1. Name
The Association shall be a national organization for historical studies on South India and shall be
called South Indian History Congress. It shall steer clear of ideologies and ideology-oriented
associations for purposes of affiliation and shall maintain its individuality.
2. Office
The Central Office of the said Congress shall be located at School of Historical Studies, Madurai
Kamaraj University, Madurai. The working hours of the office are from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. on all
working days.
3.Objectives
- to promote historical studies on South India,
- to co-ordinate research on historical trends in South India with sister organizations,
- to serve as forum for exchange of views through annual sessions and special conferences,
- to help in the preservation of historical monuments, relics and records,
- to honour historians, who made substantial contributions to scholarship on South India.
- to receive and administer funds for the implementation of the above said objectives
4.Membership and Subscription
- As a national forum, the Congress admits as members those who are interested in historical
studies on South India, irrespective of any regional consideration. Members of the following
categories are admitted:
- Annual Member, paying Rs.500/- as annual subscription.
- Life Member, paying a subscription of Rs.4000/-
- Representative Institution, paying a subscription of Rs.10,000/-
- Donor, paying a subscription of Rs.10000/-
- Patron, paying a subscription of Rs.10000/- or more.
Year is reckoned with the calendar year, i.e. January to December.
- Persons seeking membership are to apply in writing or in prescribed form to the Treasurer and
send the subscription to him, subject to approval of admission by the Secretary.
5. Privileges of Members
- Members are entitled to attend the academic session of the Congress, present papers and
participate in discussions. They are eligible to receive printed copies of the proceedings of
the Congress at the annual conference on availability.
- The following members shall be entitled to vote/contest in the elections for the Executive
Committee / Consultative Committee, except otherwise provided:
Patrons and Donors, ii) Representative Institutions, iii)Life Members who have attended at least
one session (excluding the current session).
- The list of Life Members, eligible to vote/contest in the election shall be displayed at the
Secretary's office on the first day of the annual session.
6. Academic Session
The Congress shall meet for its academic session usually in January every year. There shall be a
general session presided over by the President or in his absence the senior Vice-President. This
will be followed by sectional meetings, organized on thematic basis and each presided over by the
Sectional President. The papers that are presented for discussion and accepted by the Sectional
President will be considered for publication in the proceedings of the Congress.
7. General Body and Business Session
- The General Body is the Supreme authority on policy decisions. It shall consist of members who
are eligible to vote as per Article 5(b). However, members not having the voting right, are
eligible to attend the meeting of the General Body and participate in the discussion, unless
otherwise decided by the Executive Committee
- The members shall be given notice of 21 days in advance about the meeting of the General Body.
This will be held during the annual session of the Congress. One-tenth of the members present
shall form the quorum. Resolutions duly seconded may be moved with atleast one day's notice and
with the permission of the chair.
- General Body shall be the competent authority to take decisions on policy matters. It shall
elect members of the Executive Committee and Office- bearers and Convener and Members of the
Consultative Committee of the Congress. It shall have the authority to remove any member/ any
Office-bearer from respective positions, provided it is by a two-thirds majority of the members
present.
- It may approve the annual report and the annual budget and ratify the decisions of the
Executive Committee / Consultative Committee.
8. Executive Committee
- Executive Committee shall be responsible for implementing the policies, programmes and
directives of the General Body. It shall consist of a President, three Vice-Presidents, (two
elected and one nominated), a Secretary, two Joint Secretaries, a Treasurer, an Editor and
fifteen members. All the office-bearers and members, except the President and one Vice-President
shall be elected by the General Body.
- The President and Sectional Presidents shall be nominated by the Executive Committee.
- The out-going President shall be nominated as one of the Vice-Presidents by the Executive
Committee.
- The Convener and members of the Consultative Committee shall be Ex-officio members of the
Executive Committee.
- The President shall hold office for one year. The two elected Vice-Presidents, General
Secretary, Joint Secretaries, Treasurer and the Editor and members of Editorial Committee and 15
elected members of the Executive Committee shall hold office for two years; but are not eligible
for seeking election for the same office beyond two consecutive terms. The Editor and members of
the Editorial Committee shall be nominated by the Executive Committee.
