History of Psychology at Calcutta University Across the Century

Abstract

Tracing the history of psychology at Calcutta University, this chapter describes the sequence of events that led to the launching of teaching of psychology at Calcutta University in 1915. The department attracted students from all parts of India, and its products provided leadership in various academic institutions. The department also facilitated professional development by launching Indian Journal of Psychology and Samiksha, establishing Indian Psychological Association and registering with the Indian Science Congress Association. Several faculty members of the department were trained in European and North American universities. Recent developments include joining Calcutta University Industry Institute Partnership Programme (CUIIPP), opening of RCI-approved M. Phil. in Clinical Psychology, participation in Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area (CPEPA), and grant of the status of Special Assistance Programme (SAP). The early concern of experimental psychology and psycho analysis has gradually expanded to include newer fields of psychology and using qualitative methods.

In the arena of Calcutta University academics, the Department of Psychology is an “existence”. Like any other existence of elements, bodies, concepts, and philosophies, there is a developmental trajectory to speak for its existence. This chapter is a humble effort to pen down the history of the Department to portray it to the world of academics. In this portrayal, I have borrowed the paints and brushes from our stalwarts, but mixing my subjective flavor to bring out its own brilliance and brightness. I am carrying the banner of psychology with deep respect and admiration and is willing to hand it over to the next generation to fly it with colors and its own fragrance.

The Story Behind the Curtain

Hundred years ago, in 1875, Wilhelm Wundt went from Zurich to Leipzig to accept the Professorship of Philosophy. This was a significant event because it brought Wundt formally into the field of psychology. On his arrival and participation in Leipzig, he was given space for experimental demonstrations in connection with his lectures in psychology. However, he could develop his more formal laboratory of psychology in 1879. The year Wundt joined the University of Leipzig, William James in America got Harvard University to spend three hundred dollars on “Physiological Apparatus” and to set aside two rooms in the Lawrence Scientific School where his graduate students of psychology could repeat some of his demonstration experiments.

The first English language journal in psychology appeared in 1887 when Stanley Hall founded the American Journal of Psychology. To begin with, it was his personal property. Hall also initiated the establishment of the American Psychological Association. In 1892, he became its first president. Ten years later, in 1902, the British Psychological Society was established. In 1904, the British Journal of Psychology made its first appearance. The same year was marked by another achievement where Ivan Pavlov, the celebrated Russian physiologist, received his Nobel Prize for his work on “conditioning”. The beginning of the history of psychology may be accounted against this world academic perspective (Dutta, 1937; Basu, 1976).

The beginning of the science of psychology, however, can be traced from the publication of Fechner’s Elemente der Psychophysik in 1868. Two other dates are worth mentioning in this context in order to establish the characteristics of psychology as a science, when it was initiated in India. In 1899, Freud published his Interpretations of Dreams, laying the foundations of a new methodology called psychoanalysis, which was markedly different from the methodology of psychophysics of Fechner and psychological experiment of Wundt. In 1905, Binet came out with his method of scaling intelligence, opening thereby the door to the scientific study of individual difference which in the hands of Galton and Spearman, became further sophisticated methods of psychometry later on. Between the years 1868 and 1905, therefore, from a study of sensation, dream, and intelligence, psychology had developed its characteristic features of a science in terms of:

• 1. the study of psychological phenomena as dependent variables in relation to stimuli under experimentally controlled conditions of the laboratory

• 2. the study of psychological phenomena in individual difference mosaics, also revealing as a person in the clinical setup

• 3. measurement of psychological characteristics.

When scientific psychology was born in 1915 at Calcutta University, being the first department in India, it had this tradition behind (Mitra, 1950, 1973). After thirty six years of the establishment of the first psychological laboratory at Leipzig in 1879, the fragrance of this new branch of science reached India. The honor of having the first such laboratory in Asia goes to Japan. In the sphere of Education, India was closely associated with Great Britain, while Japan was associated with Germany in the nineteenth century. The net result was that while Japanese scholars imported experimental psychology to their seats of learning, the subject was very little known in the Indian academic arena. One wonders what exactly roused Sir Asutosh Mookherjee’s enthusiasm for this new subject as early as 1902 or 1903. Late Bose (1979) commented, “Long ago, a senior professor told us in a casual way that Sir Asutosh being a mathematician ‘par excellence’ was, perhaps, impressed by the methods of psychophysics in the measurement of mental phenomenon.” Sir Asutosh Mookherjee, the then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, could feel the immense potentiality of this new science, and with his far sight and wisdom, psychology was included as an independent subject in the postgraduate courses as early as 1905. Subsequently, Sir Brojendranath Seal, George V Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy was entrusted to draw up a syllabus for the new course of study in the experimental psychology. While preparing this syllabus, Professor Seal consulted the courses of studies in different European and American Universities. The preparation, however, took about a decade due to some unknown reasons and the first psychological laboratory of India came into being in 1915 as Department of Experimental Psychology. Regular postgraduate classes, however, began in the year 1916.

The First Stearer

Dr. Narendra Nath Sengupta (1916–1929), who had worked under Professor Hugo Munsterberg at Harvard, USA, was placed in charge of the Department. He was a graduate from National Council of Education of Jadavpur University. He proceeded to USA with one of the Travelling Fellowship in 1910. He completed regular four-year course in three years (1910–1913) at Harvard University and completed his M.A. and Ph.D. there in 1915 under the supervision of Munsterberg. He had his training in the laboratory of Experimental Psychology of E. B. Titchener at Cornell University, USA. He was awarded Burr Scholarship in 1911–1912, Hodges Scholarship in 1912–1913; he got Detur Prize in 1913, received University Distinction of Magna Cum Laude in 1913, and awarded Gold Medal for academic distinction at Harvard University, USA, in 1913. He returned to India in August 1915 and joined the Department of Philosophy. He then organized the first Psychological Laboratory in India at Calcutta University and became the Founder Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology (Deb, 2001). Students trained at Calcutta laboratory ultimately became instrumental in spreading the new psychological movement throughout India. The University of Calcutta opened its postgraduate classes in psychology in 1916 and later its undergraduate classes in 1920 (Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1

Narendranath Sengupta (December 23, 1989– June 13, 1944)

Manmatha Nath Banerjee was the first student who was admitted in the postgraduate course of study in 1914 in anticipation of opening of the Department and was permitted to do practical work in Physiology Laboratory of the Presidency College under the supervision of Professor S. C. Mohalanobis. He passed out in September 1916 and was immediately appointed as Assistant Lecturer to assist Dr. N. N. Sengupta (Bose, 1979).

In 1916, the first regular batch of students was admitted. Among them were Haripada Maiti and Rangin Halder. Dr. Giridrasekhar Bose also joined the Department at that time as a casual student. He was a noted medical practitioner with brilliant academic career. In his B.Sc. Examination, he had obtained double Honors First Class in Physiology and Chemistry. He was a reputed mental disease specialist of his time with original works in abnormal psychology to his credit. Because of his high academic attainments, he was permitted to appear in M.Sc. Examination in one year in 1917 as a special case of brilliant studentship, and before publication of his result, he was appointed as part-time lecturer in Abnormal Psychology in 1918. In 1921, he was awarded the D.Sc. degree and was thus the First D.Sc. degree holder in Psychology of the Calcutta University and also of India (Deb, 2002).

