INDIAN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY
www.insoso.org

The Indian Sociological Society was set up in Bombay with the initiative of Prof. G. S. Ghurye, Head of the Department of Sociology, University of Bombay. The Society was registered in December 1951 under the Societies Registration Act. G. S. Ghurye was the Founder-President. Prof. J. V. Fereira followed by Prof. K. M. Kapadia were the Secretaries. Prof. Ghurye served as President from 1951 to 1966. The Society started a biannual journal Sociological Bulletin from March 1952. It occasionally held seminars/workshops on selected themes but did not organize big conferences.

That task was undertaken in north India with the initiative of Prof. R. N. Saxena. Beginning with 1955 he organized six conferences in various parts of the country called All India Sociological Conference (AISC). Except holding periodical conferences the AISC did not have any other activities.

In mid-60s the leaders of the profession came together to discuss the issues concerning the profession. They decided to merge AISC with the Indian Sociological Society and held a conference of the merged body in Bombay in October 1967. The conference was inaugurated by Prof. Ghurye and Prof. M. N. Srinivas was elected the new President. Following this change the Society’s office was shifted from University of Bombay to University of Delhi where Prof. Srinivas was based. The Society organised All-India Sociological Conference on a regular basis in addition to publishing the journal Sociological Bulletin.

With the expansion of higher education, several new departments of sociology came jup all over the country resulting in increase in the membership of Society. It was a measure of the strength of the Society that it successfully hosted the XI World Congress of Sociology in Delhi in 1986.

Realising the inconvenience of operating Society’s activities from different locations where office bearers worked, the Managing Committee has taken a decision to establish its national office in New Delhi. Subsequently, it approached the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, to provide a relatively stable shelter and essential services under its premises. Thanks to the Institute’s helpful attitude the Society’s office is now functioning with great efficiency in its premises since 1989.

Since then the Indian Sociological Society has progressed a great deal. Its membership has increased manifold. Its journal is now published annually with three issues since 2004 instead of two. Its conferences are held every year and are well attended. In addition to the journal the Society now publishes two issues of ISS Newsletter annually. The Society now organizes its major academic work through 21 Research Committees, which provides a better opportunity for members to participate in meaningful dialogues and exchange of views. The annual lecture in memory of Professor M. N. Srinivas and annual prize in his name for young sociologists have contributed to the academic profile to the Society’s activities.

The Society instituted the Life Time Achievement Award in 2005 with the following objectives:  (a) To honour outstanding Indian Sociologists who have made profound and exceptional contributions in the field of sociology and thereby enriched the discipline of sociology and enhanced the capability and respectability of its professionals, and (b) To inspire and encourage other members of the profession to emulate these Awardees and consider them as role models and to work for their own and the profession’s betterment and  exaltation through creditable work and significant contribution. The award was given to Dr. Y B Damle (Pune), Prof M. S. Gore (Hubli), Prof. Victor S.  D'Souza (Bangalore), and Prof. Ramkrishna Mukherjee (Kolkata) in 2005. Prof. Yogendra Singh (New Delhi) and Prof. Leela Dube (New Delhi) were given the Life Time Achievement Award in 2007

The Indian Sociological Society continues to function at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.

INDIAN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Institute of Social Sciences
8 Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110 070
Phone: (91-11-) 26121902, 26895370 Telefax: (91-11) 26137027
Email: issnd@vsnl.com Website: www.insoso.org

Managing Committee

Office Bearers
President : Uttam B. Bhoite (Pune
Secretary : Ishwar Prasad Modi (Jaipur)
Treasurer : Ravinder Kaur (New Delhi)

Members
Bishnu Charan Barik (Nanded)		Jayaram Panda (Jammu
Bipil Kumar Bhadra (Kolkata)		Vijayalakshmi P Reddy (Hyderabad)
Sharit Kumar Bhowmik (Mumbai)		Ravinder Singh Sandhu (Amritsar)
S. L. Hiremath (Gulbarga		S. A. Salunkhe (Kolhapur)
D. Jayalakshmi (Chennai)		G. Satyanarayana (Hyderabad)
J. Krishnamurthy (Annamalainagar)		Ashish Saxena (Jammu)
Rajesh Mishra (Lucknow)		Sheobahal Singh (Gorakhpur)

Secretary (Office)
Krishnan Namboodiri