The idea to form a society of Anaesthetists originated at the centenary celebrations of ether anaesthesia held in Bombay in Oct 1946 after pioneer work of leading anaesthetics of Bombay which included Dr. F Saher And Dr. B.N. Sucar, the ISA was founded in 1947. The first conference was held on 23rd to 24th Dec 1949 at Seth G.S. Medical Collage Bombay.

In 1953 the society started publishing its official journal " Indian Journal of Anaesthesia": the first volume was published in July 1953 and it was yearly publication till 1957; Dr MC Gangule was the 1st editor of the journal; the journal so being published quarterly since 1959.

The society is recognised as the recognised as the representative body of the spectrally of Anaesthesia by govt. of India, State Government, medical council of India, Universities, National academy of Medical sciences and others.

Delhi Branch

In 1958 at the 10th Annual conference at visakhapatnam the council Governing recommended and passed a resolution authoring different states of the Country to form state branches with minimum of ten members the first state Branch of the society was formed in West Bengal in 1958 subsequently other state and city branches have also been formed Delhi Branch of Indian society of Anaesthetist was formally founded in January 1967. ISA Delhi Branch was founded in 1959, but regularly only since 1965 with Prof. Mrs. S. Nath as President of Prof. N.P. Singh as honorary secretary.

ISA National Histrory

In the year 1944, the Anaesthesiologists attending a surgical conference at Mumbai (Bombay) thought of forming a common platform for exchange of scientific views, which was consolidated in 1946 following "Ether Day" celebrations in October of that year. With the continued efforts of leading Anaesthesiologists of India, the Indian Society Anaesthesiologists was born on 30th December 1947.

The Society started as joint organisation with the Surgical-Obstetric Society of India. The founder members of the Society were Dr. Ambardekar G.S. (Bombay), Dr. Bhargava V.B. (Bombay), Dr. Mehta J.G. (Bomaby), Dr. Talwalkar G.S. (Bombay), Dr. Barat H.G. (Calcutta), Dr. Chatterjee S.K. (Calcutta), Dr. Sur P.B. (Calcutta), Dr. Bakshi S.K. (Delhi), Dr. Dhameja P.D. (Delhi), Dr. Satyendra Singh (Delhi), Dr. Chandrasekhar N. (Madras), Dr. Prasad N. (Patna) and Dr. B.N.Sircar (Bombay). The torchbearers of the office were Dr. M.N.Desai (President), Dr. B.N.Sircar (Hon Secretary) and Dr. G.S.Talwalkar (Hon. Treasurer), (1949-51).

The First Annual Conference of ISA through the combined society was held on 23rd and 24th December 1949 at Seth G.S.Medical College, Bombay. The Society has been holding Annual Conferences regularly from 27th to 30th December since 1949 until 1964 along with Association of the Surgeons of India.

The Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists hosted the First Independent Annual National Conference at Hyderabad in 1965. Prof. Dr. T. C. Gray and Prof. Dr. R. Macintosh from UK attended the first conference as special invitees of the Government of India.

1972 and 1997 were the Silver Jubilee and Golden jubilee years of the formation of ISA respectively which were commemorated at Trivandrum (1972) and Delhi (1997). The Silver Jubilee & Golden Jubilee Conferences were held in 1975 & 2002 at Madras & at Coimbatore (GOLDCON 2002) respectively.

In 1956 Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists joined the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) as a founder member. In September 1978, the 5th Asian-Australasian Regional Congress was held at New Delhi and the Conference was inaugurated by the President of India. The Continuing Medical Education (CME) Programmes was started along with the Annual Conference in 1981 at Chandigarh under WFSA initiatives (Dr. T.C.K. Brown). The South Asian Confederation of Anaesthesiologists (SACA) was formed in November 1991 and Dr. (Mrs). V.M.Divekar of ISA was selected as the first SACA President. SACA meets once in two years in one of the member countries at Bangladesh / Sri Lanka / Pakistan / India / Nepal / Maldives. In 1999 Chennai (Madras) India, hosted the fourth SACA meet.

The emblem was designed by Dr. Badola from Lucknow. The design was accepted in 1964 and has been used as the logo since then. The emblem signifies "The patient's safety through unconsciousness" steered by anaesthesiologists represented as mythical mermaids who have human intelligence and the skill of dolphin in swimming. The waves represent unexpected emergencies, that arise in anaesthesia practice. The dark and light shades represent the sleep and awake states. The mission commitment of the society is described as 'Eternal Vigilance' whether day or night further symbolising with alternate shades. The serpents and rod represent the medical profession in which Anaesthesiology is broad based.

The flag, made of Satin silk, is blue on white and represents the medical gases. On the blue background the emblem is placed in the center (diameter : 7.5 inches). The flag was designed in 1969. The ISA flag is hoisted on the day of inauguration of the Conference and lowered after the Valedictory function by the President of ISA.