The department could not fully cope with the teaching load with only three teachers. Hence, part-time services of several teachers from the Departments of Philosophy, Zoology and Physiology had to be requisitioned. Some of those who passed out during 1918–1921 were recruited in the teaching staff. By 1922, the services of all part-time teachers excepting one from other departments or colleges could be dispensed with. Only B. C. Ghosh of Vidyasagar College continued to teach Physiological Psychology and Amnesia.

Haripada Maiti and Rangin Haldar were the successful students of 1918 batch. H. P. Maiti joined the Department as Lecturer, and R. Haldar joined B. N. College at Patna. Next batch had Surit Chandra Mitra and Gopeswar Pal. S. C. Mitra was a brilliant student standing First Class First in Philosophy. However, G. Pal came from the department of Pure Mathematics. They joined the M.Sc. course in Psychology in 1919. In 1920, Mohan Lal Ganguli and Khirod Chandra Mukherjee took their degrees. M. Ganguli first joined the University Students Welfare Board and then came to the Department in 1924. K. C. Mukherjee worked in the Philosophy Department of the Dacca University from 1921 to 1949. After the partition of India, he joined the Calcutta University. Monindra Nath Samanta belonged to the batch of 1921. Ganguli and Samanta were taken in the Department, and no recruitment was made in the next four years.

The Work Domain of Dr. N. N. Sengupta

N. N. Sengupta having a team of competent teachers, a fairly good laboratory setup and carefully chosen students, introduced research programme with his colleagues in 1923. An added incentive for research was provided in 1924 by the acceptance in the Indian Science Congress Association to have a section of Psychology from 1925. This opened the platform for presentation of scientific papers in the annual sessions of the Science Congress. A noteworthy fact in this connection was that the Department’s plea for opening the section of Psychology being piloted by Dr. N. N. Sengupta and Dr. G. Bose was made possible through a strong support being lent to it by Professor P. C. Mohalonalbis and Dr. C. V. Raman. The first meeting of this section of the Indian Science Congress Association was held on January 12–17 in 1925 at Banaras Hindu University under the chairmanship of Dr. N. N. Sengupta. The meeting was attended by Dr. N. N. Sengupta, Dr. G. Bose, Dr. Sisir Kumar Maitra, Dr. J. C. Manry, Dr. M. V. Gopalaswami, Major O Berkley-Hill, Professor G. C. Chatterjee, Professor J. M. Sen, Professor C. Rice, Professor P. B. Adhikari, Mr. Haripada Maiti, Mr. (Later Dr.) Gopeswar Pal, Mr. Mohan Lal Ganguli, Mr. Manindra Nath Sammanta, Mr. B. L. Atreya, Principal Michael West, Mr. (Later Sir) Chandreswar Prasad Narayan Sinha, Mr. J. N. Ghosh, Mr. Indradeo Tewary, Mr. Malkany, and Mr. Haridas Bhattacharya (Sen, 1950).

In this meeting, a decision was taken to form the Indian Psychological Association and to start the Indian Journal of Psychology as its official organ to be published quarterly. Dr. N. N. Sengupta was the First President of the Indian Psychological Association, being followed by Berkeley-Hill and the First Editor of the journal. The Board of Editors of the Journal at that time included Owen Berkeley-Hill of the European Mental Hospital, Ranchi; G. C. Chatterjee of Government. College, Lahore; Haridas Bhattacharya of Dacca University; S. C. Mitra of Calcutta University. The first number of the journal appeared in 1926. Calcutta University Press printed this free of cost and did so for more than twenty-five years.

When the modern psychology started in India, it inherited three distinct traditions: Psychological measurement and intelligence testing, experimental psychology, and Freudian Psychoanalysis. These traditions influenced the development of psychology in India in later years (Basu, 1976). In the selection of research topics in the early period, the emphasis of the Calcutta University was upon experimental work relating to the classical studies of Wundt, Kulpe, Fechner, Ebbinghaus, and others. The technique of structural school was followed in laying down the experimental procedure (Deb, 2002). In the first five years, some of the notable studies were as follows (Bose & Deb, 1979, 1980, p. 7):

• Monocular perception of distance (N. N. Sengupta and S. K. Bose)

• Mental work in isolation and in group (N. N. Sengupta and C. P. N. Sinha)

• An analytical study of the memorization process (H. P. Maiti)

• Some experiments on Fechner’s Paradox (S. C. Mitra)

• Visual perception of geometrical figures (M. Ganguli)

• Influence of attitude on reaction time (G. Pal)

• The norm of Natural Reaction time of a group of Bengalee boys (M. Samanta and M. Ganguli)

• Perception of form by passive touch (S. K. Bose and N. Kanji)

• Definitely and indefinitely directed attention (N. N. Sengupta and S. K. Bose)

• Application of Stanford Adult Tests to a group of college boys (H. P. Maiti)

• Synaesthesia—a case study (M. N. Banerji)

• Vocabulary of a Bengalee girl—a case study (G. Pal)

• Is perception an illusion? (G. Bose)

• Free association method in Psychoanalysis (G. Bose)

• Nature of attention (N. N. Sengupta)

• Concept of instinct (S. C. Mitra).

The first phase of experiment-oriented research activities in the Wundtian tradition, some of which received recognition in German and American journals, may be said to have ended with the departure of N. N. Sengupta in 1929 to Lucknow University to take chair of Philosophy and Psychology. At that time, Calcutta University had no post of Reader in any department. Professorship was not created in psychology.

The Era of G. Bose (July 1929–April 1949)

G. Bose took over the charge of the Department from N. N. Sengupta in July 1929 as a part-time teacher of the Department. The designation “Head of the Department” then came in vogue. Ten years later the chair of Psychology was created in 1939, and G. Bose was appointed the first University Professor of Psychology. He was a man of outstanding ability and acknowledged authority on mental abnormalities. He made original contributions to the study of the origin and treatment of mental diseases and threw new light on the nature of unconscious. Theoretical and practical researches of his time had the unconscious hypothesis orientation. His brilliant achievements in different branches of psychology as a teacher, as a researcher, as an organizer, and also as an administrator accorded him a legendary status in the discipline of Psychology in India. He was recognized even by Sigmund Freud as the Father of Psychoanalysis in India, though he started it in his own way independent of Freud. His contributions to psychology are considered to be legion. G. Bose was a great experimentalist and psychoanalyst. His layout of the laboratory experiments was on the structuralist line, but the data of introspection received psychoanalytical interpretation in his hands (Mallick, 2004). Mitra (1950, 1954), while paying tribute to G. Bose, observed “while other persons “read” the Gita, our Dr. Bose used to “live” the Gita.” Possibly, this explained Bose’s philosophy of life, which interacted with his academic brilliance to earn him the pioneer status. Although G. Bose preferred psychoanalytical study of mental problems, he encouraged his associates to adopt other approaches to it. He was interested in laboratory work and helped workers to carry out successfully the studies on conditioning of finger-flexion reflexes, mirror-drawing and motor-learning, influence of color in area estimation, bi-naural disparity, and other issues of interest (Fig. 3.2).

