Look Back in Reverence

Fortyeight years have elapsed since the founding of the Indian Psychiatric Society. What had been started as a group of barely ten members, has today grown into an organisation which has more than two thousand members, with zonal, state and even city branches. The growth of the IPS in many ways, parallels the growth and changes that have occurred in the field of psychiatry in India. General Hospital Psychiatry and Community Psychiatric services have become strong movements in this country and are rapidy displacing mental hospital centred psychiatric treatment. Patient care and and post graduate training programmes have kept pace with the advanes that have occurred in the international scene. In the field of research, some excellent epidemiological studies and outcome studies have been conducted here. While we can be rightly proud about these achievements, taking stock of them should also be an opportunity for us to look back in reverence and gratitude at our predecessors who have made this growth of psychiatry in India possible. Pioneers like Vidyasagar, Govindaswamy, Murthi Rao, Satyanand, L.P. Verma, R. B. Davies and N. C. Surya have struggled, often single handedly to establish credible, systems of patient care, research and training in their respective places of work. Pride of place goes to those among them who have tried to give our psychiatry an Indian face. The contributions of Dr. N.C. Surya in this field deserves special mention. He conducted the first epidemiological study on mental morbidity in India. His writings on psychotherapy made us aware of the importance of making our concepts and techniques culturally relevant The many students of Dr. Surya, who are now teaching and practising psychiatry in the various parts of this country, remember him with gratitude for the many things he taught them which cannot be found in any text book or journal. He could discuss at length and critically evaluate every issue whether it be psychotherapy or politics or religion. His teaching was based on his own original observations and reflections, delivered in his inimitable style laced with a great sense of humour. His tendency to challenge and question traditionally held views in psychiatry stimulated the students to think for themselves instead of accepting concepts blindly.