THE VISION AND FAITH OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
Addressing the public of Madras on 14th of February 1897, on the topic "The Future of India", Swami Vivekananda said "Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested, all your life. We must have life building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas. If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character; you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library. If education is identical with information, the libraries are the greatest sages in the world, and encyclopcedias are the Rishis. The ideal, therefore, is that we must have the whole education of our country, spiritual and secular; in our hands, and it must be on national lines, through national methods as far as practical. Of course this is a very big scheme, a very big plan. I do not know whether it will ever work out. Young men of Madras, my hope is in you. Will you respond to the call of your nation? Each one of you has a glorious future if you dare believe me. Have a tremendous faith, in yourselves, like the faith I had when I was a child, and which I am working out now. Have that faith, each one of you, in yourself that eternal power is lodged in every soul and you will revive the whole of India."

THE FAITH UNFOLDS
The spectacle of hundreds of deserving young students failing to secure admission into any of the existing colleges in Madras caused wide-spread grief and created a desire in the minds of some public spirited gentlemen to open another first grade college in the city. The organizers held a number of meetings during August and September 1945, discussed the question in all its bearings and decided to appeal to the public for donations. The response was encouraging, as many had keenly felt the need of another college, in which admission would be made on merit and not on communal considerations. It was therefore agreed from the very beginning that the institution should be open to all who had the qualification of merit, without any distinctions of caste or community. It was also felt that the management of the college should be entrusted to the Ramakrishna Mission, whose labours in the field of education as well as of religion and social service are well known throughout India, and that the college should be called VIVEKANANDA COLLEGE, after the great patriot-monk and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission.

THE COLLEGE
With the prime motive of imparting man making and character-building education and combining the principles of secular knowledge and spiritual knowledge, the Vivekananda College made a humble beginning in June 1946, with 20 teachers and 339 students. The college then offered just 4 undergraduate courses. The college is presently offering 11 graduate and 7 Post-graduate aided programmes in the day college and 8 graduate and 2 post-graduate unaided programmes in the Evening College. The student strength is around 3000. In 2003, the institution was accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, New Delhi. The college was granted autonomous status to all courses upto M.Phil. by the University Grants Commission in 2004-2005. The Day College caters to many students hailing from poor; backward and downtrodden families. Starting with just five rooms in 1946, the college now has a Main Block, a Maths Block, a Life Sciences Block, a Sanskrit Block, the Obul Reddy Auditorium Building, an Open Air Theatre, a Library Block (with 87,000 books: day, 8000 books: evening), a Sports Complex and a Prayer Hall. It has a lush green turf cricket ground, tennis courts and a gymnasium with state of the art equipments. It has several well-equipped computer laboratories, internet facilities. It has a residential hostel with provision for mineral water.

THE DOYENS OF THE MANAGINGAND COLLEGE COMMITTEES
Notable personalities from various fields have been members of the Managing Committee of the College. In the very first Managjng Committee, Swami Kailasanandaji Maharaj was the President, Sri M. Subbaraya Iyer was the Secretary and Dr. D. S. Sarma was the Principal. Currently, Srimat Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj, President of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, is the President of the Managing Committee, Swami Satyapriyanandaji Maharaj, Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras, is the Secretary and Dr. V.V.Subramaniam, an alumnus of the college, is the Principal.

THE PRINCIPALS
Dr. D. S. Sarma was the first Principal of the College. He served the college in this capacity from 1946 to 1949. Prof. N. Sundaram Aiyar (1949-1959), Prof. T. R. Raghava Sastri (1959-1962), Prof. T. N. Seshadri (1962-1965), Prof. G. Venkataraman (1965-1973), Dr. N. Venakatasubramanian (1973-1981), Dr. K. Ganesan (1981-1992), Dr.V.Thiagarajan (1992-1994), Dr.P.R. Vittal (1994- 1996), Prof. P. Natarajan (1996 2000). Dr. S. Ramaratnam (2000-2004) were successive Principals. Currently, Dr. V. V. Subramanian is the Principal.

RELIGION CLASSES
The one common ground that we have is our sacred tradition, our religion. That is the only common ground, and upon that we shall have to build. The unity in religion therefore is absolutely . necessary as the first condition of the future of India. There must be recognition of one religion throughout the length and breadth of this land. This is the first step and therefore it has to be taken. All sciences, arts, technology, architecture, administration, music and any field for that matter are based on religion and spirituality. The college felt the need for such a specification and rightly introduced a one-hour
Religion class per week from the very inception. Senior monks of the Ramakrishna Order and many great personalities have addressed the staff and students during these classes. Religion examination is held every year and prizes are awarded to meritorious students. In addition, the Jayanthi Celebrations of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ramakrishnananda are held every year. Important milestones in the Ramakrishna Legacy are celebrated with great éclat.

ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
Almost from the beginning, students and staff of the college have brought many laurels. Many students have secured the first rank in the university examinations in Sanskrit, Philosophy, Economics, Commerce, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, History and Geography. Many students and staff of the college have acquired doctorate in their fields of specialization. At present, 50% of the staff are Ph.D. degree holders. Research is going on presently in the faculties of Sanskrit, Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Economics and Botany. Faculty of Botany has been doing so well that in recognition of the international and industrial acceptance respectively the Vivekananda Institute of Tropical Mycology and Vivekananda Institute of Algal Technology have been set up. Endowment seminars, quizzes, practical training are held besides regular lectures from eminent persons and visiting dignitaries as a part of the departmental associations.

