The College was established during the academic year 1968-1969 with the name Arignar Anna, the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The dream of College in Namakkal turn out to be real with the continuous efforts of Pavalar P. Muthusamy, B.A.,B.T. (Former MLA of Namakkal constituency and Former Home Minister of Tamil Nadu), Mr. V. Chockalingam (Former Namakkal Revenue Divisional Officer) and a group of illustrious men from all walks of life.
At the beginning, the College was affiliated to the University of Madras with four courses, PUC, B.Sc. Mathematics, B.Sc. Geography and B.A. English and temporarily accommodated in the Government High School (South), Namakkal. Later, the College was shifted to its permanent building situated on the Namakkal, Mohanur Road, five kilometres away from Namakkal during 1970-1971. Now, the College offers 14 UG programmes, 11 PG programmes, 8 M.Phil. programmes and 8 Ph.D. programmes under various departments. At the top of the emblem, the emblem of Government of Tamil Nadu (tower) is engraved. It shows that the College is run by the Government of Tamil Nadu. In the middle, a note book, a pen and a kuthuvilakku are seen. The note book and the pen represent the basic need of education in general. In a deep sense, they represent to the attainment of Higher Education. The light of the kuthuvilakku reminds that the students knowledge will give long lasting benefit to the society forever without any poshness. Following this, the College name is engraved in Tamil as அறிஞர் அண்ணா அரசு கலைக்கல்லூரி. In addition, a part of the Namakkal Rock Fort, Lotus Pond and the Temples of Lord Aranganathar and Lord Narasimha are also seen. It implies that Namakkal has its long prestigious historical background. At the bottom, the slogan of the College கற்றனைத்தூறும் அறிவு 'Learning Enhances Wisdom' is inscribed.