Fig. 3.2

Girindrasekhar Bose (January 30, 1886– June 3, 1953)

When G. Bose had taken over, the Department had been shifted to the second floor. The accommodation consisted of two rooms and a small cubicle. Admission to postgraduate classes was limited to 12. The laboratory room could be expanded as four rooms were allotted in attached newly constructed wing of the building. The staff strength also increased. N. De and B. B. Chatterjee joined as part-time lecturers in Psychiatry and in Physiology, respectively. Anathnath Datta was appointed a whole-time Demonstrator in 1935. He became a lecturer later on (Bose, 1950, 1979). During Bose’s tenure, a Psychological Clinic was opened on May 1, 1933, for the treatment of mental patients at Carmaichael Medical College (now R. G. Kar Medical College, Calcutta) under the auspices of the Indian Association for Mental Hygiene. Dr. Bose was In-charge of the clinic from 1933 to 1949. Again on February 5, 1940, Indian Psychoanalytical Society established a Mental Hospital called “Lumbini Park Mental Hospital”, Tiljala. G. Bose played a significant role in running the hospital. During his time, postgraduate final year students of the Department had to visit the hospital every Thursday for picking up practical knowledge regarding the mental diseases. They also often visited the Psychological Clinic at Carmichael Medical College. During G. Bose’s time, two important changes were evident in the Department.

• 1. First the Department was renamed as Department of Psychology. The possible reasons for the transformation of the Department of Experimental Psychology into the Department of Psychology may be:

  • (a) The suggestions forwarded by the foreign delegates who attended the Annual Programme of Indian Science Congress in 1935 and

  • (b) In G. Bose’s time, the departmental works showed significant progress in non-experimental field of researches.

• 2. Second, a thorough revision of the syllabus was undertaken and completed.

The annual programme of the Indian Science Congress Association was held in Calcutta in 1938. G. Bose was the President of Psychology section which was attended by many eminent foreign psychologists like Myers, Jung, and Spearman. In G. Bose’s time, there was noticeable increase in the number of publications in the field of abnormal psychology, general/theoretical, experimental, industrial psychology, mental texts, test/apparatus, social psychology, etc. In his time, all round development of Calcutta laboratory was distinctly evident. The Department also started working jointly with different industries and helped selection of appropriate personnel.

Young teachers of psychology of other universities were sent to Calcutta for training in laboratory techniques. To name a few, were B. L. Atreya of Banaras Hindu University, Indra Sen of the Delhi Hindu College, Muhammad Aslam of the Lahore Government College and R. Rath of the Cuttack Ravenshaw College. Around 1924, university deputed S. C. Mitra to the University of Leipzig for higher studies. He secured his D.Phil. from Leipzig and thus earned the rare honor of being the first Asian to get such a degree from Leipzig. In the Silver Jubilee Celebration of Indian Psychological Association in 1950, S. C. Mitra wrote, “The Department of Psychology of Calcutta University has the biggest and best equipped laboratory in India and Pakistan. A fair amount of first rate theoretical and experimental work has been done by the members of the staff and the research students on various problems relating to perception, memory, instinct, emotion, psychophysics, mental testing, wish and allied themes. The results have been reported and some of these have been highly appreciated in technical journal here and abroad. Several books on Abnormal Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Child Psychology and General Psychology have been published in English and in Bengali. A number of original papers have also been published. Experiments in different fields have been undertaken and successfully concluded throwing new light on the subjects. Certain problems peculiar to Indian culture, e.g., Yoga, are being investigated in the laboratory” (p. 11).

The Regime of Second University Professor, Professor Suhrit Chandra Mitra (Period 1949–1959)

Early in 1950, S. C. Mitra was appointed the second University Professor of Psychology as G. Bose resigned on grounds of health. He was appointed the Head of the Department of Psychology in 1949 and was the second University Professor in 1950. He was Fellow of National Institute of Sciences of India, 1953, President, Indian Psychological Association, 1953–till death, and was the editor of Indian Journal of Psychology, 1953–till death. He was also the President of Psychology Section of Indian Science Congress Association, 1935. He was the Founder President of Psychology Alumni Association, CU, 1958. His tenure was characterized by intensive and extensive work of test construction and administration for the purpose of:

• 1. Selection of the new entrants to the medical and the engineering colleges of Calcutta and also for recruitment of workers in industries

• 2. Survey of attitudes of employees and supervisors for improving human relations in industries. One project on accident proneness of transport drivers and the other on industrial workers’ morale were partly financed by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Ministry of Education of the Government of India (Deb, 2002, p. 12).

In 1938, the section of Applied Psychology for carrying out researches mainly on vocational guidance and mental tests in the fields of community service, industry, education, etc., was proposed by world famous psychologists, S. C. Myers, P. C. Spearman, and C. G. Jung, who then were attending the Session of the Indian Science Congress. In 1945, the university started a Certificate Course in Applied Psychology for one year only for improving training to workers and students interested in the subject. The syllabus included three condensed papers in Industrial, Social, and Advanced Abnormal and Educational Psychology, of which one was to be selected by the student according to his individual interest.

In 1952, the whole postgraduate syllabus was revised to include in the course the latest developments of the subject. Two courses “A” and “B” in Psychology came in existence. “A” course had four special papers: Advanced Abnormal Psychology, Advanced Social Psychology, Indian Psychology, and Aesthetic Psychology. The “B” course offered specialization in Industrial Psychology, Criminology, and Public Opinion and Propaganda. The common papers were General Psychology, Physiological, Genetic and Comparative Psychology, Child and Educational Psychology, and Social and Abnormal Psychology. Three papers were on laboratory practical, field work, and dissertation (Kundu & Chakroborty, 1979). The first batch of students was admitted in the “B” course in 1952. Dr. Purnendu Kumar Bose, Head of the Department of Statistics (later Professor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University), taught Psychometry topic of the syllabus since the inception of the course and rendered his valuable service for about two decades till his voluntary withdrawal in 1964. In this connection, deep appreciation was due to the contributors R. Ghosh, S. P. Ghosh, N. N. Chatterjee, and S. C. Bisi.

In 1969, the university established a separate department of Applied Psychology. “A dream of the Pioneers had thus been made a fact”—commented Chatterjee (1976). The value of the services rendered by the “B” course had been greatly appreciated by different government, industrial, and educational concerns, namely The National Carbon Co; The West India Match Co.; The Chittaranjan Locomotive Works; The Saxby Farmer and Co.; Oxy-Acetylene Grass Co; etc., but a few industrial concerns who had taken the help of this department and had their own benefits. The services of this course were utilized by the Government of West Bengal for interviewing and grading a large number of Agricultural Assistant and refugee children with the help of a short psychological testing technique.

Under the auspices of this section, an inquiry into the problem of accident proneness, a research project sponsored by the Indian Council of Medical Research, was conducted among the Tram and Bus Drivers of Calcutta. The National Rubber Co., Metal Box Co, and many others also took help of this section in selecting their personnel at different times (Sinha, 1963). During the tenure of S. C. Mitra, a large number of students were awarded doctorate degrees including Harish Ganguly (later Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Delhi). He later obtained D. Litt. degree (first in psychology in India) of the university for his work in industrial psychology. Tarun Chandra Sinha obtained the D.Sc. degree (third recipient of the degree in Calcutta University) for his work “Psyche of Garos”. He joined the Department as an Honorary Lecturer in Abnormal Psychology in 1950.

In 1949–50, two of the incumbents of the Department, Suhrid Chandra Sinha and Dwijendralal Ganguly, went abroad and returned obtaining Ph.D. degree, respectively, from Graz (Germany) University for the thesis on “Hinduism” and from London University in 1951 for his thesis on “Influence of changes of task on the curve of mental work.” Sarojendra Nath Roy, who returned from Jabalpur after a short sojourn, obtained doctorate degree in 1952 for his thesis on “A psychological study of professional choice and success.” Sachin P. Ghosh, an instructor in Applied Psychology section, also obtained his Ph.D. during this period. Ram Gobindo Chatterjea, Nisith Ranjan Chatterjee, Debabrata Banerjee, Arun Kumar Sircar, Subimal Deb, Ramanath Kundu, Prabhat Kumar Mukherjee, and Brojo Ganguly became the new recruits either as Demonstrator or as Instructor during this period at different points of time. Maya Deb (nee Guha), the then University Research Scholar, and R. G. Chatterjea, Demonstrator, both of whom worked under the supervision of S. C. Mitra, were awarded doctorate degree in 1957 and 1968 for their respective work on “Construction of an aptitude test for engineering students” and on “Time estimation”.

