About Us

Backbone:

Secretary – General: Dr. Srinarahari

Chairperson: Dr. Purushothaman K S

Connect with us:

Please feel free to connect with us over mail/message to the following IASFS officials as per your needs:

Please prefer to connect with us between 18.30 to 20.30 hours IST on all working days.

Sl No	Name	Designation (Honorary)	Email id	Contact no
1	Ms. Hemalatha Salem, Tamil Nadu	Convener of the upcoming conference	infoisfc@gmail.com;	–
2	Mr. Shankar S Bhat Advocate Bangalore, Karnataka	Legal Consultant	shankarbhat@yahoo.com;	+91 9483633046
3	Mr. Dayanand H Gangadhar VFX Professionalist, MAAC, Bangalore	Technical Consultant	dayanandhgangadhar@gmail.com;	+91 9943479094; +91 9742449971

Directors:

Dr. Bhimsen D Joshi (Medical Doctor)

Mr. Bhagwan Das Muralidhar

Mrs. Chilangi Krishnamurthy Kamala

Mrs. Suma B J

Mrs.Girija S

Mrs. Sangeetha B Bhavnani

Location:

This is a non-profitable association registered under Karnataka Societies Registration Act. The Registered office (Geographic coordinates: 13.0527° N, 77.5685° E) is at # A 107, DS Max Signature, LKR Nagar, Devinagar, Near Aadhar Data Center, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

Establishment:

IASFS was established on Asimov’s birthday on January 2, 1998. The day not only marks the Isaac Asimov’s birthday but also it coincides with the centenary publication of Indian Science Fiction story “Agosh” by Scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose.

Objectives:

The objectives of the Association are to provide material and guidance to students who would pursue their research for their Masters and Doctoral degrees in the field of Science Fiction and to provide a platform for the SF enthusiasts to share their views in the form of presenting papers, to read the self-authored stories, actively partake in panel discussions, special guest lecture sessions, interact with attendees from all walks of life like scholars, supervisors, organizers, writers, publishers, media persons, delegates, movie makers, webmasters, industrialists, technologists, scientists, academicians, farmers, distinguished guests, readers, sci-fi fans and other eminent personalities during the Conferences.  

Conferences held:

IASFS has organized 21 conferences among them 6 are international conferences held at different locations in India. The first conference was attended only by a dozen delegates. But from the second conference there was no turning back. The Association had begun to collaborate with many Colleges, Universities, Local Bodies and Institutions in organizing conferences. So far the Annual Conferences were held at Chennai, Coimbatore, Gandhigram, Gudiattam and Vellore in Tamil Nadu, Bangalore, Mysore and Yelahatti in Karnataka, Varanasi in UP, Aurangabad and Pune in Maharashtra States, Pondicherry a Union Territory and Ernakulum in Kerala State in India. It is noteworthy that 52 PG departments and affiliated colleges of Bangalore University, Bangalore, Karnataka had hosted the virtual International Science Fiction Conference in collaboration with IASFS. Another unique feature is that 10 organizations had joined hands in organizing the immediate past Science Fiction Conference. They were Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, Mumbai, Maharashtra; University Research Publication, Valamboor, University of   Kerala, Kerala; TWJ Foundation: The Social Reforms, Pagmala, Chiplun, Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra State; adbhut.in; Bangalore, Karnataka; Kalpabiswa.com; Kolkata, West Bengal; Department of Studies in English, Elphinstone College, Dr. Homi Babha State University, Mumbai, Maharashtra; Department of Studies in English, Deogiri College, MSP Mandal, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra; Department of Studies in English, Ganeshi Lal Agrawal University, Mathura, Uttara Pradesh; Department of English, KSR Institute for Engineering & Technology, Thiruchengode, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu; and Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mumbai, Maharashtra state.

Themes dealt in the past conferences:

During the annual conferences, participants have shown keen interest in discussing the following topics namely, A Tribute to Kalpana Chowla, Aliens, An exclusive session on Voice of the Researchers, Artificial Intelligence, Cinema and SF, Colonialism, Fantasy, Feminism, Forms of science fiction, Genetic Engineering, Hindi SF, Impact of IT industries on the Society, Indian Responses to World SF, Indian SF in Vernacular languages, Information Technology, Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary prospective, Literary Criticism on Indian SF, Media and SF, Myth, Nanotechnology, Poetry and Science, Popular Science, Print versus Visual SF, Recent Trends in Indian/South- Asian SF, Robotics, “Science Fiction Film: Seventy Years of Synergy, 1926 to 2003”, Science and Science Fiction, Science Fiction Today, Science Today, Seminar on Science Fiction which could cover the status of Indian Science Fiction in Marathi, Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Assamese, and English languages. SF & Technology, SF and Mainstream Fiction, SF Narration, SF the Human Aspect, Space travel, Technology and Science Fiction, Telugu Science Fiction, Time, Utopia, Women in Science Fiction,

Historical events:

1. The association had a video conference with Professor James E Gunn Director, Center for Science Fiction Studies, Kansas University, Kansas, USA.

2.  IASFS had also arranged an SF Story Writing Workshop conducted by Eric Miller and story reading session by respective SF writers.

