Mohit Raj at 14:53, 17 March 2026

2026-03-17T14:53:43Z

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{{Short description|Indian inventor and engineer (1893–1974)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu
| image = Gopalswamy D. Naidu.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1893|3|23}}
| birth_place = Kalangal, [[Coimbatore District]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] (now [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]])
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1974|1|4|1893|3|23}}
| death_place = [[Coimbatore]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| citizenship = Indian
| ethnicity =
| field = Electrical, [[mechanics]], [[automotive]], agriculture
| work_institutions =
| alma_mater =
| doctoral_advisor =
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = Technical redesigner, Industrialist, businessman, photographer and philanthropist
| author_abbrev_bot =
| author_abbrev_zoo =
| influences =
| influenced =
| prizes =
| footnotes =
| signature =
}}

'''G. D. Naidu''' ('''Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu''') (23 March 1893 – 4 January 1974) was an Indian technical redesigner and industrial pioneer who transformed imported technologies into practical and affordable innovations for India. He is referred to as one of "the wealth creators of Coimbatore".<ref>{{cite news|title=Coimbatore's wealth creators|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/02/02/stories/2004020201050100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040510163921/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/02/02/stories/2004020201050100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2004|date=2 February 2004|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|location=Coimbatore, India}}</ref> He is credited with the manufacture of the first electric motor in India. His contributions were primarily industrial but also spanned the fields of electrical, mechanical, agricultural (hybrid cultivation) and automobile engineering.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tamilnadu.com/personalities/g-d-naidu.html |title=G.D.Naidu |publisher=Tamilnadu.com |date=3 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411215410/http://tamilnadu.com/personalities/g-d-naidu.html |archive-date=11 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Genius">{{cite news|title=A non-conformist genius Architects of Coimbatore |url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/10/stories/2009011050160200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803171033/http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/10/stories/2009011050160200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 August 2013|date=10 January 2009|newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |location=Coimbatore, India}}</ref> Naidu developed an independently internal combustion four stroke engine. He had only primary education but excelled as a versatile genius. He is also known as "Miracle Man".<ref>{{Cite web |last=N.R.I.pathi |title=Personalities: G.D. Naidu {{!}} Andhra Cultural Portal |date=2 November 2020 |url=https://andhraportal.org/personalities-g-d-naidu/ |access-date=2022-10-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
G.D Naidu was born on 23 March 1893 in a [[Telugu people|Telugu]] [[Agriculture|agrarian]] Kamma Naidu family at Kalangal, [[Coimbatore]], [[Madras Presidency]], British India.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karelia |first=Gopi |title=GD Naidu: How a School Dropout Became India's Edison |url=https://thebetterindia.com/199284/gd-naidu-coimbatore-tamil-nadu-edison-inventor-electric-motor-india/ |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=thebetterindia.com |language=en}}</ref> His childhood years were spent getting in trouble at school. He disliked attending All classes.

== Early life ==
[[File:The Ridge Multi 1912.JPG|thumb|Vehicle which Naidu purchased from the British and on which he learned assembling]]
Naidu obtained work as a [[waiter|server]] in a hotel in Coimbatore with the intention of saving money to buy a motorcycle. After getting the vehicle he spent time dismantling and re-assembling it, and later became a mechanic. He began his transport business in 1920, with the purchase of an automobile coach. He drove it between [[Pollachi]] and [[Palani]]. In a few years, his Universal Motor Service (UMS) owned the most efficient fleet of public transport vehicles in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailylist.in/g-d-naidu-edison-of-india/|title=G D Naidu - "Edison Of India" (Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu)- DailyList|date=5 March 2021}}</ref> In 1937, the first motor to be produced in India was brought out from G. D. Naidu's factory – NEW (National Electric Works) at Peelamedu, Coimbatore.

== Technical redesigns and later life ==
G.D. Naidu developed India's first indigenous motor in 1937 along with D. Balasundaram Naidu. The motor's success resulted in the founding of Textool by D. Balasundaram Naidu (Popularly known as Textool Balasundaram) and, later, [[Lakshmi Machine Works]] (LMW).<ref name="HarishD">{{Cite book | last = Damodaran | first = Harish | title = India's New Capitalists | publisher = Permanent Black | year = 2008 | location = Ranikhet | pages = 148 | isbn = 978-81-7824-258-3 }}</ref>

Naidu's 'Rasant' razor incorporated a small motor operated by dry cells, called [[Heilbronn]].<ref name="HarishD" /> Among his other inventions were super-thin shaving blades, a distance adjuster for film cameras, a fruit juice extractor, a tamper-proof vote-recording machine and a [[kerosene]]-run fan. In 1941, he announced that he had the ability to manufacture five-valve radio sets in India a mere ₹70/- a set. In 1952, the two-seater petrol engine car (costing ₹2000/-) rolled out. Production was stopped subsequently, because of the government's refusal to grant the necessary license. His inventiveness was not confined to machinery alone. He researched and identified new varieties in cotton, maize and papaya. His farm was visited by [[Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman|Sir C. V. Raman]] and [[Sir M. Visvesvaraya]]. From laying foundation to completion he built a house in just 11 hours, from 6am to 5pm.<ref name="Genius" />

