भारतीय प्राणी सर्वेक्षण

Zoological Survey Of India

भारत सरकार
Government of India
पर्यावरण, वन और जलवायु परिवर्तन मंत्रालय
Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change

Zoological Survey of India: Genesis and evolution

ZSI During Pre-Independence Period

The annals of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) reflect an eventful beginning for the Survey even before its formal birth and growth. The history of ZSI begins from the days of the Asiatic Society of Bengal founded by Sir William Jones on 15th January, 1784. The Asiatic Society of Bengal was the mother institution not only to the Indian Museum (1875) but also to the institutions like the Zoological Survey of India and the Geological Survey of India. ZSI’s establishment was in fact a fulfilment of the dream of Sir William Jones, the founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, whose vision encompassed the entire range of human knowledge.

The Asiatic Society had started collecting zoological and geological specimens since 1796 and set up a museum in 1814. Dr. Nathaniel Wallich, the first Superintendent of the “Museum of the Asiatic Society”, was in charge of the increasing collections of Geological and Zoological specimens; he had augmented the animal collections to the Zoological Galleries of the Museum.

The genesis of Zoological Survey of India was in 1875 with the opening of the Indian Museum. The new museum on its inception comprised only three sections: the Zoological, the Archaeological and the Geological. The zoological collections of the Asiatic Society of Bengal were formally handed over to the Board of Trustees of the Indian Museum in 1875.

Zoological Section of the Museum during the period from 1875 to 1916 steadily expanded, growing to the greatest collection of natural history in Asia. By the care and activity of the Curators of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and the Superintendents of the Indian Museum, viz., McClelland, Blyth, John Anderson, James Woodmason, Alfred William Alcock and finally Thomas Nelson Annandale and his colleagues, the museum was richly endowed with a magnificent collection of animals, especially of the larger vertebrate groups.

Further additions of both land and aquatic fauna to the valuable collections came through during several political and military expeditions, including a number of collections purchased, notably those of Francis Day of Indian Fishes, Lionel de Niceville of butterflies, Dudgeon and Green of moths, van de Poll of beetles and Godwin Austen of mollusks.

The Zoological Gallery at the Asiatic Society Museum under the care and charge of Dr. Nathaniel Wallich served the impetus for the formation of the Zoological Survey of India, which was later born as an independent organization on 1st July, 1916.

The excerpt from the ‘Constitution of the Zoological Survey of India’, released by the Government of India, Department of Education, Resolution no. 19-Museum, dated Simla, the 20th June 1916, states: “In March 1913, the Chairman of the Trustees of the Indian Museum forwarded a representation from the Superintendent of the Zoological and Anthropological Section of the Museum regarding the recognition of the Zoological Section as Zoological Survey. The Government of India, who had already under consideration the desirability of establishing on a sound basis a Zoological Survey of India, informed the Trustees of the Museum that they would be prepared to consider a scheme for such a survey on lines somewhat similar to the existing Botanical Survey of India.”

Dr. Thomas Nelson Annandale, who joined the Indian Museum as Deputy Superintendent (1904), and later as the Superintendent (1907), after years-old struggle, achieved his aim in establishing the Zoological Survey of India, and became its founder Director and continued till his premature death in April 1924.

Dr. Annandale was Honorary Secretary to the Trustees of the Indian Museum for several years; he was also the President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1923.

National Zoological Collection: The Survey acquired the zoological collections of more than a century old from the former museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and the zoological section of the Indian Museum (1814-1875) in Calcutta. Zoological Survey of India thus became the custodian of the collections of zoological specimens of the Indian subcontinent, stocking and safeguarding the collections from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

The United Kingdom tried to carry all the zoological specimens to British Museum despite having with them, already, a huge Indian collection, staking that these collections were from the erstwhile ‘British Indian Empire’.

When the claim for the collections became intense, Late Dr. S. L. Hora was, then, the Director of ZSI. By virtue of his position, he was the Advisor, on zoological matters, to the Hon’ble First Prime Minister of India, Late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.

To combat the claim and right for the specimens by the other countries, Dr. Hora was able to convince the Government of India to declare the ZSI collections as “National Zoological Collection”.

Dr. Hora submitted a proposal to the Government of India, Ministry of Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs to construct the ‘Fire-Proof-Building’ within the Indian Museum Campus.

The establishment of a permanent building as a proposal for reorganization and expansion of a Zoological Survey had been suggested and recommended by Lt-Col. R. B. Seymour Sewell, former Director of the Survey, as requested by the then Government of India, in the year 1945.

ZSI during Post-Independence Period

Although Dr. Sewell’s proposal, which had been prepared in pre-partitioned India, could not be implemented for financial reasons, the scheme was suitably modified after independence in view of the changed political and economic setup of the country.

A committee, under S. L. Hora as Convener, appointed by the Government of India, examined the Dr. Sewell’s Scheme and made its recommendation to the Government during December 1949.

During the First Five Year Plan (1951-52 to 1955-56), it became essential for the Government to seriously grapple with the question of the reconstruction, growth and development of the Zoological Survey.

After Dr. Hora, who died in harness on 8th December, 1955, Dr. Mithan Lal Roonwal was appointed Director of the Survey. Dr. Roonwal pursued the matter with the Government of India.

During the Third Five Year Plan (1961-62 to 1965-66), the Government of India, in view of the biological importance of the collections, recognized the same as the “National Zoological Collection” through a gazette notification dated 11th July, 1964.

The need for finding better accommodation for the department’s rapidly increasing collections became urgent and imperative. By 1964, the Fire Proof Spirit Building (FPSB) in the Indian Museum, solely constructed for ZSI, became a reality and ready for occupation.

The Fire Proof Spirit Building, as its name indicates, was constructed exclusively for the Zoological Survey of India with the idea of protecting the invaluable, registered “National Zoological Collection” preserved in rectified spirit/alcohol.

In the post independence period, in April 1955 the Government of India called a conference of eminent zoologists to suggest a programme for the development of the Zoological Survey of India under the Second Five-Year Plan.

The activities of the Survey, both as a bureau of systematic zoology and a centre of training in higher specialized research in zoology increased steadily.

The expansion-cum-developmental programmes of the Survey continued with the increasing interest in life sciences and with the advent of the country's Five-Year Plans.

The Survey has so far established sixteen Regional Centres in different parts of the country, and has developed into a major National Institution.

It functions as the custodian, rather guardian, of the National Zoological Collections, containing over a million identified specimens from all animal groups, from Protozoa to Mammals.

Ever-increasing collections and inadequate space to house them made it imperative for the Survey to have its own permanent building. It became a reality when its scientific/administrative building at New Alipore came into being in 1987.

The Government of India in 1987 made a critical review of ZSI’s activities in order to clearly redefine its objectives and delineate its perspectives.

Based on the recommendations of various committees and forums, the Government of India decided to redefine the objectives of ZSI. These objectives, classified into Primary and Secondary Objectives, included:

Primary Objectives:

Secondary Objectives:

One exciting achievement during the recent years was the inclusion of a scientist from Zoological Survey of India in the teams for the expeditions to Antarctica from 1989 onwards.

ZSI also streamlined the procedure for the participation of ZSI scientific workers at national and international conferences, which helped in projecting its best talents.

Efforts have been made in recent times towards an integrated approach to zoological investigations so as to have a more purpose-oriented research incorporating biological, ecological and ethological aspects.

Despite the inclusion of other areas of research in the institution’s programme, taxonomy continues to occupy a prominent role. However, classical morphology-based taxonomy has further been supported with modern tools of molecular taxonomy, viz., DNA fingerprinting techniques, for improving the quality and scope of taxonomic research.