S. C. Mitra untiringly tried to establish the utility of psychology beyond the four walls of the Department. His efforts bore the results in the sense that during his time, Hindi High school of Calcutta (now renamed as Birla High School) and Daulat Ram Nopami High School created the post of “Psychologist”, and Smt. Kanak Majumdar of 1948 batch was the first such psychologist who joined Hindi High School. Dr. Mitra resigned in October for some personal reasons and joined the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management at Calcutta as Emeritus Professor. He passed away in May 1962. In his tenure, Dr. G. Pal, M. L. Ganguli, and M. Samanta retired from university service.

The Interim Period of October 1959–November 1962 with Dr. S. Sinha as Head of the Department

After the resignation of Dr. S. C. Mitra, the change of the Department as Head was taken over by Dr. Suhrid Sinha. The most remarkable feature of this period was inclusion of Psychology at the Secondary (Madhyamik) level in West Bengal schools. In the respect, grateful remembrances go to the persistent and untiring effort of Dr. D. Ganguli. University Alumni Association took the initiative of introducing the subject at the higher secondary level of schools also. Posts of psychologists were created in Vagrant Homes and Borstal.

In Dr. S. Sinha’s time, Dr. R. G. Chatterjea and Sri Somnath Bhattacharya joined the Department as Lecturer. R. G. Chatterjea later received Rashbehari Ghosh Travelling Fellowship and proceeded to USA for postdoctoral research for one year during 1962–1963. In 1961, Bethune College opened the Psychology Department having Pass Course. This was the only Government College in West Bengal to have Psychology as subject.

The Working Sphere of the University Third Professor, Professor Sudhir Kumar Bose (December 1962–September 1966)

After about four years of voluntary retirement of Dr. S. C. Mitra, Dr. S. K. Bose (the then Acting Director of UNESCO Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Southern Asia) became University Professor. He had a distinguished academic career. His dissertation, “Language and Meaning,” was selected for Griffith Memorial Prize of the Calcutta University (Deb, 1995). He was selected as a senior psychologist in the War Department of Government of India in 1943. Bose was the “Pioneer of Tension Study in Indian Industry.” He had the distinction of working in USA with Renesis Likert and Hadley Cantril. He carried out outstanding research in the fields of attitude, morale, motivation, productivity, psychophysics, and psychological tests.

Professor Bose was President of the Psychology and Educational Science Section of the Indian Science Congress Association in 1951 and delivered his presidential address on “Man and his work.” For sometimes, he was the Associate Editor of the Journal of Genetic Psychology and of the Journal of Behavioural Research and Editor of Indian Journal of Psychology. He supervised a project on “Pre-school development Norms for children,” sponsored by NCERT. Dr. S. Sinha worked in the project entitled “Structure of Leadership in the village of West Bengal,” sponsored by the Research Programme Committee, Planning Commission, Government of India. Dr. D. Ganguly surveyed the opinion of the commuters of Calcutta funded by the Government of West Bengal. Professor Bose retired from the Department in September 1966, though he was attached with it as UGC Retired Professor and Director of PDN Project till 1970. With his retirement ended the first fifty years of the First Psychological Laboratory in India.

The Second Interim Period (October 1966–December 1969)

No marked development was noticed in this period owing to chaotic administrative services. Dr. S. Sinha as senior-most Reader came at the helm in October 1966 and retired in September 1967; Dr. D. Ganguly took the charge and retired in September, 1968. Dr. R. G. Chatterjee was promoted as Reader and Dr. R. Kundu as Lecturer. In February 1968, Dr. Maya Deb was awarded the D.Sc. degree by the Calcutta University for her work on the “Construction and standardization of a battery of tests for selection of engineering entrants.” She became the first lady to receive the said Degree in Psychology and fourth recipient of the same. She was then promoted to the post of Lecturer. After the retirement of Dr. D. Ganguly, Dr. S. N. Roy became the Head of the Department from October 1968 to January 1969. In 1969, he became the Head of the full-fledged Department of Applied Psychology. Next Senior Reader, Dr. R. G. Chatterjee acted as Head till December 1969.

Professor Shib Kumar Mitra: The Fourth University Professor (Period December 1969–August 1972)

Dr. Shib Kumar Mitra, the then Joint Director of National Council of Educational Research and Training, joined the Department as Fourth University Professor of Psychology. Unlike his predecessors, he had his M.Sc. from Patna University and Ph.D. from USA. He joined the Psychometric Research and Service Unit of Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta (1955–1959). He was the director of B. M. Institute of Child Development, Ahmedabad, 1959–1963; Head of the Department of Psychological Foundation, N.C.E.R.T., 1963–1967; was the Joint Director of N.C.E.R.T., 1967–1969; University Professor of Psychology, 1969–1972; Joint Director, N.C.E.R.T., 1972; Director, N.C.E.R.T., till his retirement in 1981. He was also a member of Sigma-X, a scientific society of USA and was the Sectional President of Indian Science Congress Association, 1970. In December 1972, he left the Department to join his original post in NCERT. During his time, a new syllabus for M.A./M.Sc. course was prepared.

The Period of Professor Ram Gobindo Chatterjea: The Fifth Professor of Psychology (August 1972–December 1981)

In 1976, Dr. R. G. Chatterjee became the fifth University Professor of Psychology. He was an experimental psychologist, and he worked with Schlosberg at Brown University in United States. In his headship, the matrix of staff position showed many changes. Other faculty members included Dr. R. Kundu, S. Bhattacharya, Dr. G. B. Saha, Dr. Maya Deb, Dr. P. K. Chatterjee, P. K. Mukherjee, Anjali Mitra, Dr. Aditi Ghosh, and Amiya K. Bhattacharya. They were assisted by Dr. D. N. Nandy, Dr. H. N. Ghosh Debabrata Biswas, Utpala Bose, Suman Mukherjee, and Dr. Pranab K. Chakroborty.

Other Heads of the Department During the Period 1954–1972

• Dr. Suhrid Chandra Sinha, Reader and Head of the Department of Psychology—He was Teaching Assistant, first in the University of California at Los Angeles and then in Harvard University, USA, in 1948. He had his Ph.D. from Graz University, Austria, in 1950. He was the Consulting Editor of Journal of General Psychology, USA, Tohoku Journal of Educational Psychology, USA, and Psychologia, Japan, and Editor of Indian Journal of Psychology. He was Sectional President of Indian Science Congress in 1954, Head of the Department from 1959 to 1962, and President of Calcutta Psychological Alumni Association from 1967–68, 1971–76. He traveled widely throughout the world and came in personal contact with Allport, Boring, Cantril, Cattell, Jung, Lewin, Myers, and Spearman. His aristocratic style of life created an aura around him for which he could draw an appreciative attention of one and all. He was an ardent follower of Rabindranath Tagore and imbibed the teachings of Upanishads in his spiritual life.

