Elangovan explains in his book, Rau was an Officer on Special Duty with the Governor General of India to suggest amendments for Central and State laws to ensure conformity with the Government of India Act, 1935. This was a massive undertaking and one which Rau did with a level of interest and passion that was not matched by anyone else in the government. Rau did not see the GOI Act as just another law (as the British did) or a half-baked impediment to Indian independence (as the freedom movement did) but as a Constitution for India which ensured a level of provincial autonomy.</p>.<p>This was probably why even though the mainstream Indian political parties did not like the GOI Act, 1935 large parts of it ended up in the Constitution. Rau saw the passage of the GOI Act and the coming into force of the Constitution as part of one process. He understood that underneath the lofty principles that inform constitutions, there should be a workable administrative framework and clear rules that make the constitution implementable. Having a deep idea of how the GOI Act worked, it is perhaps no surprise that the draft constitution absorbed many of its provisions.</p>.<p>As an idealist, Rau wanted the Constitution to remain above politics even as it regulated politics, as Elangovan puts it. This meant that he put more emphasis on enforceable socio-economic rights than on civil-political rights. However, this was not to be as political concerns over minority rights and creating the new Indian nation influenced the framing of the Constitution much more than the idealism of Rau.</p>.<p>Nonetheless, Rau’s contribution to the making of our Constitution is immense and we’re still in the process of fully understanding this remarkable man’s role in creating the Constitution as we know it.</p>
<p>One of the most influential figures who shaped the Constitution of India was not a member of the Constituent Assembly, did not deliver any speeches in the Assembly, and had no final say in how the Constitution would look like. Yet, the Constitution bears his unmistakable imprint.</p>.<p>I am talking about Benegal Narsing Rau who was constitutional adviser to the Constituent Assembly between 1946 and 1948. Rau – who died on November 30, 1953, at the age of 66 – was a man who wore many hats during the course of his career in and out of government in the first part of the 20th century. Entering the then Imperial Civil Services in 1909, he served not only as a bureaucrat in Bengal province but was also elevated as a judge of the Calcutta High Court. He was briefly India’s representative to the UN and then elected to the International Court of Justice. Yet, he will be most remembered for his role in helping shape India’s Constitution.</p>.<p>We get a sense of the importance of Rau’s contributions in some of the closing speeches in the Constituent Assembly. Dr Rajendra Prasad is effusive in his praise for Rau, noting how he brought his administrative experience and knowledge of constitutions worldwide while preparing the draft constitution. Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar and Jaspat Roy Kapoor also acknowledge Rau’s contribution, especially in ensuring that all the members were well equipped with constitutional precedents from around the world. Rau, it is said, was also the one who “internationalised” India’s Constitution by travelling around the world, speaking to experts and helping incorporate the best ideas he could find.</p>.<p>Dr Ambedkar also acknowledges in the Assembly that credit being given to him has to be shared with Rau and the Drafting Committee. Rau had prepared the first draft of the Constitution which was then considered and improved upon by the Committee before taking the final shape that it did after much debate and deliberation in the Assembly. The small minded, sometimes, try to use this fact as a way to discredit Ambedkar’s contribution to the Constitution but acknowledging Rau’s role does not diminish Ambedkar’s vision or prominence in the process.</p>.<p>When it came to the Constitution, Rau was something of an idealist as his biographer Arvind Elangovan points out in Norms and Politics: Sir Benegal Narsing Rau in the Making of the Indian Constitution. Even before work on the Constitution started, as Elangovan explains in his book, Rau was an Officer on Special Duty with the Governor General of India to suggest amendments for Central and State laws to ensure conformity with the Government of India Act, 1935. This was a massive undertaking and one which Rau did with a level of interest and passion that was not matched by anyone else in the government. Rau did not see the GOI Act as just another law (as the British did) or a half-baked impediment to Indian independence (as the freedom movement did) but as a Constitution for India which ensured a level of provincial autonomy.</p>.<p>This was probably why even though the mainstream Indian political parties did not like the GOI Act, 1935 large parts of it ended up in the Constitution. Rau saw the passage of the GOI Act and the coming into force of the Constitution as part of one process. He understood that underneath the lofty principles that inform constitutions, there should be a workable administrative framework and clear rules that make the constitution implementable. Having a deep idea of how the GOI Act worked, it is perhaps no surprise that the draft constitution absorbed many of its provisions.</p>.<p>As an idealist, Rau wanted the Constitution to remain above politics even as it regulated politics, as Elangovan puts it. This meant that he put more emphasis on enforceable socio-economic rights than on civil-political rights. However, this was not to be as political concerns over minority rights and creating the new Indian nation influenced the framing of the Constitution much more than the idealism of Rau.</p>.<p>Nonetheless, Rau’s contribution to the making of our Constitution is immense and we’re still in the process of fully understanding this remarkable man’s role in creating the Constitution as we know it.</p>
