The past half century of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP)

Pediatrics as a specialty of medicine has come a long way indeed, from the time when children were treated by adult physicians, to the current times when super specialties exist within the field of pediatrics. Indian Academy of Pediatrics, the singular body connecting pediatricians from all parts of the country in a common ideological thread, has also grown in size and stature, from the time when it was launched by 159 pediatricians, to the present time when it boasts of membership strength of 20,300. Indian Academy of Pediatrics will become a 50 years old ‘mature’, at the dawn of the year 2013. This is a juncture to take stock of IAP’s youthful years of growth, development and expansion, and to confidently march into its golden middle age with a greater vigour, and to develop a larger sphere of influence in matters related to child health in India.