• Dr. Dwijendralal Ganguli, Reader and Head, Department of Psychology—He had his Ph.D. from London University in 1952. He was the Sectional President of Indian Science Congress in 1960. He was the Founder of the Council of Social and Psychological Research and “Sheelayan”, a home for emotionally disturbed. He was instrumental in introducing Psychology at the Secondary and Higher Secondary Level of West Bengal Board. He was the Departmental Head from 1967 to 68 and President of Calcutta University Psychology Alumni Association from 1969 to 70.

• Dr. Sarojendra Nath Roy, Reader and H.O.D., Psychology—He was in the Department till 1968, being Head in the same year and then became the first Professor and H.O.D. of the newly created Department of Applied Psychology in 1969.

Some Other Reputed Teachers of This Period

• Sri Manmatha Nath Banerjee—The first M.Sc. degree holder in Experimental Psychology in India in 1916. He was the Lecturer in the Department from 1916 to 1946. He was the first In-Charge of the Applied Psychology Section in 1938. He was the Editor of the Indian Journal of Psychology from 1929 to 1939. He was the President of the Indian Psychological Association for the term 1939–1941.

• Sri Haripada Maiti—He was M.A. in Experimental Psychology in 1918 from Calcutta University, Sectional President of Indian Science Congress Association in 1939. He was a Fulbright Visiting Research Fellow to USA in 1952–53. Later, he was appointed as Professor and Director of the Institute of Psychological Research and Service of Patna University in 1945. He also became the Director of the B.M. Institute of Child Development, Ahmedabad, in 1954.

• Dr. Nagendra Nath Chatterjee—He did his M.Sc. in Experimental Psychology from Calcutta University in 1930. He did his M.B.B.S. from Bombay University in 1938. He joined Lumbini Park Mental Hospital in 1941 as Medical Officer, but in 1945, joined as Instructor in Applied Psychology Section of the Psychology Department. He had outstanding contribution in clinical psychology, especially in Paranoia. His life was dedicated primarily to the cause of alleviation of suffering of mental patients through Psychoanalysis. His book on Unconscious Mind in Bengali and many popular articles in Bengali and English testify his eruditeness in the field of Psychoanalysis.

• Dr. Tarun Chandra Sinha—He was the third recipient of the D.Sc. in Psychology in 1955. Being trained by Professor G. Bose, Dr. Sinha became an outstanding Psychoanalyst and was the superintendent of Lumbini Park Mental Hospital since its inception in 1940. He took active interest in the publication of “Samiksha”, the Journal of Indian Psychoanalytical Society. In 1959, Dr. Sinha initiated the publication of “Chitta”, a Bengali-language magazine aimed at educating the lay public in psychology and psychoanalysis (Akhtar and Tummala-Nara, 2008). After S. C. Mitra, Sinha was the Editor of both Samiksha and Chitta. In 1949, he started one school named “Bodhayana” for both normal and abnormal children to teach them through psychoanalytically based method and to give the students of psychology the scope to study child development. In the Calcutta University Course, he used to teach abnormal psychology with case illustrations at Lumbini Park Mental Hospital. He retired from the department in 1971.

• Anath Nath Dutta: He started his career in the Department in 1935 till 1981 without any break. His special field of interest was experimental psychology, and he was considered to be an expert in laboratory experiments and psychological instruments. Among his published papers, the most important was “On the definition of Psychology” (1937). He was an epitome of simple living and contentment in every sphere of life.

• C. C. Bhattacharya: He received his Ph.D. degree in 1962 and got promoted to the post of Lecturer. In 1966, he left the Department to join the Applied Psychology Department but returned to his original department in 1969. His forte was Educational Psychology. He retired from the Department in 1980.

Establishment of the Indian Psychoanalytical Society

In January 1922, Dr. G. Bose in collaboration with a few other colleagues formed the Indian Psychoanalytical Society with its head office of the Society on September 14, 1938. The Society was fortunate to receive recognition from Freud, James, and other stalwarts of the time from its initial period. In August 1922, it received its affiliation to International-Psychoanalytical Association. The untiring endeavor of Bose in promoting psychoanalysis ultimately resulted in the inclusion of psychoanalysis in the curriculum of Calcutta University. Since Bose’s headship at the Department (1929–1949) and Professorship (1939–49) of the Calcutta University, psychoanalysis has been a very living subject at the university level. When in 1940, the Society started the Lumbini Park Mental Hospital with three beds, the postgraduate students of abnormal psychology informally attended the hospital, and cases were demonstrated to them. Gradually, the Calcutta University recognized Lumbini Park as a teaching institution (Sinha, 1966).

At its infancy, the Society with G. Bose at its helm of affairs was helped by energetic members such as Sri M. N. Banerjee, Dr. S. C. Mitra, Sri H. P. Maity, Dr. B. C. Ghosh, and Lt. Col Owen Berkeley-Hill. Mitra, Maity, and Ghosh were all the lecturers in the Department of Psychology of Calcutta University, while Lt. Col. Berkeley-Hill was the Superintendent of the European Mental Hospital at Ranchi in Bihar. The Society then existed more in name of Dr. G. Bose rather than its activity. During those days, two major developments in psychoanalytic practice and discourse were the establishment of Lumbini Park Mental Hospital in 1940 with the first in-patient psychotherapy facility in India and the publication of “Samiksha” in 1947, being the Society’s official journal in English (Ramana, 1964; Sinha, 1966). The main architect of psychoanalysis in India, Dr. G. Bose breathed his last on June 3, 1953. Before Bose’s death in 1949, a small school named “Bodhayana” was started for both normal and abnormal children with a view to teaching them on psychoanalytic principles and doing child psychoanalysis also. In 1959, Dr. T. C. Sinha initiated the publication of a Bengali Journal named “Chitta” from the Society. In 1962, Dr. S. C. Mitra died, and his position was replaced by Dr. T. C. Sinha.

Two of the Calcutta University Professors, Professor N. Sanyal and Professor J. Basu, are psychoanalysts at present. Professor N. Sanyal is a training analyst also. Calcutta analysts are making valiant efforts to learn and grow by participating in International Psychoanalytical Congresses (Akhtar & Tummala-Narra, 2008).

Calcutta University Psychology Alumni Association

This association was formed on March 31, 1957, at the inspiration of Professor Suhrit Chadra Mitra, the then University Professor of Psychology and Head of the said Department. It was entrusted with the task of holding the annual departmental reunion. Currently, the association is functioning under the banner of Calcutta University Psychology Alumni Association (CUPAA). The association is the oldest and largest living organization of the veterans as well as budding psychologists of the departments of Psychology of this country. The records show that through scientific discourses, educational and entertainment programmes, the association has achieved its objectives in spite of numerous odds. Donation was made to the Asiatic Society for creating a fund to award a Biennial Plaque in memory of Professor S. C. Mitra. This plaque is to be awarded to a person to his conspicuous outstanding contribution to any branch of Psychology. The list of past recipients include B. S. Bloom, Anna Freud, Renesis Likert, H. E. Gulliksen, Jean Piaget, H. A. Murray, J. P. Guildford, S. K. Bose, Dr. Raymond B. Cattell, Durganand Sinha, Dr. Leona E. Tyler, H. J. Eyesenck, J. W. Atkinson, D. C. McClelland, Leopold Bellak, Harish Ganguly, H. S. Aasthana, Dhirendranath Nandy, and Adhir Kumar Mukherjee.

