News
Vijoy K. Varma – A Legend in Social Psychiatry
March 14, 2025
Professor Vijoy K. Varma, who passed away on July 11, 2024, was a living legend in social psychiatry. For his students like us, he was not only a great teacher but also a tall leader and a dear friend. Although he was somewhat strict in the department, outside of it, he was full of fun and humor. Among his manifold academic, research, and organizational activities, his contributions to psychotherapy and social psychiatry stand apart. Besides being a great teacher, he was one who modified the Western model of psychotherapy to be suitable to the Indian context. He noted that many faith and religious leaders were employing their psychological methods for healing.[1]
His contributions to social psychiatry in India and abroad and to the formation of the Indian Association for Social Psychiatry (IASP) will always be remembered. When the IASP was launched at Ranchi on June 14, 1984, he was its founder and secretary general (with A Venkoba Rao as President). Later, the IASP became a member society of the World Association of Social Psychiatry (WASP) under his leadership. He was the secretary general (1984–1992), president-elect (1991–1992), and president (1992–1994) of IASP. The 13th World Congress of Social Psychiatry, organized under his leadership in November 1992, was a big success. It was his wisdom and foresight which culminated in IASP joining as a member society of the World Psychiatric Association.[2] In appreciation of his contributions, he was designated as the patron of IASP in the 2013 annual conference held in November 2013 at Kolkata.
When I left PGI Chandigarh in January 1985, it was he who encouraged me to become its member. In 2002, I became the Vice-President of IASP and in 2009 its President. He was present on all these occasions with his guidance and blessings. He was the happiest person when I was elected the Secretary General of WASP in 2010 and its President in 2016. Former WASP Presidents like A. Guilherme Ferreira (Portugal) and Jorge A. Costa e Silva (Brazil) had great appreciation for him. During the 22nd WASP Congress New Delhi, he was conferred the highest honor of Hon. Fellowship. On December 2, 2016, he wrote to me, "I am grateful to the WASP for having bestowed the high honour of Hon. Fellowship on me and feel flattered and honoured. It is my pleasure to accept it with much gratitude." After the conclusion of the 2016 New Delhi Congress under the leadership of Rakesh Chadda, he wrote to us on December 5, 2016, "I congratulate you for a very successful and landmark professional event. You and your colleagues produced a very creditable congress. It will stand out as a memorable event in the entire Indian medical history." Thus, he always had kind and appreciative words for people working for the organization.
He once wrote to me, "As far as I remember, WASP always stood for World Association FOR Social Psychiatry. Apparently, FOR has been replaced by OF. I do not know if a similar change has taken place in IASP. The Congress was always named World Congress of Social Psychiatry." It just shows his diligence for everything.
As his student, it was my privilege to present symposiums with him at many events across the world notably, the European Congress of Social Psychiatry, Geneva, July 1–3, 2015, Annual Conference of the IASP in Chandigarh, 2012, and APA New York in 2014. He had treated us with generosity and kindness on all these occasions.
Vijoy K. Varma was a great teacher, a remarkable leader, and a pioneer of psychotherapy who propounded social psychiatry vigorously and was against biological reductionism, ignoring the complexities of the mind.[3]
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
NOTES
- Varma VK Present state of psychotherapy in India. Indian J Psychiatry 1982; 24: 209–26.
- Kallivayalil RA Lessons in social psychiatry at unexpected times!. Indian J Soc Psychiatry 2018; 34: 263–4.
- Kallivayalil RA Psychiatry – From biological reductionism to a biopsycho- social perspective. World Soc Psychiatry 2020; 2: 3–6.