Question
Give a description of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science.
Answer
The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) was founded by Mahendra Lal Sarkar on July 29, 1876, making it India’s oldest centre for the study of basic science. The institution was funded by citizen contributions and contributed significantly to Bengal’s cultural and intellectual development in the 19th century. The goal of the IACS was to disseminate scientific knowledge without government aid, encourage young students to study and research basic sciences and promote science for the benefit of the country in the future. The institution’s main focus was on basic science research, and it continues to pursue this goal. Lecturers at the institution included distinguished figures such as Father Eugene Lafont, Jagadish Chandra Basu, Chunilal Bose, Premnath Bose, and Ashutosh Mukherjee. The IACS trust board included luminaries such as Vidyasagar and Keshab Chandra Sen. Raja Pyarimohan Mukherjee, Dr. Nil Ratan Sarkar, Gyan Chandra Ghosh, and Dr. Satyendranath Bose, a renowned physicist, were among the institution’s presidents. Professor C.V. Raman, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his work on light waves known as the “Raman Effect” (1928), was associated with the institute from 1907 to 1933.
