[1] Publicly known as "HN",[2] he was the Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University and the president of the National Education Society.

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.

While in office, he constituted and chaired the "Committee to Investigate Miracles and Other Verifiable Superstitions" that led to public challenges of the miraculous claims of Hindu godmen, including Sathya Sai Baba and Sai Krishna.

As a leader of the Karnataka legislators to investigate a black-magic curse called banamathi, he disproved the existence of such claims.

Without money, he went on foot to Bangalore (about 85 km), taking two days to arrive, and joined the school in 1935.

[7] 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.

During his final year in 1942, Gandhi launched the Quit India movement to end British rule.

[5] He remained in office until 1977, during this time he introduced psychology, social work, drama, music and dance as new subjects.

R K Padmanabha led a 1000 people goshti in remembrance of Dr H Narasimhiah as a mark of respect.

[7] He quipped, Marriage is a gamble, a lottery: I have told many people the reason I have not got married is that I forgot!

[4]In his later years, he suffered from prolonged septicaemia and died on 31 January 2005 in an intensive care unit of Maiya Multi-speciality Hospital in Bangalore.

[11] He was cremated, as he had willed (he had reserved INR 2,000 for it), at Hossur with a state official funeral the same day evening.

[12] Narasimhaiah wrote a collection of essays titled Tereda Mana ('ತೆರೆದ ಮನ', Open Mind) and an autobiography named Horaatada Haadi ('ಹೋರಾಟದ ಹಾದಿ', The Path of Struggle).

The committee aimed to debunk claims of miracles and paranormal phenomena, specifically by Hindu godmen.

[1] The first challenged was Sathya Sai Baba, one of the most prominent godmen of India, who was observed to materialise holy ash and objects out of thin air, among other reported miracles such as bi-location and healing of the sick and wounded.

Narasimhaiah personally wrote three letters to Sai Baba asking him to publicly demonstrate the miracles under controlled conditions.

He would eat food during a solar eclipse to demonstrate that it does not cause indigestion, as Hindus believed to be so and would fast.

[19] Narasimhaiah was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1984, the third highest civilian awards instituted by the Government of India, for his services in literature and education.

He was also the only Indian to be elected Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP International), set up by Paul Kurtz in the USA.

[13] He was awarded the Rajyotsava Prashasti, the second highest civilian honour, and Basava Puraskara (2001) of the Karnataka state government.

[14][15] In 1995, the Government of India (under the ministry led by Deve Gowda) appointed him Chairman of the Kannada Development Authority.

He became the head of a legislature committee which investigated banamathi (a black magic involving curse) in some villages of northern Karnataka.