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THE ASSOCIATION OF NEUROSCIENTISTS OF EASTERN INDIA THE BEGINNING AND GROWTH OF A MOVEMENT

DR. PRAKASH CHANDRA

As we hold the 11th annual conference of our association at Ranchi. I feel it is high time someone talked about our association little bit, at least for the curious mind of the young colleagues and also for the purpose of records. Prof. Sanatan Rath, our past president and also the past president of the Neurological Society of India has rightly observed that this Association is a ‘brain child’ of Dr. K. K. Sinha. The redoubtable organizational ability of this man of vision has not only helped in the creation of brain child but has master minded its growth pattern in such a way that we can see for ourselves how well it has come up.
It all began in the days of infamous Emergency of 1975-77. Dr. Sinha resigned from the Rajendra Medical college and plunged himself into private practice. It soon dawned on him that there was a deplorable lack of infrastructural facilities for diagnostics and therapeutics in this part of the country when one compared with the developed centers of the South, West, and north India. There was a pressing need for creating awareness amongst the medical community and the public in general about this and he was looking for a forum to launch this awareness which would stimulate many renowned stalwarts scattered in different parts of this region to come together on one common platform. It was thought that from this platform appeals could be made to different governmental machineries and all other health care providers to create more facilities in the field of neurosciences in different medical institutions in eastern India. With this aim in mind Dr. Sinha motivated Dr. U Prasad a senior Physician with special interest in Neurology at Bokaro to organize the 1st East Zonal Neuro conference in 1978. It was successfully organized at Bokaro General Hospital. As ill luck would have it, Dr. Sinha fell seriously ill around this time and there was a setback for a couple of years. When he recouped he got busy with the publication of ‘Physician India’ and organizing CME program of the NSI (from 1985 through 1990) and its publication “Progress in Clinical Neurosciences “. This is when I joined and find myself in a position to recount the process of the formation of the Association and its activities.
In 1988 during the Chandigarh Conference of the NSI Prof. N. N. Sarangi met Dr. Sinha and they decided to reactivate the East Zonal Neuro Conference. In 1989 the 2nd conference was held at Calcutta. Prof. S. Rath organized 3rd conference at Cuttack in Jan. 1990 Dr. Zakir Husssain invited the 4th annual conference at Guwahati in Oct. 1990. It proved a corner stone in the history of our association. It was at Guwahati conference that an adhoc executive was formed with Prof. R. N. Roy as its president and Dr. K.K. Sinha as its Hony. Secretary. It was decided to form an East Zonal Chapter of the Neurological Society of India and write to the NSI for formal approval of the same. It was also decided at Guwahati to have a working constitution of this chapter drafted and a committee was nominated for this. The committee prepared a draft constitution. Pending the approval by the NSI the 5th annual conference of the East Zone Chapter of the NSI was held at Ranchi in Oct. 1991.
It was at Ranchi conference that a final shape was given to this draft constitution by this committee comprising Prof. Shyamal Sen, Prof. H. P. Narayan and Col. Dr. P. Sanchetee (Who was then posted at Command Hospital, Calcutta and its currently at AFMC, Pune). It was pointed out by the NSI that there was no provision in its constitution for formation of any zonal chapter, though it allowed a city or a state chapter to function. Prof. Sen was incidentally the President of the NSI in 1991 and a proposal was formally made to amend the constitution of the NSI to allow for the formation of Zonal Chapter at the Dec. 1991 conference of NSI at Manipal. This proposal for amendment did not get through and there in Manipal the members of the NSI belonging to the Eastern India met and decided to have an independent society of their own. Thus the society was born and named “Association of Neuroscientists of Eastern India (ANEI)”. Prof. Sarangi invited the 6th annual conference (the first conference after the formation of this Association) at Calcutta in Oct. 1992. It was here that our constitution was formally adopted under the new name and a membership drive was launched. The adhoc executive was dissolved and the 1st executive was elected in 1993. Prof. Shyamal Sen was formally elected the first President and Dr. Sinha the Hony. Secretary
In 1994 the venue of the conference shifted to Cuttack. Prof. Shyamal Sen was the President and Dr.B. N. Maiti was its organizing secretary.
In 1995 the conference was held at Dibrugarh with Dr. Sanatan Rath as its president and Dr. N. Upadhyaya as its organizing secretary.
In 1996 10th conference was held at Calcutta under the President ship of DR. B. Roy Choudhury; Dr. B. Maiti was its organizing secretary.
In 1997 Ranchi holds the 11th conference under the President ship of Dr. D. Roy Choudhury; Dr. P. Chandra is the organizing secretary.
Other Land Marks:

Other Land Marks:

Prof. T. K. Ghosh Oration: it was instituted in 1993.
Orators –
  • 1993 - Prof. N. H. Wadia, Bombay
  • 1994 – Prof. B. Ramamurthy, Madras
  • 1995 - Prof. K. Srinivasam, Madurai
  • 1996 – Prof. David Bates, Newcastle
  • 1997 – Prof. K. V. Mathai, Kottayam

Dr. B. C. Roy Gold Medal – It was instituted in 1993 once again with the help of Dr. K.K. Sinha. It is awarded to the best free paper by a young neuroscientist every year.
Prof. R. N. Chatterjee Oration – it was instituted in 1996 with the financial help of Dr. Abhijit Chatterjee.

Orators –

  • 1996 – Prof. C.D. Marsden, London
  • 1997 – Prof. G. Arjundas, Madras



National workshop on ‘Movement Disorders’ at Calcutta in 1996
Convenor – Dr. Ambar Chakravorty
‘International Neurosurgical Update’ at Calcutta in 1996
Convenor – Dr. Sandeep Chatterjee

Publications

“ADVANCES IN CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES” science 1991
  • Editors: Dr. K. K. Sinha and Dr. P. Chandra.
    This year 7th volume has been published


ANEI TIMES – A News Letter of the association has been regularly published since 1993.
Editor – Dr. K. K. Sinha
Asst. Editor – Dr. P. Chandra
Journal of the ANEI (JANEI) – Started in 1996.
Editor – Dr. Ambar Chakravorty
CME Program – 1997 at Ranchi
A full fledged CME program has been started this year at Ranchi extending the duration of the conference from two to three days.
Other activities – Every year two symposia, one in Neurology and one in Neurosurgery are held Every Year two Guest lectures, one in Neurology and one in Neurosurgery and allied specialties are delivered.
How far have we come?
I have seen the ANEI progressing like a movement. It has definitely created awareness which has born fruits. Where there was only 4 to 5 CT Scaners in eastern region till 1988, today they are around 40.

Where there was no MRI till 1988, we have today 10 of them. Many independent departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery are functioning in both states run and private sectors hospitals. Infrastructural facilities are developing at a faster pace and now there are good prospects for Neuroscientists of Eastern Region working outside to come back home and establish their carrier here. The association cannot be given the credit for all developments that have taken place during the last decade but definitely it has started a healthy trend and the brain child is now kicking and thriving.

Long live the Association
Note:- This article was first published in the commemorative Souvenir of ANEICON 1997 held at Ranchi.