G. D. Naidu - The Story of an Unsung Hero
Have you ever woken up to the pleasant tunes of the All India Radio playing on a vintage radio or taken a ride on a petrol bike? The man who developed them indigenously in parallel with the inventors around the world, which are a part of our lives, is Mr. Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu. An Indian inventor, engineer and businessman G. D. Naidu transformed the stage of Indian innovation. Fondly referred to as the ‘Edison of India’ and the ‘wealth creator of Coimbatore’, he has contributed across a variety of fields from mechanical and electrical to agricultural.
G. D. Naidu was born on 23rd March 1893 to a small farming family in the Kalangal village near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. He was a mischievous child who disliked attending his classes. After dropping out of school, he moved to Coimbatore, where he took up various odd jobs, with the hopes of exploring the field of mechanics. A motorbike, now preserved in the G. D. Naidu Museum and Industrial Exhibition in Coimbatore, was what ignited his fascination towards automobiles. Through repeated disassembly and reassembly, he learnt and understood how each part of the vehicle worked.
After a failed cotton business venture, G. D. Naidu established his own transportation business. With his vast knowledge and keen observation, he was able to identify mechanical problems in his buses merely from the sound of the running engine. Starting from a single bus in the year 1921, his company United Motor Services (UMS) expanded to a fleet of 280 buses over a short span of time.
In 1937, G. D. Naidu manufactured India’s first electric motor. As an inventor, he was bold in his experimentation and ventured out of the norm to create simple solutions. This is evinced by an interesting incident on how he invented the electric razor - Rasant. On one of his trips abroad, he attempted to modify the motor of a play car by inserting a blade and with trial-and-error, invented the electric razor. Amongst his extensive list of inventions are a distance adjuster for film cameras, a tamper-proof vote recording machine, a fruit juice extractor and many more. In 1941, a time when radio was a luxury costing around Rs 175, he announced that he could manufacture five-valve Radio sets in India costing just Rs 70. In 1952, his company rolled out the two-seater petrol engine car costing a mere Rs 2,000. But its production was stopped subsequently due to government’s apathy and refusal to grant the necessary license.
G.D. Naidu was a philanthropist at heart and pushed for various reforms to improve public welfare. He even demonstrated rapid methods of construction by building a house, from laying the foundation to completion, in mere eleven hours. Over the years, he did not forget his agricultural roots. He is said to have grown ten feet high Cotton plants, millet plants with high yields and several injections for plants that made possible what one would call ‘Botanical Marvels’.
G. D. Naidu was a lover of knowledge and an immense photography enthusiast. He travelled to various scientific research centres in Germany to expand his technical understanding. The partnerships made through his travels have flourished and continued to do so even to this day. As a photographer, he captured many stalwarts through the lens of his camera. Among the historical moments that G. D. Naidu’s camera captured were the funeral of King George V in London, interactions with Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and Subhash Chandra Bose.
In 1944, Naidu retired from active involvement with his automobile ventures and announced several philanthropic measures including scholarships for research, grants for his employees and welfare schemes for the depressed sections of the society. Naidu also played a key role in establishing India’s first polytechnic college, the Arthur Hope Polytechnic and the Arthur Hope College of Engineering. Later, the Government took over the institution and it is now known as the Government College of Technology (GCT). He passed away in the year 1974.
Sir C V Raman has remarked of Mr Naidu: “A great educator, an entrepreneur in many fields of engineering and industry, a warm-hearted man filled with love for his fellows and a desire to help them in their troubles, Mr Naidu is truly a man in a million — perhaps this is an understatement!” Throughout his life, the multifaceted innovator worked towards advancing not just the scientific community but also the prosperity of the society. Though his many innovations touch our lives daily, his name is forgotten with the sands of time. Let us remember him and be inspired by his inventions on his 128th birth anniversary.
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