Hosur Narasimhaiah Biography 
Hosur Narasimhaiah, also known as Hanumanthappa Narasimhaiah was a popular figure from Karnataka in the 1900s. He was known as an Indian physicist, educator, writer, freedom fighter and rationalist. A prominent educationalist from Karnataka, Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University and president of the National Education Society are the major positions held by him. For his outstanding contributions and services, he was honored with Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India in 1984. “A poor teacher complains, an average teacher explains, a good teacher teaches, a great teacher inspires” – is his popular quote.
He was born on 6 June 1921 in the rural area of Hossur, Karnataka. There was no formal school at his village and he used to walk 85 km for two days to reach National High School, Basavanagudi, after completing his primary education at Hossur itself. In 1936 he met Mahatma Gandhi for the first time and also served as an interpreter. Deeply influenced by Gandhi’s principle, he became a Gandhian. While doing final year graduation, he participated in Quit India Movement, for which he was arrested and jailed for 9 months. He completed graduation in Physics in 1944 and Master’s in 1946. After that he joined National College, Bangalore as faculty, where he taught till 1957. He later worked in different colleges and gave his resignation as Vice-Chancellor of the Bangalore University in 1977, after holding the position for five years.
He was a self-proclaimed rationalist, and also known as a renowned sceptic. In 1985, Narasimhaiah challenged a god man, Shivabalayogi. He published a collection of essays titled Tereda Mana and an autobiography named Horaatada Haadi. Both this books received Sahitya academy awards. Karnataka Nataka Academy Fellowship in 1990, Honorary Doctor of Letters by Kannada University at Hampi in 1996, and Honorary D. Lit from the Gulbarga University are the major honours received by him. In 1962, he founded the non-profit organization, Bangalore Science Forum which conducts a weekly series of public lectures on science topics.
Published: N/A
Updated: June 12, 2018
