Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and H. Narasimhaiah, separated by geography, upbringing, and circumstance, were united by a core belief in the transformative power of education shaped by Gandhian principles. Both men, in their own eras and spheres, left indelible marks on India’s intellectual and educational landscape.

Maulana Azad’s story began 137 years ago in Mecca, where he was born to Maulana Khairuddin, a Bengali Muslim scholar of Afghan descent, and Sheikha Alia, the daughter of a respected Arabian scholar. Khairuddin later returned to Calcutta in 1890 with his two-year-old son. The boy grew into a formidable intellect and a pivotal national leader. Over his lifetime, Azad became a member of Gandhi’s inner circle, President of the Indian National Congress, independent India’s first education minister, and the guiding force behind institutions such as Jamia Millia Islamia, the University Grants Commission, and the first Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur. Since 2008, his birthday has been observed as National Education Day.

Raised within a traditional religious environment, the young Azad excelled swiftly. Fluent in Arabic, Bengali, Persian, Hindustani, and English, he completed his formal education by age 16, and soon distinguished himself as a journalist, poet, and debater. Travels through Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and France exposed him to revolutionary thought, which influenced his nationalist outlook. His political commitment deepened after meeting Aurobindo Ghosh and later answering Gandhi’s call to join the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920. Azad, long convinced that education must strengthen unity rather than sow division, became a prominent opponent of communal politics and a central architect of independent India’s educational foundation.

On June 6 of the same year, in the small Karnataka village of Hosur, another child was born who would eventually mirror Azad in his dedication to education. H. Narasimhaiah, later known widely as HN, grew up the son of a village schoolteacher and a labourer. Though the two men never met, they shared profound similarities: academic brilliance, a lifelong commitment to teaching, Gandhian influence, and an unshakeable belief in rational, secular, and inclusive education.

HN’s schooling was limited by geography and poverty. After completing Class 8 with distinction, he was forced into a year’s break because his taluka school had no high school division. His fortunes shifted in 1935 when his former headmaster, MS Narayana Rao—by then at the National High School in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru—offered to pay his fees if he enrolled. With no money for bus fare, the 15-year-old walked the 85 kilometres from Hosur to Bengaluru.

His encounter with Gandhi the following year proved transformative. Assigned the task of translating Gandhi’s speech from Hindi to Kannada on the spot, HN embraced Gandhian values from that moment forward. He adopted khadi exclusively and even left his BSc at Central College temporarily to join the Quit India Movement in 1942. He spent nine months in prison, joking later that the Central Jail was not too different from Central College because “both offer free board and lodging.”

After completing his MSc in Physics in 1946, HN joined National College as a lecturer. His clarity of instruction in both English and Kannada, combined with his dry humour, quickly made him a favourite among students. A decade later, he earned a PhD in nuclear physics from Ohio State University before returning to India. He served as principal of National College and later as vice-chancellor of Bangalore University, where he expanded the curriculum to include psychology, social work, music, dance, and theatre—fields that were far from mainstream in Indian higher education at the time.

HN was also a committed rationalist. He founded the Bangalore Science Forum in 1962, an institution that continues to promote scientific temper. As president of the Indian Rationalist Association, he openly challenged superstition, pseudoscience, and so-called miraculous claims. His decision, as a sitting vice-chancellor, to investigate Sathya Sai Baba’s miracles generated controversy and fierce opposition. Critics mockingly referred to him as “Huchh (Mad) Narasimhaiah,” a jibe he likely appreciated for its irony.

Both Maulana Azad and H. Narasimhaiah understood education not merely as instruction but as a tool for nation-building, empowerment, and moral clarity. Their legacies—rooted in rationality, inclusivity, and Gandhian ideals—continue to shape India’s educational philosophy.