Explained: Now with first woman president, what is Asiatic Society, Mumbai

News:Asiatic Society of Mumbai has elected the first woman president in the 215 years of its existence.Professor Vispi Balaporia will head the institution.

Facts:

About Asiatic Society:

• Asiatic Society is a learned society whose activities include conducting historical research, awarding historians, and running an institute of postgraduate studies.
• The societies library is home to over 1 lakh books which consists of rare manuscripts contributed to it by the East India Company as well as generous donations.
• The Society offers Junior Fellowships for research and recommends scholars for the Tagore National Fellowship of the Ministry of Culture.The Governor of Maharashtra is the Society’s Chief Patron.

History of Asiatic Society

• Asiatic Society was established in 1804 as the Literary Society of Bombay.It was founded by Sir James Mackintosh,a Scottish colonial administrator who had a keen interest in Oriental studies.
• In 1826,it became the Mumbai arm of the London-based Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and came to be called the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (BBRAS).
• In 1954,the institution was severed from its London parent and became the Asiatic Society of Bombay.In 2002, it acquired its present name.