The  Kasturba Gandhi School of Nursing , Malavanthangal is an unit of the Kasturba Kushta Nivaran Nilayam,  the latter of  which is one of the Branches  of the Kasturba  Gandhi National Memorial Trust  in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

The Trust is established  in the year 1945 by Mahatma Gandhi in memory of his wife, Kasturba Gandhi.  The main object of the Trust is to  provide health care, education  and economic welfare of needy  rural women and children.

Being a victim by himself of non infective type of leprosy , Late Professor T.N.Jagadisan,   the veteran  social worker, relinquished his career as a Lecturer of English in Annamalai University at the age of 32, and took it  as a challenge of his life to work for the cause of leprosy eradication and  the welfare of leprosy patients.  He prepared a proposal with the help of the then renowned leprologist , Dr.R.G.Cochrane  of America, who  used to  visit India ,especially the Government General Hospital,Chennai, to treat leprosy patients,  to start the leprosy work  in Tamilnadu  as one of the Branches  of the Trust.

With this proposal, he met Gandhiji in Sevagram,Wardha  with the help of  Dr.Sushila Nayar, the then Union  Minister of Health, Government of India, who was an ardent  follower and disciple of Mahatma.  Gandhiji was mightly pleased   and blessed the scheme of starting  the work ,thereby  to care  for  the down trodden leprosy patients.  Thus, in February 1946, the Centre at Malavanthangal in Villupuram District, by name, Kasturba Kushta Nivaran Nilayam  was set  to work with Professor T.N.Jagadisan as the  Founder-Honorary Secretary .

Mahatma Gandhi was the first Chairman of the Trust, then Sardar Vallabhai Patel,Mr Thakkar Bapa, Mrs.Lakshmi Menon, and  Dr.Sushila Nayar, and  now  Mr.Dhirubhai Mehta with Mrs.Tara Gandhi Bhattacharia as the Vice Chairperson.