1. Sociology in India has grown through an encounter with the Western philosophical and scientific traditions.

2. Sociology in our country has also been deeply influenced by the numerous internal processes, which signify the passage of India, from a colony of the British to the status of an independent Democratic Republic.

3. As in Europe, the pioneers (or founder fathers) of Indian Sociology were also practitioners of other academic specialities.

4. The teaching of sociology started in the Department of Political Economy and Political Philosophy of the Calcutta University in 1908 when two papers in that subject were offered.

5. A full - fledged department of sociology was established in Calcutta University only in 1976. During the beginning years sociology courses were taught in the departments of economics, political science, human geography and anthropology in Calcutta University.

6. The pioneers of sociology in Calcutta (Now Kolkata) were philosopher - cum - administrator. Brajendra Nath Seal (1864-1938) economic historian Benoy Kumar Sarkar (1885-1949) anthropologist K.P Chattopadhyay (1893-1963) and human geographer Nirmal Kumar Bose (1901-1972).

7. The first department of sociology and civics was, however, established in the Bombay (now Mumbai) University, as part of the Bombay school of Economics in 1919, although a course in sociology was introduced in 1914 for the post graduate students of economics.

8. The separate department began functioning from 1919 in Bombay University which was headed by a New Zealander Patrick Geddes. He was a town planner and human geographer. He was later joined by G.S. Ghurye who started as an Indologist but later worked for his Ph. D. in Social Anthropology at Cambridg University.

9. However, some new information regarding growth of Sociology in India has also come to light. It is said that before Patric Geddes there was a freedom fighter named Shyamji Krishna Verma, who was a political revolutioary. As a freedom fighter he had a great interest in understanding and analysing Indian society, but was soon forced by the British authority to leave India.

10. During his exile in Europe, Shyamji Krishna Verma happened to meet Auguste Comte, the founder of sociology. Later he also had a chance to meet Herbert Spencer another founder of sociology in Europe. In consultation with Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer, Shyamji Krishna Verma brought out a Journal, but it did not continue for long.

11. When in 1922, Professor Radha Kamal Mukherjee moved from Calcutta to Lucknow University to teach Economics, he introduced Sociology as one of the courses. He even hired Dr. D.N. Majumdar, a trained anthropologist, as lecturer in Primitive Economics. In this way, the Department of Economics in Lucknow University intorduced teachnig of both Sociology and social anthropology, and some important work also done by D. P. Mukherjee and A.K. Saran in this department.

12. As time passed Lucknow University created separate departments of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work. It is from these three centres - Culcutta, Bombay and Lucknow - that the first generation of sociologists were produced who then contributed both through teaching and research to the growth of Indian Sociology.

13. The most eminent names in the field of Sociology are those of M.N. Srinivas, K.M. Kapadia, Irawati Karve, D.N. Majumdar, S.C. Dube, A.R. Desai, etc.