Raghavan N. Iyer Biography 
Raghavan N. Iyer was a writer, academic, political theorist and philosopher of Indian origin. He served as professor of political science at the University of California, and many more international universities. Born in Chennai, he later moved to England where he worked as professor and finally settled in California to continue his professional career of teaching. His wife is the religious scholar Nandini Nanak Mehta. Raghavan was a founding member of the Santa Barbara branch of the United Lodge of Theosophists. Well-known English writer who writes books on crossing cultures, Pico Iyer is his son.
Raghavan N. Iyer was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on 10 March 1930 to Narasimhan Iyer and Lakshmi Iyer. He was a child prodigy, brilliant in studies. He joined University of Bombay, at Elphinstone College when he was only 15 years old. He met his future wife Nandini during his acaredmic years at Mumbai. He started his professional career as a lecturer when he was only 18. In 1950, he went to attend Oxford University as the only Rhodes Scholar from India. Apart from advanced studies, he also earned name as an orator and debater. Once he returned to India he married Nandini in 1956.
After working for a brief period with government service, he moved to England along with his wife. His son Pico Iyyer was born in England. Raghavan N. Iyer was an Oxford philosopher and political theorist. When Pico was 7, the family moved to California, where they got permanently settled. Iyer worked in Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, a California-based think tank. Mrs. & Mr. Iyyer also founded the Institute of World Culture in 1976, and Raghavan served as its president until 1986. The Glass Curtain, Parapolitics: Toward the City of Man, and The Moral and Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi are some of the books authored by him.
He is related to the family of Mahipatram Rupram Nilkanth, a social worker, reformer and author of Gujarati language, and his wife Rupkunwarba was also a social reformers. Mahipatram Rupram Nilkanth’s son, Ramanbhai Neelkanth, best known for his humour works and a mayor of Ahmedabad, his wife Vidyagauri Nilkanth, a social reformer and author, their daughter - Vinodini Nilkanth, a well-known writer are some of the famous members of this family, best known for their contributions towards Gujarati literature, education and social work.
Published: January 10, 2019
Updated: January 10, 2019
