About us – Indian Sociological Society

The Indian Sociological Society (ISS) was established in 1951 in Bombay with 107 members. The key initiative in its formation was taken by G. S. Ghurye, the then Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Bombay. The Society’s main activity then was the publication of the Sociological Bulletin which was started in 1952 and was printed biannually. Around the same time another initiative was taken by sociologists at Lucknow, R. K. Mukerjee and D. P. Mukerjee who established the All-India Sociological Conference (AISC). They had their first conference in 1955 and between 1957 and 1961, they organised another 5 conferences thereafter.

In the mid-60s, the pioneers of the profession including functionaries from these two organizations came together to discuss different issues concerning the profession. They decided to merge ISS with the AISC and held a conference of the merged body in Bombay in October 1967. The conference was inaugurated by G.S. Ghurye and M. N. Srinivas was elected the new President. Following this change, the Society’s office shifted from the University of Bombay to University of Delhi where M.N. Srinivas was based. Henceforth, the Society apart from publishing the journal, Sociological Bulletin, started organizing the All-India Sociological Conferences on a regular basis.

Realizing the inconvenience of operating the Society’s activities from different locations where the office bearers worked, the Managing Committee took the decision of establishing its national office in New Delhi. Subsequently, it approached the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, to provide a space for running the ISS activities. The Society’s office functioned at the Institute’s premises from 1989 to March 2017. Thereafter, it shifted to its own premises at Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. Today, the Society also runs a guest house for its life members at this premises.

With the expansion of higher education, several new departments of sociology were established across the country resulting in an increase in the membership of the Society. The number of members attending the congresses increased. In 1986, the Society successfully organized the XI World Congress of Sociology in Delhi. Since then, the Indian Sociological Society has taken great strides with its life membership increasing to 6694 as on 20 January 2025. In response to contemporary needs, the Society has upgraded its website and it conducts all communications online including membership, abstract submissions for the conferences and journal subscriptions. Voting also takes place online.

The ISS publishes three journals and a newsletter. The first is Sociological Bulletin which was started in 1952 and is one of the oldest professional social science journals in India. It is published in English. It started as a biannual publication and since 2004 it has been publishing four times a year: January-April, May-August, and September-December and a special issue in between. In 2017, the Society signed a contract with Sage Publishers to publish Sociological Bulletin.

The ISS publishes three journals and a newsletter.

The first is Sociological Bulletin which started in 1952 and is one of the oldest English language professional social science journals in India.

Since then, Sociological Bulletin has become a global journal having footsteps across the world. In January 2014, the Society started its second journal, Bhartiya Samajshastra Sameeksha. This international journal in Hindi publishes two issues every year. Sage Publications has started publishing this journal from 2018 and Sameeksha will be Sage’s first Hindi language journal. In 2017 the Society revived the ISS E-journal which is now retitled, Explorations. In addition, the Society started a newsletter first in print and later as an e-newsletter. It now publishes the E-newsletter thrice yearly. These three journals are all peer reviewed journals and together with the newsletter, are governed through a common set of Editorial Guidelines.

The Society

The Society held the AISC every two years from 1965 onwards until the ISS merged with the AISC in 1967.

It was from 1993 that it started conducting annual conferences. The conferences are broadly guided by the ISS Managing Committee. The theme of the last conference (conducted 22-24 Dec 2024) was: Sociology, Development and Democracy. (A detailed list of the Conferences can be seen here.)

In the late 1990s, the Society decided to constitute Research Committees (RC) which are thematically organized. This provides space for scholars to deliberate on different dimensions of the research theme. The Society’s major academic works are being organized through these Research Committees, allowing its members to participate in engaged discussions on various themes. From 2024, different RCs have held regular online lectures are held which are then uploaded on the ISS YouTube Channel.

In the last 17 years, the total number of RCs have increased to 34 including the 5 Ad Hoc Groups encouraging members across generations and regions to present their papers in these Committees at the AISC. The RCs are governed by their own rules and regulations. To help students write professionally accepted papers, the Society has uploaded on its website resource page where useful links, book recommendations, articles on predecessors, academic protocols etc are shared. The Society continues to reach out to both faculty and students interested in sociology by holding various programmes such as academic writing workshops, seminars and talks.

In addition to the above-mentioned activities, the Society has two endowments in memory of M. N. Srinivas and Radha Kamal Mukerjee. The Society conducts yearly lectures at the AISC in their names and in addition gives an annual prize for young sociologists in honour of the former. The Society instituted the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and since then, various scholars in the sociology profession are honored at the yearly AISC. Till 2024 it has honored 33 Indian sociologists.

The Society also has designed an Ethics Code for itself. These guidelines are presented as aspirational goals intended to orient sociologists in India to principles and standards regarding their professional responsibilities as teachers, researchers, and practitioners. These guidelines serve as best practices regarding professional behaviour towards individuals and groups whom they study, work, and produce knowledge about and whom they wish to protect.