Some Distinguished Faculty Members

Professor (Dr.) Ramanath Kundu was born in January 1, 1930. He had his M.Sc. in 1955 from C.U. and did his Ph.D. in 1961 under the supervision of Professor S. C. Mitra. He was associated with Professor S. K. Bose and Professor S. C. Mitra in Experimental Psychology researches. He joined the Department in 1956 as Instructor and became Professor in 1983. He headed the Department in 1982–83. He was an extremely methodical person. His field of research interest was “Personality”. His important contributions included Development of two psychological tests—Kundu’s Introversion-Extroversion Inventory (K.I.E.I.) and Kundu’s Neurotic Personality Inventory (K.N.P.I.), which was widely used in governmental selection and recruitment processes. As a joint coordinator, he worked in a West Bengal Government-sponsored project on “School drop-out children from 6 to 11 years of age.” He had over 150 research article publications in national and international journals and five book chapters to his credit. He supervised a number of U.G.C. Junior and Senior Research Fellow in their Ph.D. work. In total, 16 students received Ph.D. degree under him. He was the Sectional President of Psychology of 78th Indian Science Congress in 1981. His topic of presidential address was “Personality studies: Retrospect and Prospect.” He was one of the founder members of cross-cultural psychology. He was the founder president of an N.G.O. “Shelter” for mentally retarded children. He retired from the department in 1996 and died on June 13, 2009.

Professor (Dr.) Somnath Bhattacharya was born on February 1, 1931. Professor Bhattacharya hailed from a family of scholars in Sanskrit and Philosophy and had infused Indian philosophy in the western understanding of psychology throughout his life and career. He had been a brilliant student and subsequently served as an acclaimed teacher at the Department of Psychology from 1961 to 1996. He was also a psychoanalyst, completing his personal analysis with Dr. T. C. Sinha. Later, he became a training analyst member of the Indian Psychoanalytical Society and was a member of International Psychoanalytical Association. Psychoanalysis not only made him a clinician with remarkable empathy but also rendered him the capacity to interpret human behavior from diverse perspectives. He had supervised five Ph.D. scholars, but many more have taken the benefit of his rare depth of thought, his altruistic nature as well as his flair of English. Apart from his academic interest, he was also a sitarist, being a student of Amiyakanti Bhattacharya.

He had research interest in the domains of Indian psychology, ego functions, health psychology, creativity, and music. He had publications in national and international journals, mostly in the domains of ego functions. He had studied Yogadarshana with the famous philosopher, Shri Chandoyaya Bhattacharya, and had contributed articles to Indian Journal of Philosophy. In response to Jeffry Kripal’s 1995 book, “Kali’s child,” Professor Bhattacharya cogently argued against labeling Shri Ramakrishna as transvestite and transsexual. His views had been published and electronically recorded as a major document by Infinity Foundation. Now, at the age of 83, and with partial paralysis, Professor Bhattacharya had completed the manuscript of a book primarily on Indian psychology entitled, “Psychology: East and West”, which was published by Musheara, Kolkata.

Professor (Dr.) Gopi Ballav Saha joined the Department as Lecturer in 1974, got promoted to Reader in 1978 and Professor in 1986, and became H.O.D. in 1985–87. His major research interest was in the area of Facial Expressions of Emotions. His published work in the area received appreciation from Paul Ekman of USA (Ekman, 2003). He developed three series of cards to recognize emotions from Facial and Vocal Expressions. In the line, he completed a project of I.C.S.S.R. in 1983–84. This total number of scientific papers was forty. Six students were awarded Ph.D. degree under his supervision. He was a Psychoanalyst and was a member of International Psychoanalytical Association. His most glorious Ph.D. student was Dr. Manas Kumar Mondal.

Professor (Dr.) Maya Deb—She was a lofty figure in the arena of Calcutta Psychologists. She was a lady of strong determination that led her to academic as well as professional success. She had the unique distinction of achieving the “doubles”, so to say, at graduation level (B.Sc.—1947 and B.Ed.—1957), postgraduate level (M.Sc.—1949 and M.Ed.—1968), and at doctoral level (Ph.D.—1957—and D.Sc.—1968). Her Ph.D. supervisor was Dr. S. C. Mitra. She was a Research Fellow of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, attached to the Department of Statistics, Calcutta University, for one year under Professor Purnendu Kumar Bose and First Senior Research Fellow in Psychology in India under the Post Doctoral Research Scheme of the U.G.C. Till now she is the only female recipient of D.Sc. degree in Psychology in India (Mallick, 2006). She conducted U.G.C.-sponsored research projects on Generation Gap and Standardization of Intelligence Test. Her greatest contribution in the field of psychology was conducting the Asiatic Society sponsored External Research Project on “Heritage Papers of Early Leading Indian Psychologists” (from 1916 to 1965). She was assisted in this work by Professor (Dr.) Amal Kumar Mallik of Kalyani University and Dr. Utpala Bose as co-investigators. Her unfinished project was “Two most eminent first-generation Indian psychologists—Dr. Girindra Sekhar Bose and Dr. Suhrid Chandra Mitra.” Professor Deb traced the history of psychology in India in a remarkable book “Blooming of Psychology in India at Calcutta University, Psychology Department”. She helped in establishing the Psychological Research Academy, initiated the publication of Psychological Research Academy, and initiated the publication of Psychological Research Journal in 1977. The journal had the emphasis on the historical aspects of psychology in India. Professor Deb had a pivotal role in keeping the flag of Calcutta University Psychology Alumni Association aloft from 1966 to the last day of her life.

Shri Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay—Shri Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay (Born January 2, 1934) was a brilliant student, a voracious reader, and a teacher of the Department from 1959 to 1993. He had served the Military for some time (1963), and the rigor marked his countenance and surface behavior, concealing a soft and affectionate heart within. He joined the Department as Demonstrator in 1969, then joined the Indian military for some time, after which he joined the Department again as Lecturer in 1969. For a short while, he shifted to the Department of Applied Psychology (1967) as psychometrician, but returned as Lecturer to the mother Department. He joined the post of Reader later on. His forte was research methodology and psychometry; but the subject closest to his heart was social psychology. Being an avid reader of History and Politics, he held a pragmatic and application-oriented view of social psychology. He had worked in the domains of test development, cognition, group relationship, especially friendship, educational psychology, and personality. He contributed to the first volume of Psychologia by presenting a history of development of psychology in India from 1916 to 1950. He contributed important articles in Journal of Psychological Researches, Indian Journal of Psychology, Psychological Studies, Indian Journal of Applied Psychology, and Samiksha.

Professor (Dr.) Prabol Kumar Chattopadhyay—He was a medal-winning student of Calcutta University at postgraduate level. He received a Gold Medal from NIMHANS, Bangalore. He had his M.Sc. in 1967. He was the first one in the department to achieve DMNSP degree in Clinical Psychology from NIMHANS. He had to his credit the double Ph.D. degree—one came from NIMHANS under the supervision of Professor H. N. Murty. He submitted this thesis in 1973 but could complete it in 1976. In between he received the Common Wealth Scholarship in 1973 and completed his second Ph.D. under the joint supervision of Professor H. J. Eysenck and Professor M. H. Lader at Maudsley Hospital, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London. He joined the department in 1976 as Lecturer and became Professor in 1993. He was one of the most illustrious teachers in this regime. His area of teaching and research was Clinical Psychology and Psycho-physiological Researches. He has authored two books: Schizophrenia: A look through Indian culture (2008, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern) and Stress in corporate sections and clinics: Indian scenario (2013, New Delhi: New Central Book Agency). He has over hundred scientific papers to his credit. An outstanding teacher of his time, he received the Eminent Teacher Award of Calcutta University (2014). He runs a stress management center to address the psychological problems.