[[File:Prize for UMS from Hitler.JPG|thumb|250px|3rd Prize for UMS Razor Company for razor blades in an exhibition in 1936 in Leipzig, Germany]]
In 1922, he personally filmed the funeral of [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] in London. He met [[Adolf Hitler]] in Germany.<ref name="Perumal">{{Cite book | last = Perumal | first = N | title = An Industrial Scientist | publisher = Life Book Depot | location = Coimbatore | pages = 56 }}</ref> He invited [[K. Kamaraj]] to many functions. Among the Indian stalwarts that Naidu's camera captured were [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru]] and [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]. Naidu remained an outsider to politics, despite having contested and lost in the 1936 provincial general elections. He was gifted a Rolls-Royce car and he was the only one who had this luxury car in those times.

In 1944, Naidu retired from active involvement with his automobile combine and announced several philanthropic measures including grants for research scholarships and welfare schemes for his employees and the depressed sections of society. In 1967, the G D Naidu Industrial Exhibition was established.

G.D. Naidu, Rathnasabapathy Mudaliar and India's first finance minister [[R. K. Shanmukham Chetty]] conducted survey, for bringing Siruvani water to the Coimbatore city.<ref>{{cite news |title=Memories of Coimbatore – Another time, another place |url=http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article1988214.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |date=3 May 2011 |location=India}}</ref>

Through Naidu's efforts and donations India's first polytechnic college, the Arthur Hope Polytechnic and the Arthur Hope College of Engineering were set up. Later the college moved to its present location and is now known as [[Government College of Technology, Coimbatore|Government College of Technology (GCT)]]. The college was named after the then Madras governor [[Arthur Hope, 2nd Baron Rankeillour|Arthur Hope]]. In 1945, GD Naidu was the principal of the college.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/presentation/135297775/Gd-Naidu|title=GD Naidu | PDF|website=Scribd}}</ref> Naidu was not satisfied with the four-year programs and said that it was a waste of time for students. He suggested that two years was more than enough to teach the same courses, even with different concentrations. However, the British government did not accept his idea and Naidu resigned from his post.<ref>https://www.scribd.com/doc/135297775/Gd-Naidu/ – Gd Naidu Scribd {{Better source needed|date=March 2022}}</ref> The name Hope College for the original site of the college remains in Coimbatore even now.

Naidu died on 4 January 1974. Sir C V Raman said of 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!" He is survived by his son G.D. Gopal and grandchildren G.D. Rajkumar and Shantini. A permanent Industrial Exhibition in his memory is in Coimbatore. He provided employment in the engineering and manufacturing sectors to many individuals in the 1950s and 1960s.

== Legacy ==

[[GD Matriculation Higher Secondary School|G. D. Matriculation Higher Secondary School]] and G. D. Public School in [[Coimbatore]] are named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |title=G.D Matriculation Higher Secondary School |url=https://www.gdschoolcbe.com/about-us |website=gdschoolcbe.com}}</ref>

His biography ''Appa'' as written by the popular Tamil writer [[Sivasankari]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.in/APPA-Sivasankari/dp/B08MYGV1FH|title=Amazon.in}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
''GD Naidu – The Edison of India'' is a [[documentary film]], directed by K. Ranjit Kumar and produced by the [[Films Division of India]], covering his life, times and contributions. It won the Best Science & Technology Film Award at the [[66th National Film Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Films Division documentary on GD Naidu wins National Award {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/press-release/films-division-documentary-on-gd-naidu-wins-national-award.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=filmsdivision.org}}</ref>

''GDN'' is a film, directed by [[Five Star Krishna]] covering his life, times and contributions is being produced in which [[R. Madhavan]] plays the role of Naidu. <ref>{{Cite web|title=R Madhavan’s GD Naidu biopic titled GDN; Krishnakumar Ramakumar to helm the project {{!}} Films Division|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/r-madhavans-gd-naidu-biopic-titled-gdn-krishnakumar-ramakumar-to-helm-the-project-9842466/|access-date=2025-10-10|website=indianexpress.com}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.destinationinfinity.org/2011/01/02/g-d-naidu-museum-industrial-exhibition-in-coimbatore/ G.D.Naidu Museum & Industrial Exhibition in Coimbatore]
* [http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/article1453197.ece?viewImage=5 Vintage cycle at G.D. Naidu Museum, ''The Hindu'']

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:The King Naidu, Gopalswamy Doraiswamy}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian inventors]]
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Coimbatore]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian engineers]]
[[Category:Engineers from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Educators from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian mechanical engineers]]

Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu - Revision history

Mohit Raj at 14:53, 17 March 2026