FINE ARTS
The college has given due importance to cultural activities right from inception. Students from the college have won laurels in many inter-collegiate competitions. The Fine Arts Team has won the overall "best college award" on a number of occasions. A number of students have distinguished themselves in oratory and music.

SPORTS
The College is a force to reckon with in the field of sports. The students have proven their excellence in many sports activities, especially cricket. The Staff have excelled in Shuttle Badminton. In order to promote excellence, the management has instituted annual Swami Vivekananda Intercollegiate Invited Tournaments in Cricket, Tennis, Table Tennis, Body Building and Weightlifting.

NCC
The College has an NCCwing and some of the cadets have participated in the Republic Day Parade at New Delhi. Many of the cadets pass their certificate examinations and they are known for their sense of discipline and dedication. With the intention of supporting the efforts of the students, the management has provided an obstacle course and also started an inter-collegiate NCC competition

NSS. YOUTH REDCROSS AND ROTARACT WINGS
Whenever the country faces a calamity, the staff and students have risen to the occasion and contributed their mite as in the case of Assam Relief (1950-51), Tanjore Cyclone Relief (1955-1956), Chinese Aggression (1961-1962), Bangladesh Liberation (1971-1972), Gujarat Flood Relief (1979- 1980), Kargil War (1999-2000), Orissa Cyclone Relief (1999-2000), Gujarat Earthquake (2000-2001), and Tsunami Relief (2003-2004). The National Service Corps was formed during the year 1973-1974 and the service activities continued under the banner of NSC. From 1976-1977, such activities have become a part of National Service Scheme. In recent years we have introduced the Youth Red Cross and Rotaract too. Under these schemes the following activities are carried out: Village Adoption Programme, Conduct of Night School, Road Laying, Non-formal education to slum' dwellers, Service to the Handicapped, Orphanage Service, Tree Plantation, Hospital Service, Guidance Cell at the Central Railway Station, Campus Maintenance, Rural Reconstruction, Creating Environment Awareness, Family and Child Care, PolioJVaccine Campaigning, Traffic Control, Drinking Water Fountains, Caring for Mission Children during Temple Festivals, Leprosy Eradication, Drug Abuse Awareness, AIDS Prevention, Pollution Control, Wasteland Development, Malaria Eradication, Sanitation, Leadership Training, First Aid, and such other programmes.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
The college has an impressive alumni database. Several of our alumni have distinguished themselves in various fields, viz., Sciences, Education, Law, Medicine, Administration, Accounting, Government Service, Music and Sports. Notable among them is Sri T. V. Sankaranarayanan who was awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by the Music Academy. Notable personalities in the field of sports have been Sri S. Venkataraghavan and Sri Krishnamachary Srikkanth in cricket who captained our country, and Sri Ramesh Krishnan in Tennis and Sri Ravikumar in Chess. Dr. Y.V.Reddy, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, is our alumnus. Mr.Cho Ramaswamy, MPand Journalist, and Mr. P. Shankar, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, are our alumni.

MONASTICS AND ENLIGHTENED CITIZENS
From time to time, the college has contributed to the Ramakrishna Order a few monastic members and, to the world, several families rooted in India's rich religious and cultural traditions.

THE JUBILEES
The Silver Jubilee of the College was celebrated for three days ,from 11th September 1971. The celebrations were inaugurated by the then President of India, Sri V. V. Girl. Sri K. K. Shah, the thenGovernor of Tamil Nadu, Swamis Kailasanandaji and Tapasyanandaji Maharaj, and Sri V. R. Nedunchezhian, the then Education Minister of Tamil Nadu participated. The Golden Jubilee of the College was a serene function held on 23rd June 1996. Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj, President of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, inaugurated the celebrations. Swamis Harshanandaji and Amritanandaji Maharaj participated.

MARCHING TOWARDS THE DIAMOND JUBILEE
Vivekananda College has been imparting quality education as envisioned by Swami Vivekananda. Having completed 60 years with an excellent track record in all the fields, be it academics or research or sports or fine arts or social-service, the college is now in the Diamond Jubilee year. The alumni are well placed in society in different parts of the world and doing excellently well. As part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations the college has decided to conduct various seminars and conferences, inter-college competitions and other programmes such as music, dance and drama. It has also been proposed to add to the existing infrastructure a three storeyed block and an examination hall, and also establish a school of management. As part of the celebrations the college proposes to honour the staff, existing and retired, and some of the eminent scientists, sportsmen, bureaucrats, and others. The college has planned the above programmes over the coming 7 months. Dr.M.A.M.Ramaswamy, MP, Industrialist and a distinguished alumnus, inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee Celebration on 12th of January 2006. The Valedictory Function is proposed to be held in January 2007. The college is planning to invite a renowned person for this purpose. The total cost of the Diamond Jubilee Celebration as well of setting up of the infrastructure as planned is estimated to cost approximately Rs. 3.5 crores. The College earnestly appeals to all its teachers and students, both past and present, well wishers and the generous and philanthropically
inclined public to come forward in helping it to raise the requisite funds.

CHEQUES/DRAFTS ARE TO BE DRAWN IN FAVOUR OF RAMAKRISHNA MISSION VIDYAPITH, CHENNAI.

Dr. V. V. Subramanian -------------------------------------------Swami Satyapriyananda
Principal ------------------------------------------------------Secretary

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DONATIONS TO THE COLLEGE ARE EXEMPT FROM INCOME TAX UNDER SEC80 G OF THE INCOME TAX ACT 1961. (For Donation form click here)