Growth of Scholarly Societies and Their Activities in Pre-Independent India: A Reconnaissance

Abstract

During the pre-independence years, many scientific societies were set up. Their mandate was to promote and popularise science education, research, and communication. The present paper intends to study different scholarly societies which came up in India from 1900 to 1947 and earlier; the parameters of their objectives, extension activities, publications and achievements will be used to study the scholarly societies. The objectives of the study are to highlight the scholarly societies which were set up from 1784 to 1914, their contributions to the Swadeshi Science Movement, activities for promoting science education and research in the country and the scope of their publications and their coverage in citation databases. The study showcases the significant contributions of scholarly societies in promoting science education and research in the country. The study validates that the scholarly societies laid a robust foundation for the country's present scientific institutions and science education.