Madras Christian College (MCC), Chennai - Campus & Infrastructure

The history of the NSS dates back to 1940. For about thirty years (1940-69), the staff and students of the College were actively involved in several social service programs such as the Rural Service League. The NSS unit of the College, however, was formally inaugurated on Gandhi Jayanthi Day, 2 October, 1969. It consisted of 4 Units and was headed by Prof. Victor I Jeyaraj of the History Department. The NSS volunteers had many avenues to lend their services such as the Maternity and Child Welfare Centre, the Oxfam School, the Pammal Leprosy Center, the RSL School and the Family Life Institute.

Under the direction and guidance of the NSS, University of Madras, and few Staff officers of the College, the student Volunteers organized several programs year after year. The high point of these had been the three week rural camp, which immensely contributed to their personality development. With his academic background in Social Work, Professor Ninan John rendered yeomen service as the Director of the NSS for more than two decades (1974-1995), , while Professor Renchy Koshy had lent an able hand for six years (1995-2001).

Under the dynamic leadership of Dr S.Yagna Sekhar (Department of Languages) since the year 2001, the NSS activities have gained a tremendous momentum. The total number of Units have been increased to five, headed by Dr. P. George (Tamil), Ms. Caroline Michael (Physics), Dr. A. Annadurai (Ecomnomics), Ms. Jacquiline Rajabai (Economics) and Ms. S. Sudha (Political Science). Each Unit could enroll 100 students from the college into the programs. Today with over 500 students, the range of activities has considerably increased. A separate NSS office was created near Selaiyur Hall.

The activities of the NSS volunteers include: rendering assistance in the local hospitals, regulating the traffic, lending tutorial and other assistance to the College-related schools, cleaning up the Campus, organizing blood donation camps etc.,

The Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) has also incorporated the NSS for the benefit of students, awarding 2 Credits.

The College has a rich unit of NCC (Army) from the beginning i.e. since its inception in 1948. Earlier during the British rule the College had University Cadet Corps. The UCC first and then the NCC presently have trained scores of students for the past six decades. Some of these have attained very prestigious positions all over the country; the best known has been Major General Sunderji, the former Chief of the Army Staff, who publicly acknowledged his indebtedness to Principal Rev Boyd, and his NCC Officer Major Parthasarathy, who was also a Professor of Psychology in the College. The NCC has both the wings of Infantry as well as Naval, both of which are extremely popular in the College.

The Botanical Garden at Madras Christian College campus plays an important role in the spiritual, emotional and intellectual development of the members of MCC community. In 1937, when the college moved from George Town to its present 365 acres campus at Tambaram, it was a deliberate choice to develop a Botanical Garden that will be a sanctuary for birds and other wild life.

In 1937, according to the college records, there was a casuarina tope, a belt of shrubs and a double line of Peltophorum trees; today the sprawling campus is rich in biodiversity and is well preserved by the MCC community. Mr. Edward Barnes, who spearheaded the afforestation program in the campus wanted it to be place “where students will be encouraged to use their leisure in such open-air pursuits as bird observation, gardening, nature photography, bee-keeping and botanical collecting”.

The Scrub Society at Madras Christian College, along with other departments and units in the campus, strives for the development, preservation and protection this botanical garden for the future generations.