3. Dr.Srinarahari has conducted a number of Science Fiction Short Story Writing Workshops to all ages and levels. Late Professor Rajashekar Bhoosnurmutt (Vice- President of IASFS), Late Bhairnatti HS and Abdul Rahman Pasha had teamed together during the first decade of the present century in conducting the workshops.

4. The association has held the 19^th Annual/5^th International Science Fiction Virtual Conference in collaboration with Bangalore University, Bangalore on, December 7, 8, 9, & 10, 2020. The unique feature of the conference is that all the 52 PG departments of the University, Sci-Fi fans, media and the general public had converged at “All Roads to Science Fiction” as ISFC -2020. There were themes varying from Myth to advanced technology and to the life in other worlds. The conference was inaugurated by Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka State, The Hon. Deputy Chief Minister & The Minister for Higher Education, Hon.Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Hon. Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University, Nobel Laureate Professor Didier Patrick Queloz (Keynote- Physics 2019), had made their august presence. Plenary sessions, presentations, special lectures, interviews, panel discussions, narrating stories of tomorrow variety of programs from the PG department of Performing Arts and others were the highlights of this mega event.     

5. The 20th Annual SF conference is also a milestone in the path of progress of IASFS. This Virtual Conference was held during the last week of August 2021 in collaboration with ISFWA, Ayodhya. UP; Kalpabishwa, Kolkata, West Bengal; Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, Mumbai; Malayalam SF Association, Kerala; and the host institution Deogiri College, Aurangabad, Maharashtra state.

6. The Association has organized the 21^st Annual/ 6^th International Science Fiction Virtual Conference during July 2022 in collaboration with ten organizations. For more details about the past conference please visitour website: www.iasfs.in;

Publication Matters:

The Association publishes quarterly magazine entitled Indian Journal of Science Fiction Studies. It comprises of papers and stories presented in the previous conferences, review of books, and an interaction by the readers. 

The publication of hardcopies of the above categories is closed now as the invasion of the electronic media has made communication easy, inexpensive and instantaneous.

As an editor Dr.Reema Sarwal used to bring out bi-monthly News Letters.

The selected scholarly papers of a few of the past conferences are published in Science Fiction Special Issues of peer-reviewed, ISSN numbered UGC approved journal Insight and the Anthology of Indian Science fiction stories volume I entitled Silver Lining by University Research Publication, Kerala University, Kerala, India).

Upcoming Event:

The upcoming 22^nd Annual/7^th International Offline Science Fiction conference isscheduled to be held on April 8th and 9th, 2023. It is an International Science Fiction Online Conference of April 2023. Please browse the next menu for details.

Life Membership:

You are cordially invited to be a part of the association by becoming a Life Member. It is open for all provided the aspirant is 18+ in age and has maintained good mental record. There is no restrictions of qualification, experience, gender, class, race, nationality and others for the life member aspirants. The life member will have the option to leave the group at any time but cannot claim a refund of the life membership once paid in the beginning. The association will also have the right to remove such members who are reported to have a criminal background, carrying out criminal activities, authentically reported as a member of a terrorist group, or carrying out anti-social, anti-human activities for the destruction of the society or a section of the society without giving any notice or reason – which would not require any explanation to an individual, member or a group or to a registered body or to the court of law.

Please click the link below to fill the prescribed form for Life Membership of this association:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeo8ZEYjyNytmMPM7JfcgLtJgjmy0rHGa3TZRsB99uLRvqKDw/viewform?usp=sf_link;

The Life Membership fee is INR 2000/- only. The link provides you the option for payment in multiple ways like Debit card, Credit Card, Wallet, Internet Banking and others:

payment link: https://www.instamojo.com/@drsrinarahari/

Your receipt for the payment made wil be auto generated. However, we shall send you the official receipt after the bank account reflects your payment entry.

For a quick response from our association, please mail us (iasfsindia@gmail.com;) your name, mobile number, email id and the postal address to enable us to send you the official receipt for the payment made for life membership. You will be provided with a membership id and complimentary gifts along with the receipt complimentary gifts:

Complimentary offer (till stock exhaust)

The New Life members will receive the official Receipt and ID number by speed post in a week’s time. Life Member Metallic Badge and vehicle stickers will be sent together in one single envelope.

Use of Badge & Stickers:

It is a pristigious thing to tell others that you are a life member of this association. One way of doing it is to have your visiting cards and letter head may have the items to highlight how privelaged you are. You can use the metallic badge on ceremonial mega events.

If you can display the stickers on your vehicles even then, it is a way to convey others that you are something special.

Hence, the association will send the Two wheeler stickers also along with metallic badge and four wheeler stickers as complimentary gifts to Life Members.

The four wheeler stickers could be displayed on the back wind shield glass from inside. The two wheeler sticker could be on the mudguard or on the back side of the seat cover.

The caution is to be taken by you to see that the stickers do not eclipse the number plate; Please do not stick if your RTO has restricted the use of stickers on vehicles.

We are indebted to…

IASFS remains grateful to the life members, collaborating institutions, resource persons, authors, sponsors, media persons, delegates, participants, executive committee members of our team, technical personalities, publishers, and SF fans for your valuable contribution in making the past events a grand success. Hope you will all join hands in providing necessary inputs to enhance the quality during the upcoming events.

For IASFS Team,

Dr. Srinarahari

Secretary-General,

IASFS, Bangalore, India;

mail us: iasfsindia@gmail.com;

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A Brief Profile