Now Reading: GD Naidu: Class 3 dropout who built first Indian electric motor
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GD Naidu: Class 3 dropout who built first Indian electric motor
Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, called the 'Edison of India', built the country's first electric motor in 1930 despite leaving school after Class 3. Born in 1893 in Tamil Nadu, he saved Rs 300…
The Story in Brief
Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, called the 'Edison of India', built the country's first electric motor in 1930 despite leaving school after Class 3. Born in 1893 in Tamil Nadu, he saved Rs 300 working as a waiter to buy a British officer's motorcycle, then taught himself mechanical engineering by taking it apart. He later founded Universal Motor Service, which grew to 280 buses, and invented devices including a kerosene fan, electric razor, and mechanical calculator. Naidu also experimented with farming, growing cotton plants 10 feet tall, and established a polytechnic college in Coimbatore after retiring in 1944. He died in 1974.
The Indian Opinion
Naidu's story is often used to argue that formal education is overrated, but that misses the point. He succeeded despite dropping out, not because of it, and he later founded a polytechnic to promote practical learning. The real lesson is the value of hands-on curiosity, not the irrelevance of degrees. If India wants more Naidus, we must ask: how many schools today encourage a child to dismantle a motorcycle to understand engineering?
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