Mrs. Anjali Mitra had double M.A. in Psychology and Education. She also did teach Educational Psychology in addition to taking classes on Mental Testing. She retired from the department in 2000. She had the distinctiveness in soft behavioral pattern.

Mrs. Anjali Mitra, Dr. Aditi Ghosh, and Amiya K. Bhattacharya were promoted to Reader position from Lecturer.

Sri Debabrata Biswas—He is considered to be an asset teacher in the Department. Extremely student-friendly, Sri Biswas helped almost every student in methodological part of their Ph.D. programmes, till today. His forte was Research Methodology, be it quantitative or qualitative. In addition, he taught Physiological Psychology in a very interesting way. He has his special acumen in clinical psychology too. He retired from the department in 2000.

Dr. Utpala Bose—She is considered to be the most graceful teacher in the department. Her disciplined yet sophisticated style of interaction with students is memorable. She taught Developmental Psychology in addition to Mental Testing. Her major contribution was in teaching Rorschach Projective Technique. Being very methodical, she took good care of practical classes and practical examinations. She did her Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Maya Deb.

Sri Sumon Mukherjee—He was also another student-friendly teacher. His forte was experimental psychology. He designed certain instruments and developed a significant number of softwares for psychological experiments and researches.

Present Faculty Members of the Department

Year 1983 was the junction point for the present senior teachers of the Department to step into the arena of the department as lecturers. In September 1983, Nilanjana Sanyal joined the department, followed by Mallika Banerjee and Pritha Mukhopadhyay. Dr. Jayanti Basu joined the Department on March 4, 1986, but later joined Applied Psychology on December 9, 1998. In 1986, Amiya K. Bhattacharya got estranged from the Department. In March 1996, Saugato Basu joined in as a lecturer. He was followed by Souvik Raychowdhury and Sanjukta Das in December 1998 and Sonali De in January 1999.

The next set of teachers was five in number to join the Department together in November 2006. They were Manisha Dasgupta, Tilottama Mukherjee, Anindita Chowdhury, Nilanjana Poddar, and Deepshikha Ray. Of these set of teachers, Nilanjana Poddar left the department in 2008 in the pursuit of a complete spiritualistic life. In 2012, the department had to bear another loss in terms of sudden demise of its very beloved Reader–teacher, Dr. Saugato Basu. He had his reputation as a Clinical Psychologist. A very well-read person, having deep interest in the literature and trekking, Saugato moved everybody as a Psychology Teacher and as a friend. He had sound knowledge in Research Methodology and had his research interest in the area of positive psychology, psychopathology, and psychotherapeutic processes. In January 2013, the latest recruitment of the Calcutta University included Atanu Kumar Dogra and Somdeb Mitra as Assistant Professors in the Department. In 2020, during the pandemic of Covid-19, the Department lost another asset in the form of its very own Associate Professor, Dr. Souvik Raychaudhury. His depth of knowledge was reflected in the thurst areas of psychohistory, social psychology along with psychodynamics of media and culture. 

Current Faculty of the Department
Name	Position	Areas of interest
Dr. Pritha Mukhopadhyay	Professor	Clinical, neuropsychobiology
Dr. Sanjukta Das	Professor	Clinical, adult development, and aging
Dr. Sonali De	Professor	Social and media psychology, qualitative methods, and relationship studies
Dr. Manisha Dasgupta	Associate Professor	Clinical and developmental psychology, gerontology, personality studies, and projective psychology
Dr. Tilottama Mukherjee	Associate Professor	Clinical, psycho-oncology, personality disorder, child and adolescent developmental and emotional disorders
Dr. Anindita Chaudhury	Associate Professor	Experimental and social, interpersonal relationships and community psychology
Dr. Deepshikha Ray	Associate Professor	Clinical, neuropsychology and personality studies
Dr. Atanu Kumar Dogra	Assistant Professor	Psychometry, educational assessment, test construction, and health psychology
Dr. Somdeb Mitra	Assistant Professor	Cognitive psychology, psychological assessment, counseling, and psychodynamics

Dr. Sadhan Dasgupta joined the department on November 8, 2006, and later joined Applied Psychology on August 22, 2008.

Under the scheme of rotational headship, Nilanjana Sanyal, Mallika Banerjee, Pritha Mukhopadhyay, Saugato Basu, Sanjukta Das, and Sonali De have served as Head of the department for various periods. Dr. Souvik Roychowdhury declined the offer of Headship twice on account of personal reasons.

Developments in the Second Phase

The Department had celebrated its Diamond Jubilee and Platinum Jubilee in 1976 and 1991, respectively. Department took part in two National Level Science Exhibitions in Calcutta and Haldia. In both the occasions, the Department got first prize in the competitions. Departmental activities, in general, were well integrated, and the library was updated from time to time, a cozy ambience persisted for both the teachers and students. From 1983 till date, Department has witnessed remarkable improvement in teaching and research field. Infrastructural developments included change in syllabus after a very long time in 2003, where a new special paper named Health Psychology had been included. The Abnormal Psychology specialization had been renamed as “Medical Psychology”, the semester system of the course and the examination was introduced, and the laboratory setup has been changed and equipped with current amenities. In 2008, once again the syllabus had undergone a few changes. Medical Psychology was once again renamed as “Clinical Psychology”. The system of having a dissertation thesis was once again introduced in the course syllabus. The teachers became very vibrant in seminars and conference participations. More regular exchanges between Calcutta University Psychology teachers and Psychology teachers of other Universities at National and International levels had started. They started participating in international conferences, became members of international and national academic bodies, and participated as International Advance Research Trainee Scholars (ARTS). Professor (Dr.) Nilanjana Sanyal (2002), Professor (Dr.) Mallika Banerjee (1996), and Dr. Tilottama Mukhopadhhyay (2012) participated in the ARTS programme.

The department has organized the following major seminars and workshops.: International Conference on Developmental Disability (2010); National Workshop on Qualitative Research in Psychology (2010); Living Through Disaster: Psychological and Policy Perspectives (2012); Developmental Approach to Child Counseling (2012); Short Term Course on Art Therapy (2012); Seminar on Autism (2012); Short Term Course in Disaster Management (2013); Cinema, Psyche and Society (2013).

Augmenting Academics: Some Recent Initiatives

• 1. In 2001, the department joined Calcutta University Industry Institute Partnership Programme (CUIIPP) with Professor Mallika Banerjee as its Coordinator. Its smooth functioning had generated revenues worth mention. The present joint coordinators are Manisha Dasgupta and Tilottama Mukherjee.

• 2. In 2005, M.Phil. course in Clinical Psychology was launched.

• 3. Participation in Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area (CPEPA) programme with a focus on Electrophysiological and Neuroimaging Studies from 2011 with a UGC support of Rs. 6.5 Crores. Professor Pritha Mukhopadhyay is its coordinator.

• 4. A one-year Diploma Course in Cognitive Behavioural and Existential Counselling was run between 2009 and 2012.

• 5. Special Assistance Programme (SAP) DRS-I funded by UGC started in 2011 with a focus on the Study of Developmental Disability with Professor Mallika Benerjee as coordinator. A set of 14 projects were launched under this initiative.

Research Projects Undertaken

R. Kundu (1976). School Drop-out children of 6–11 years of age (West Bengal Government).

Maya Deb: Generation Gap and Standardization of Intelligence Test (UGC).

Maya Deb, Amal Kumar Mullik and Utpala Bose (2005): Heritage Papers of Early Leading Indian Psychologists (Asiatic Society).

