Narasimhalu Naidu: an insightful visionary far ahead of his time

He had taken pioneering initiatives, including the establishment of the Brahmo Samaj in Coimbatore on October 15, 1881, and campaigned for socio-religious reforms, such as widow remarriage and education for girls

While G.D. Naidu (1893 -1974) put Coimbatore on the global map with his numerous inventions, much before him S.P. Narasimhalu Naidu (1854 – 1922), an insightful visionary, had taken several pioneering initiatives, including in reformative journalism, in the western region.

Born on April 12, 1854, at Erode to Lakshmi Ammal and Rangaswamy Naidu, he started his career as a school teacher at Salem. As a multilingual personality, he was proficient in Tamil, Telugu, English, and Sanskrit. A leading light in the field of Journalism in the Kongu region, he started Salem Patriot to write about social issues at the age of 23. The magazine became defunct in a few years. But he did not lose heart and launched Coimbatore Abhamani and Coimbatore Patrika in 1879. He also established Coimbatore Crescent in 1881. A few other publications started by him include Dinavarthabhamani, Swadesabhamani, Amirthavasani and Sujana Manoranjani.

The period when Narasimhalu Naidu lived was the mature phase of the socio-religious reform movement and the beginning of political awakening with the formation of the Indian National Congress. Inspired by the ideals of Brahmo Samaj and the contributions of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, he established the Brahmo Samaj in Coimbatore on October 15, 1881, and campaigned for socio-religious reforms, such as widow remarriage and education for girls.

He became one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885. He was one of the 72 delegates who attended the first session of the INC in Bombay (now Mumbai). Through his eloquent speech, he was able to spread the ideas of the Brahmo Samaj and the INC across the region. He also served as the first secretary of the Congress in Coimbatore. Describing one of his speeches, The Hindu on April 13, 1887, wrote “Mr. Narasimhalu Naidu’s Tamil speech was the speech of the day. He is a born orator.”

Narasimhalu Naidu was the first to write a detailed travelogue, called Dakshina Indhiya Sarithiram (South Indian History), in Tamil, extensively covering various regions of the peninsular part of India. This book speaks about the history of the places he visited, the cultural and religious practices, and transport facilities. He also wrote Arya Divya Desa Yathirai , a travelogue about North India.

Coimbatore-based C.R. Elangovan, who has been documenting the Kongu Region, says the State government should make a record, reprint, and digitize all the 113 books written by Narasimhalu Naidu.

Calling him a great visionary with a deep enterprising capacity, Mr. Elangovan said, “The seed for calling Coimbatore the ‘Manchester of South India’ was planted by Narasimhalu Naidu.” Along with Robert Stanes, he was the first to set up a textile mill in the Kongu Region in 1888. The Coimbatore Spinning and Weaving Mills started its production, on the land donated by him, in 1890. Mr. Elangovan points to the strategic location of the mill, as it lies adjacent to the rail line on Brooke Bond Road from where logistics were very comfortable.