B. Shiva Rao was born in Mangalore on 26 February 1891[1] into a distinguished family. His father was B. Raghavendra Rao, a renowned medical practitioner.[1] He graduated from the Presidency College, Chennai.[1] His elder brothers were Benegal Narsing Rau and Benegal Rama Rau. He joined labour movement and rose to vice president of INTUC.[1] In 1929 he married Kitty Verstaendig, an Austrian.[6] Early in his life, he came under influence of theosophical society and its leader Annie Besant. He was a correspondent of The Hindu and the Manchester Guardian. He is well known for his work Framing of India's Constitution (in six volumes, 1968). He was an ardent admirer of Gandhi but one of the first to criticize his strategy for national movement. His objectivity and deep analysis endeared him to his readers including Nehru, Gandhi and S. Radhakrishnan. His participation in International labour movement continued after independence as delegate to UN and ILO where he worked with Mrs. Vijaylakshmi Pandit and Babu Jagjeevan Ram. He remained member of Lok Sabha from 1952–57 and Rajya Sabha from 1957–1960. After that, he retired from public life and concentrated on research. He also edited papers of his brother B. N. Rau as India's Constitution in the Making (1960). He was one of contributors to Cyril Henry Phillips and Mary Doreen Wainwright edited The Partition of India:Policies & Perspectives 1935-47. His last work was India's Freedom Fighters: Some Notable Figures published in 1972 as a tribute to his departed colleagues.
His other works are:
What Labour has Gained from Reform in India (1923)
The Problem of India (1926), co-written with David Graham Pole
Select Constitutions of the World (1934)
Industrial Worker in India (1939)
India's Freedom Struggle: Some aspects (1968)
India Goes to the Polls (1968)
India's Role in UN (1968), co-written with Ǧaʻfar Riḍā'Bilġrāmī
^"Padma Awards"(PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
