H. (Hanumanthappa) Narasimhaiah (more popularly Hosur Narasimhaiah); 6 June 1920 – 31 January 2005) was an Indian physicist, educator, writer, freedom fighter and rationalist from Karnataka. Publicly known as "HN", he was the Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University and the president of the National Education Society. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India in 1984.
As there was no formal school in Hale Upparahalli, where he was born, he attended the Government School in Gauribidanur, and continued high school at the National High School, Basavanagudi in Bangalore. He walked 85 km for two days to reach the city. A meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1936, in which he served as an interpreter to Gandhi, inspired him to follow Gandhism the rest of his life. While in his final year of BSc at the Central College of Bangalore, he gave up his education to join Gandhi's Quit India movement in 1942. He was arrested and imprisoned for about nine months.
He finished his bachelor's degree with physics honours in 1944, and master's degree in 1946. He was immediately recruited to the faculty of physics at the National College, Bangalore, where he taught until 1957. He went for doctoral research in the United States and earned a PhD in 1960 in nuclear physics from Ohio State University. From 1961 he was Principal of the National College, Basavanagudi. He became the Vice-Chancellor of the Bangalore University in 1972, the post he held until his resignation in 1977. He went on to serve in the Karnataka Legislative Council.
A self-proclaimed rationalist, He had a younger sister. Having no formal school in his village, he attended the Government School in Gauribidanur, the nearest town. He completed his elementary education in the primary school, which had no further studies beyond eighth standard. He stopped school for a year. He stayed with his headmaster for six months, until he could get allotment in the school hostel, the Poor Boys' Home, as he called it. He met with Mahatma Gandhi when the latter visited the National High School in 1936. His teacher selected him to be the interpreter of Gandhi's Hindi speech into Kannada. From this moment on, his life was entirely influenced by Gandhi's views and lifestyle, including wearing khadi throughout his life. He went on to Central College of Bangalore studying for his B.Sc. During his final year in 1942, Gandhi launched the Quit India movement to end British rule. He gave up his degree to join the movement, the event which he described as "the most momentous decision in my life." The consequence of his decision was his imprisonment for nearly nine months, in different jails, in Yerwada Central Jail, in Mysore jail and in the Central Jail in Bangalore. Comparing his Central College hostel and the Central Jail, he remarked that he found "no difference" between the two as both provided him "free boarding and lodging." From 1961 to 1972 he was Principal of the National College, Basavanagudi, in Bangalore. But he described himself as rationalist, and added,