| The Society was formed at the initiative of Professor Meghnad Saha
against the backdrop of a series of great scientific advents taking place
in India. 1921 had witnessed the formulation of the Saha Ionisation Formula
laying the foundation of the entire edifice of quantitative Astrophysics.
It was quickly followed by the work of S N Bose in 1924, which ushered
in the era of the so-called quantum statistics. Close on heels, in 1928,
came the discovery of Professor CV Raman, the Raman effect making inroads
into molecular and condensed matter spectroscopy. Side by side, here
and there in the country, there were attempts to consolidate the
scientific force in the country for the betterment of science and the social
life in India as also to meet the necessity of advising the Government
on relevant issues. As a result, the United Provinces Academy of Sciences
was founded in Allahabad in 1931, again at the instance of Professor Saha.
In the course of Professor Saha's attempt to elevate it to the national
level, there emerged two new academies, namely the Indian Academy of Sciences
in Bangalore (1934), a protege of Sir CV Raman, and the National Institute
of Sciences (1935) in Kolkata, the UP Academy incidentally assuming the
new name, National Academy of Sciences, in 1934. The National Institute
of Sciences was to act as a nodal establishment coordinating the other
Academies. The Indian Physical Society came into being amidst these with
an objective akin to that of the Royal Society and headquarters housed
in the Department of Physics of the University College of Science, Calcutta.
The Council of the Society first met on 14 August 1934 with Professor DM
Bose as the General Secretary and Prof BM Sen as the President. It elected
42 new Fellows in this meeting. The inaugural meeting of the Society was
held on 29 and 30 September the same year in Calcutta.
The Society had for some time local branches. A group of twelve or
more residing within easy reach of a city may form with the approval of
the Council such a branch. Local branches can organise meetings for
discussion and symposia in Physics. |
Professor Meghnad Saha |
