History of the Crescent Hospital

The history of this institution from its humble inception to this day is the saga of sacrifices of a band of selfless and sincere workers drawn from the medical profession as well as other walks of life. It is in the year 1943 when there was an epidemic of diseases following a devastating famine in the then undivided Bengal, a batch of young medical students belonging to different communities went on a medical mission under the auspices of Madras Muslim Students Federation. The burning desire and thronging zeal to continue to render social service, found expression in 1946 when these young men raised funds through sale of flags on Eid days and collected Rs. 569/-. With this paltry sum and equipment in their possession , they started a small dispensary, Nucleaus of future Crescent Hospital, at the premises of the Unani Darushifa at Shadi Mahal, Triplicane, which was offered by the Eastern Medical Association of Southern India. This tiny medical centre was inaugurated by the late Quaid – e- Millath Md. Ismail sahib.
During 1946-59 Late Dr. Syed Niyamathullah, former Mayor of Madras and others (list not available) were the Presidents of the Hospital. In 1951, Dr. Syed Niyamathullah, President of the Hospital led a medical team under the banner of the Red Crescent Hospital to Haj pilgrimage and gave medical relief to the pilgrimage which was applauded by the Indian Embassy at Saudi Arabia. During 1946-59, the Hospital had to face lot of teething problems, which were boldly faced by a team of young doctors and medical students under Dr. M.A. Muqaddam as its General Secretary.
In the year 1954, His Highness the Prince of Arcot was generous enough to lease the present land for construction of the Hospital on a nominal rent of Rs. 60/- per year, thanks to the efforts of late Mr. Ismail Jamal Sait,Mr. Ahmed Ali Dhramsee Parpia and Mr. Mustafa Badsha. On 27th August, 1954 the foundation stone of the existing building was laid by His Highness the Prince of Arcot. On the completion of the construction, the Out-Patient block was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Shri K. Kamaraj, on 8th August, 1955. The Hospital after being shifted from Shadi Mahal now entered a new phase of life ready to cater to a still larger number of poor patients from the adjoining slums. As its popularity increased there was demand for treating sick persons as in- patients. Philanthrophic citizens like Mr. Aziz Khan , Haji Syed Mustafa and Haji Y. M. Jadwet came forward with donations of beds. The Saudi Arabian Ambassador His Excellency Yusuf Alfozan was also kind enough to donate three beds. Thus the In –patient block was inaugurated on 8th April 1956 by the late Health Minister Shri A.B. Shetty. But with rapid increase in the population, more so in the slums, there had been a pressing demand for the expansion of the Hospital with in – patient and out-patient facilities.
With a view to meeting this demand, 53 grounds of land was purchased at vyasarpadi on the wise counsel of then President Mr. Basheer Ahmed Sayeed. This transaction would not have been feasible financial proposition without the timely and magnificent monetary assistance to a tune of Rs. 35,000/- as a loan by late Mr. Namazi, our benefactor and a very sincere social worker, who has carved out a niche in the history of this Institution. Our plans to construct the Hospital on the new plot remained a dream owing to paucity of the funds and the enormity of debts incurred by the Hospital in the wake of the above transaction. At this stage the institute was fortunate enough to have the services of Mrs. Osman Ali Khan and through her the massive support of the social Aid Society in not only clearing the debts but also creating an Expansion fund for the Hospital. Subsequently through their herculean efforts and with the active co-operation of Late Mr. Gulam Mahmood Badsha, IAS, a sum of over a lakh of rupees was added to the Expansion fund. In the meantime the Government acquired the vyasarpadi land for improvement of the area under the Neighbourhood scheme and awarded a compensation of Rs. 65,000/-. The accumulation of this fund to the tune of Rs. 1,71,000/- encouraged us to proceed with the implementation of the expansion programme.
The foundation stone of the present expanded Hospital was laid by the Late Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. C.N. Anna Durai on 3rd September, 1967. The construction was completed in the year 1968 at a cost of Rs. 1,60,000/- with provision for 30 beds and 8 special wards. The Government of Tamil Nadu was kind enough to sanction a matching building grant of Rs. 80,000/- . The Government of Tamil Nadu was giving since 1963 an annual recurring Maintenance Grant of 50% of the net deficit. Presently it is Rs. 10,000/- or the actual deficit, whichever is lower. In the year 1969, the Government of India gave a grant of Rs. 10,000/- towards purchase of equipment and Rs. 43,000/- towards purchase of X- Ray plant. Thus there were facilities for