G. B. Saha (1984). An experimental study on the facial expressions of emotions of blind persons. (ICSSR).

P. K. Chattopadhyay. Projects on psycho-physical issues (UGC and ICSSR).

Nilanjana Sanyal (2001). Aggressive reaction to frustration as a function of some personality variables among college students (UGC).

Mallika Banerjee (2003). Autism: Identification and Intervention. (DST, Government of W B).

-----(2000). Management of Children with special needs (DST, Government of W.B and organized by RIDDHI).

-----(2000). Parental empowerment and autism (DST, Government of W.B.).

-----Effect of music on autism (DST, Government of W.B.).

-----(2001). Parental stress of children with special needs (DST, Government of W.B.).

-----(2002).Parental empowerment and autism (Lady Tata Memorial Trust, Bombay).

-----Music Therapy as a method of intervention for autism (ICSSR).

-----Effect of music and play on autism (UGC).

-----(2009).Effect of neuro-sensation on different abilities of autistic children (DST, Government of W.B.).

-----(2012).Impact of Vygotskian intervention on disability (UGC).

-----(2013).Disability among SC/ST: A total survey work (DST, Government of W.B.).

-----(2013).Executive functioning and theory of mind: A psychosocial approach for children with autism and intellectual impairment (ICSSR).

-----(2016) Development of a computerized assistive system capable of improving human emotion recognition from visual cues for persons suffering from autism (DST, Government of India).

Pritha Mukhopadhyay (2007). Validity of Piaget’s Cognitive developmental stage: A cognitive approach to identify academic readiness in children (DST, W.B.State).

-----(2005). Detection of neuro-psychological impairment in psychiatric disorders through neuro-imaging and neuro-psychological techniques (DST State).

-----A comparative evaluation of the neuro-behavior and cognitive behavior therapies in the treatment of problem behavior in children (UGC).

-----Psycho-physiological approach for the enhancement of performance efficiency of industrial personnel (A.I.C.T.E.).

-----(2014). Emerging trends of personality disorders among patients in psychiatric outpatient departments of health institutions in Kolkata metropolis (ICSSR).

-----Development of a diagnostic tool for clinical assessment of Special Learning Disability and Prevalence of Specific Learning Disability in Bengali, Hindi, and English Medium Primary School-Going Children in West Bengal (DSTState).

-----(2014) Construction of battery of cognitive functions for defense personnel (DIPR).

Sonali De. Street Children of Calcutta: A Study (Indian Chamber of Commerce).

-----A Follow-Up Study of Recovering Drug Addicts Counseled & Treated At Various NGOs. (Ministry of Welfare, Government of India).

-----Aggressive Content of Television Programmes: Effects on the level of Anxiety and Aggression in Children with different Cognitive Styles (UGC).

-----Changing Trends of Advertisements & the Construction of Desire in the Era of Globalization (ICSSR).

-----Mental Illness: Conceptualizing Stigma and Violence (ICSSR).

-----Healing: As Perceived and When it is Madness (ICSSR).

-----Bengal’s Baul in transition: A critical ethnographic view.

Tilottama Mukherjee (2016). Ananda Matrimony (Ananda Bazar Patrika).

Anindita Chowdhury (2012). Quality of life and well-being of Indian rural women in the context of their empowerment (UGC).

Development of Tests/Apparatus

G. Bose (1927–1940). Sound motor, group pass along, sound motor, big muscle ergograph, dotting test, neurotic questionnaire, and group matching test.

Ganguli (1942). Binocular rivalry box.

M. Ganguli, G. Bose, M. N. Chatterjee, N. N. Chatterjee (1929). Word association test.

S. K. Bose (1947). Nonverbal analogy test.

S. K Bose and S. C. Dutta (1948). Verbal group intelligence test 1948.

S. K. Bose and Anath Nath Datta (1954). Short form of Bernreuter Personality Inventory.

Maya Deb (1964). Engineering Aptitude Test.

-----(1974) Attitude scale on Women’s lib.

-----(1974).Attitude scale on Women’s education.

-----(1975).Attitude scale on Election.

-----(1976). Attitude scale on Higher Education Attitude scale on coeducation.

-----(1981). Attitude scale on Traditionalism.

-----(1981). Multi-dimensional Value Scale.

Ramanath Kundu (1976). KIEI.

G B Saha: Series of facial expressions of emotions of normal persons (Indian).

-----(1983). Series of facial expressions of emotions of blind persons (Indian).

-----(1984).Series of vocal expressions of emotions of normal persons (Indian).

Sumon (1985). Sumon Mukherjee Electronic Metronome.

-----(1988a). Summon Memory Apparatus.

-----(1988b) Sumon Intentional Response Timer.

-----(1988c) Sumon Minimum-Aimed Response Timer.

-----1990 Sumon Response Recorder.

Chattopadhyay, P. K., Mallik, N. B., & Speilberger, C. D. (1989). Indian adaptation of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory in Bengali.

Basu, S., & Basu, I. (1996). Indian adaptation of Eyesenck Personality Questionnaire in Bengali.

Basu, S. (2005).Daily Hassles Checklist.

Sanyal, N., & Dasgupta, M. (2012). Indian adaptation of Carina Coulacoglou’s Fairy Tale Test.

Mukhopadhyay, P. (2014). A SLD tool for Bengalee population is under preparation.

Software Development

• 1. Sumon Memory-Attention Module

• 2. Sumon Fluctuation-Reversibility Module

• 3. Sumon Signal-Detection Module

  • (a) Vigilance Software by Mallika Banerjee & Amrita Panda

  • (b) Emotional Recognition Software by Mallika Banerjee (In process).

  • (c) Resource Allocation Software by Amrita Panda, Mallika Banerjee, and Deepshikha Ray

  • (d) Working Memory Software by Amrita Panda and Sonali De.

Concluding Observations

Starting from Calcutta University Department, psychology in India has been expanding rapidly in the new millennium. The early history revealed that because of the presence of Stalwart Professor Dr. G. Bose, psychology was mainly applied in clinical settings in addition to experimental works. With the growth in the discipline, gradually Counseling Psychology became popular. The societal fold showed utility of psychology in defense services, Public Service Commissions, railway services, organizational setups, and in numerous other fields like forensics, medical units, education, and in general social uplift. There seems to be the growth of psychology in having a number of eminent research and clinical institutes in its developmental fold. The areas of research interests within the boundary of Calcutta University Department are embracing the areas of neuropsychology, counseling psychology, educational psychology, indigenous psychology, developmental disability, media psychology, social psychology, cross-cultural psychology, qualitative researches, studies on aggression and terrorism, in addition to continuous interest in clinical psychology and psychoanalysis as a mark of progress in the discipline. But even in its girth of flourish to this extent, a question is raised regarding how psychology should break the Westernized shackles to join hands with other social sciences of Indian roots? Since psychologists in the first half of this century were a product of colonial ambience in social structure and were greatly influenced by western statements in the discipline and were mostly with philosophical background, they could not accept the challenges of a rapidly changing Indian society. To renowned indigenous psychologist Dulal (2014), psychology in India has remained dissociated from its own vast storehouse of knowledge inherent in Indian philosophical texts. His assessment accounts that these texts provide immense possibilities of developing psychological theories of self and global human development. At the turn of the millennium, he opined, psychology in India is returning to its roots, and a new beginning seems to be in the offing. Hence, the cry of the day is that psychology in India needs to be rooted in its own history and heritage. Calcutta University Department with vibrant teachers at the moment also needs to consider this to be a fact and open the vistas of its research and theory domain in the line as new attempts.