A timetable of major events related to Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
1962 | Idea of erecting a memorial for Swami Vivekananda as his birth centenary is to follow in 1963 |
01 Aug 1962 | Unregistered committee starts functioning. |
15 Sep 1962 | First ad hoc committee meeting is held at Madras. |
19 Sep 1962 | Devaswom Board, Suchindram, grants permission to start ferry service to and fro Vivekananda Rock. Boat service starts in the evening. |
02 Oct 1962 | Armed police guards planted at the Rock in view of the friction arising from erecting and removing a cross on the Rock. |
10 Oct 1962 | Devaswom Board, Suchindram, grants permission to construct a statue of Swami Vivekananda on the Vivekananda Rock. |
11 Nov 1962 | Members of the Executive Committee of the All India Committee elected. |
17 Jan 1963 | Birth centenary of Swamiji is celebrated at Kanyakumari. A memorial tablet in marble is erected on the Rock. |
29 Mar 1963 | The All India Swami Vivekananda Centenary Celebration and Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee is registered. |
20 Apr 1963 | The Memorial tablet on the Rock is disfigured. |
18 May 1963 | The Memorial tablet is stolen. |
11 Aug 1963 | Eknathji Ranade becomes the Organising Secretary. |
23 Dec 1963 | Eknathji takes the first signature in the petition of parliamentarians. |
26 Dec 1963 | The petition with signatures of 323 MPs is given to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. |
29 Aug 1964 | Committee approves Chief Engineer and Architect S. K. Achari’s Memorial plan. |
24 Sep 1964 | Madras Government grants permission for the erection of the statue of Swami Vivekananda on the Vivekananda Rock. |
06 Nov 1964 | Chiselling the first stone starts. |
03 Sep 1966 | Drilling core sample on the Rock starts. |
12 Dec 1967 | Stone masonry work starts on the Rock. Meditation Hall work taken up first. |
03 Dec 1967 | The name Vivekananda Kendra is suggested for conducting activities preached and envisaged by Swami Vivekananda. |
19 Jun 1968 | Submerged power cable to the Rock is energised. |
18 Sep 1968 | Permission to construct Shripada Mandapam is received. |
27 Dec 1968 | Tentative date of 9 Mar 1970 fixed for inauguration of the Rock Memorial. |
06 Mar 1970 | Dhyan Mandapam and Shripada Mandapam completed. |
16 Jul 1970 | Main dome, circular path way, power house completed. |
21 Jul 1970 | Campus is named Vivekanandapuram. |
21 Aug 1970 | Shripada Mandapam consecrated. |
02 Sep 1970 | Consecration of the Rock Memorial. Inauguration of the Rock Memorial by President V. V. Giri. |
26 Dec 1971 | Dwajasthambam is ready for flag hoisting. |
07 Jan 1972 | Flag hoisting on the Rock at sunrise and lowering at sunset starts. Vivekananda Kendra comes into being. |