Brief History about the Society and its Activities

The Physiological Society of India is the pioneer organization of the Physiologists of India. The Society was established on July 13, 1934 by a group of eminent persons like Sir Nilratan Sarkar, Sir Kedar Nath Das, Sir Upendra Nath Brahmachari, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, who were the well-known Physician in Calcutta, along with some renowned Physiologists and Biochemists like Prof. Subodh Chandra Mahalanobis, Prof. Narendra Mohan Basu, Prof. Bijoli Behari Sarkar, Prof. Parimal Bikash Sen, Prof. J.N. Moitra, Dr. D.N. Mullick, Prof. Biresh Chandra Guha etc.

The first President of the Society was Prof. Subodh Chandra Mahalanobis, the pioneer Physiologist, who also became the first Professor of Physiology in India under the Science Faculty in the Presidency College in Calcutta, a constituent College of the University of Calcutta.

The first two Secretaries of the Society were Prof. Nibaran Chandra Bhattacharya and Prof. Narendra Mohan Basu. The first Treasurer and the first Assistant Secretary of the Society were Prof. Bijoli Behari Sarkar and Dr. P.M. Brahmachari respectively.

The Society first started functioning in Calcutta. But in course of time it became an All India Organization of Physiologists, Pharmacologists, Biochemists and Medical students and teachers.

The Physiological Society of India is registered under Act XXI of 1860. The Office of the Society is situated in the Physiology Department, University College of Science & Technology, University of Calcutta, 92, A.P.C. Road, Kolkata 700009 for more than forty-five years. There are 457 life members of the Society now. Some of the internationally reputed Honorary Members of the Society, deceased, now, are Prof. Sir John Eccles, Nobel Laureate,  Prof. D. Whitteridge, Prof. Sir A.S. Paintal, Prof. A.V. Hill, Prof. Sacchidananda Banerjee and Prof. Sukhamoy Lahiri, etc.

The Physiological Society of India is adhered to the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS). The Society is also a member Society of Federation of Asian and Oceanian Physiological Sciences (FAOPS) and Federation of Indian Physiological Societies (FIPS) and newly formed South Asian Association of Physiologists (SAAP). The society has attained its 75 years on July 13, 2009. Platinum Jubilee Celebration was held at Kolkata during Nov. 12-14, 2009.

Activities

Annual Conferences

The Society has organized Conferences, scientific meetings, seminars, invited lectures, etc., every year regularly since its inception in 1934. But the Annual Conferences were designated serially from 1989. Accordingly twenty one (21) Annual Conferences have been organized in different places of India since 1989 till date. The first such designated Conference was held in the Department of Physiology, Calcutta University in 1989. Not only several Symposia or Seminars were organized in those Annual Conferences but also several Invited Lectures and Memorial Orations have been delivered by many distinguished speakers from India and abroad. The twenty second such designated Annual Conference will be held at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore during December 15-17, 2010.