Page 58 - CTB-1 10 May
P. 58

        58   PIONEERING A NEW FUTURE
 Indian Science Congress Association
     Above: Asiatic Society building, 1914
Below: President
Pranab Mukherjee along with former Prime Minister
Dr Manmohan Singh during the 100th ISC, Kolkata, 2013
The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British chemists, namely, Prof. JL Simonsen and Prof. PS MacMahon.
It was their view that scientific research in India would be stimulated if an annual meeting
of research workers on the lines of the
British Association for the Advancement
of Science could be arranged.
The generous and sympathetic
attitude of the Asiatic Society towards
scientific development in India created conditions for the holding of the first meeting
of the Congress in 1914. From that time onwards, the Asiatic Society took considerable care in nurturing the infant organization and managing its affairs. But, the rapid growth of activities of
the ISCA made it impossible for the society to look after it properly. Therefore, soon after the Silver Jubilee Session of the Congress (1938) the headquarters of the association were shifted first
to the Calcutta University premises and later, to the Presidency College, Calcutta.
In 1947, the Indian Science Congress Association again returned to the buildings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and continued to carry on its steadily
increasing activities from its centre. The need to have a permanent habitation of the
association was keenly felt in 1948-49 and Dr B Mukerji, the then General Secretary, broached the subject in several meetings of the association and proposed creation of a ‘building fund’ for the association.
          














































































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