9. Elections
The elections will be conducted during the annual conference of the Association, when members of the
General Body will be present. The Secretary shall appoint the Returning Officer with the approval of
the Executive Committee to conduct the election by single, direct and secret vote. The newly elected
Executive Committee shall take charge from the day after the election results are announced and
shall be in office until the next Executive Committee is elected. Any interim vacancy in the
Executive Committee shall be filled in by nomination by the Secretary in consultation with the
President/ Convener.
10. Office-bearers and their Responsibilities
- President: The President shall have the overall administrative control of the Congress. He
shall give his presidential address at the academic session and preside over the meetings of the
General Body and Executive Committee. In case of a tie in the voting process, he shall have the
casting vote.
- Vice-Presidents: The Vice-Presidents shall assist the President. One of the Vice-Presidents
i.e. the senior among them, shall act for the President in his absence. They shall be in-charge
of the enrolment of members in areas assigned by the President and assisted by members of the
Executive Committee and report to the General Body.
- General Secretary: (a)The General Secretary shall hold charge of the Central Office. He shall
be responsible for the implementation of the decisions of the General Body and the Executive
Committee. (b) The Secretary shall maintain the records of the Congress and attend the
correspondence. It shall be his responsibility to convene meetings of the Congress and record
its minutes. He is to report the activities of the Congress to the General Body. Also he is to
represent the Congress in legal and official transactions.
- Treasurer a) Treasurer shall be in charge of the finance of the Congress. b) He shall raise
contributions, collect membership fees, issue receipts and maintain accounts. c) He shall
deposit the funds in the name of South Indian History Congress in the State Bank of India or any
other bank, as decided by the Executive Committee and to be operated jointly by the General
Secretary and Treasurer. The Treasurer shall submit audited report and annual budget to the
General Body. d) He shall have an imprest amount of not more than Rs.500/- at a time, to be
recouped periodically. He shall release funds for purpose authorized by the Executive Committee
or in case of the emergency with the approval of the President / Convener and report the same to
the Executive Committee.
- Joint Secretaries There shall be two Joint Secretaries-one to be elected by the General Body
and the other to be nominated by the General Secretary in his local area to assist/ act for him.
- Editor The Editor shall be in-charge of publications of the Congress. He is to collect from the
Secretary the papers that are presented at the academic sessions, edit, print and publish them
in the proceedings in the name of General Secretary as its publisher. The Editor and members of
the Editorial Committee are to be nominated by the Executive Committee.
11.Auditor
The General Body shall appoint a qualified auditor at its annual meeting to audit the accounts of the
Congress for the year ending 31st December.
12. Local Secretary
The Local Secretary is the representative of the institution, hosting the annual session. He is to
raise contributions and obtain grants from funding agencies. The local secretary is to submit
details of audited statement of accounts to the funding agencies and the General Secretary Treasurer
within six months after the session is over. The host Institution / Local Secretary is to exempt all
office-bearers and members of Executive Committee from the payment of conference delegate fee.
13. Consultative Committee
- There shall be a Consultative Committee. It shall consist of a Convener and two Members elected
by the General Body from among senior members of the Congress to hold office for Three years and
three ex-officio members - President, Secretary and Treasurer of the Congress.
- In case of any possibility of constitutional breakdown, caused by any act of commission or
omission on part of any functionary or otherwise, the Convener is authorized to take necessary
steps as warranted by the situation in consultation with the Members of Committee, so as to
ensure the smooth working of the Congress. He shall report such instances to the Executive
Committee / General Body.
14. Dissolution
The Congress shall not be dissolved except by a motion passed by three-fourths majority of members
present at a meeting of the General Body, expressly convened for the purpose as per a resolution of
the Executive Committee and with three months notice by registered post. The assets of the Congress
after meeting liabilities shall be disposed off in accordance with the decision of the dissolution
meeting.