• Taking X-Rays and conducting surgeries in a well equipped operation theatre. A minor operation theatre and a delivery room were the additional facilities provided.

• A well equipped Bio-Chemistry and Bacteriology Laboratory was inaugurated by the then Health Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu on 23rd January 1972.

• Family planning surgery, authorized and recognized by the State Government conducted Vasectomy operations since 1968 under a specialist late Dr. M.A. Jameel.

• A Unani wing was started in a poor locality at washermanpet in the year 1972 and it is still serving the poor patients of the adjoining localities.

This Institution had the good fortune to have eminent personalities as Presidents like late Mr. A. P. Jamal, late Dr. Syed Niamathullah, former Mayor of Madras, Late Mr. Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed, Late Nawab Ahmed Mohiuddin, Lt. Col. M. Osman and Late Dr. A.B. Maricar, Retired Director of Medical Services, Late Mr. A.M. Ahmed Yaseen, Late Dr.Md. Habibullah Baig, former M.L.A. and Mayor of Madras, Late Mr. Habibullah Badsha, Senior Advocate, former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu Late Mr. B.S.A. Rahman, an industrialist and Philanthropist.
It would be just and appropriate at this juncture to recall the meritorious services rendered by the following during the nascent and formative stage of this Hospital and pay glowing tributes to those who are alive and homage to those who are no more. They strained every nerve of theirs to translate the dream of establishing a Charitable Hospital into a monumental reality.

• Dr. M. A. Muqaddam (deceased)
• Dr. Mushtaq Ali (deceased) )
• Dr. M. A. Jameel (deceased) )
• Dr. S. Nazeer Muhammed
• Dr. S. M. Kabiruddin
• Dr. U. Muhammed
• Dr. K. Abdul Razack
• Dr. Faiz Jehan
• Dr. Rahimunissa Begum
• Dr. Md. Ubaidullah
• Dr. T. Azeezur Rahman
• Dr. M. A. Malick
• Dr. Noor Muhammed
• Dr. Jaffar Khan (Thoracic Surgeon, Andhra Pradesh)
• Dr. Hamid Bin Muhammed (Andhra Pradesh) (deceased)
• Dr. Khaja Mohiuddin (Andhra Pradesh)
• Dr. Sheerazi

During the last decade particularly under Mr. KVM Abdul Kareem as President and Dr. Syed Khaleefathullah, the General Secretary, there has been a consistent expansion of the Hospital and improvement and modernization of its services. Through mobilization of donations by Janab B.S.A. Rahaman Sahib, Chairman, All India Islamic foundation construction of a second floor with 9 special wards with attached bathrooms was accomplished, thus making 41bedded hospital including 21 general ward beds for free treatment. Apart from this construction, major maintenance and renovations were also carried out. The total expenditure coming to about Rs. 15,00,000/-. The 2nd floor was inaugurated by former President Mr. B.S. Abdur Rahman on 9th January 1994.
By the Grace of Almighty Allah, we have started a Dialysis Centre in 2011 with 10 Machines out of which 7 of German model and 3 of Japan model. We thank the Philanthropists who have donated the machines. Mostly poor patients got benefitted and we have planned to expand still more. This is not the end. There is still scope for further development of this Charitable Hospital for rendering Medicare to the suffering humanity particularly belonging to the poorer sections. We fervently hope that with the co-operation and encouragement from every conceivable quarter, this hospital will march from progress to progress and carve out a unique place in the history of this Metropolis.