Long ago, the students of Coimbatore found it difficult to study during the night hours, for not everyone had adequate facilities or the luxury of electricity. As a result, a number of students had discontinued their education. Two noble souls – Gopal Anna and K. Somasundaram Anna – felt the need to bridge this gap, and established Swami Vivekanandhar Illam in 1945.

The institution provided free facilities like accommodation, furniture, electricity, and proper guidance for poor students in the old town area. The Illam was registered in 1948.

Swami Vivekanandhar Illam functioned in small rent-free accommodations offered by charitable individuals, and organizations like the Young Devanga Association, Sri Saradha Hindu Girls School, Devanga High School, etc. The Coimbatore Municipal Council of those days recognized the needs of the Illam and gave a small piece of land for furthering the noble cause. It was under of dynamic leadership of Dharmamoorthy S.R.P. Ponnuswamy Chettiar, former Chairman of the Coimbatore Municipality, a number of well-meaning people came together and constructed a building for this Illam. It was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, K. Kamaraj, in 1956.

“A number of eminent leaders like T.S. Avinashilingam Chettiar, Kovai Kizhar C.M. Ramachandra Chettiar, Namakkal Ramalingam Pillai, Swami Chidbhavananda, Rajammal Devadass, and Sarkarai Mandradiar have visited the Illam over the decades,” shares the energetic committee member, S. Shivashanmugham. Initially the Illam was being used only during the evening hours.

In order to make it more productive, in 1977, the committee members decided to establish a nursery school and a Primary School. Today over 450 students are pursuing their education here. Many of the old beneficiaries of the Illam are doing very well in India and abroad. The free evening study centre is continuing to function here and the Illam is doing its best to propagate the ideals of Saint Thiruvalluvar, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi. It is currently being run under the leadership of VEECO C.V. Mohanasundaram.