IACS : THE CONSTITUTION

            As duly amended and approved by the General Body in its meeting held on 6 January 1995 at the University of Poona, Pune.

Preamble

            The Indian Association for Canadian Studies is a voluntary, non-profit, scholarly organisation, which seeks to promote teaching, research and publications related to Canadian Studies in India.

            The IACS arranges seminar, workshops and conferences on Canadian and Indo-Canadian Studies. The IACS prepares and publishes an inventory of contacts between Indian and Canadian Universities. The Association particularly encourages inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and comparative approaches to Canadian/Indo-Canadian Studies.

            Through its annual meetings, seminars, conferences with the New-letters, the Association informs its members and seeks to facilitate the flow of information, communication and visitors between the universities in India and abroad.

                                                Rules and Regulations

Article I: Name

            The Association shall know as The Indian Association of Canadian Studies.

Article II: Non-Profit Association

            The work of the Association shall be carried on without purpose of gain for its members and any profit or other revenue which comes to the Association shall be used to promote its objectives.

Article III: Objectives

            1.To promote teaching, research, and publications related to Canadian/Indo-

               Canadian Studies.

            2.To encourage inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and comparative

               approaches to Canadian-Indo-Canadian Studies.

Among the ways in which the Association expects to achieve these objectives are:

           

            Publication of a Newsletter and an inventory of contacts between Indian and Canadian universities arranging seminars/workshops/conferences and exchange of teachers and students between India and Canada, periodical publication of scholarly journals and of other occasional papers and dissemination of information available in India for teaching and research in Canadian Studies.

Article IV: Definitions

            In the interpretation of these rules and regulations unless repugnant to the subject or context:

(a)            “Association” means Indian Association for Canadian Studies”.

(b)            “Member” means members of the Association in accordance with the Rules of

             the Association for the time being in force.

(c)        “The Act” means the Societies Registration Act 1860 as amended from time to

             time.

(d)        “Rules” shall mean the bye-laws of the Association in force for the time being.

(e)        “Year” shall mean the period from 1st April to 31st March of the following

             calendar year.

(f)            “Registered Office” means Office at the place where the Association is

             registered.

Article V: Membership

           

Following shall be categories of membership:

(i)            Life Member

(ii)            Annual Member

(iii)            Institutional Member (Permanent)

(iv)            Patron

 

Article VI: Admission and Qualifications for Membership

            The membership of the Association shall be open to all those academics, researchers and other individuals and institutions like Universities and Research Organisations which have been actively interested in Canadian/Indo-Canadian Studies and who are willing to subscribe to the aims and activities of the Association. The Executive Committee may invite eminent person and Canadianists to be the Patrons of the Association. Applications for membership shall be examined and scrutinised by the Executive Committee. It will be open to the Executive Committee to refuse to enroll any person or institutions as a member of the Association if it is felt that such enrolment will not be conducive to the interests of the Association.

Article VII: Membership Fees

            Fees for various categories of membership will be fixed by the Executive Committee with the approval of General Body and announced from time to time.

Article VIII: Cessation of Membership

A person/institution shall cease to be a member of the Association;

(a)            Upon the death of member

(b)            Upon the member’s resignation

(c)            Upon the passing of resolution to that effect at a General Body

                         Meeting of the Association by the votes of 3/5 (three-fifths) of its

                         members present and voting. A member may be expelled either for

                        misdemeanour or for working against the aims and objectives of the

                         Association.

Reasons for cessation of membership shall be communicated to the member concerned.

Such a member shall not be entitled to claim refund of any fees and memberships paid by him/her.

 

            In case of expulsion of a member by the General Body, such an expelled

 member can be readmitted to the membership of the Association by the votes of 3/5

 (three-fifths) of members of General Body present and voting, provided his/her

 explanation is accepted by its.

Article IX: Rights and Privileges of members

All members of the Association shall be entitled to all the privileges conferred

by these rules and regulations. However, only Life members shall have the right to

 vote in and contest election.

They shall be entitled to participate in the meetings, functions and gatherings

 of the Association from time to time.

They shall be bound by the Rules and Regulations and/or bye-laws which may

 be framed from time to time. Any activity of any member which may harm the

 interests of the Association in any manner or non-compliance with all/any provisions

 and/or clauses of the Memorandum and Rules and Regulations will render the

 member concerned liable to a disciplinary action against him/her including the

 termination of his/her membership by the General Body. However, in all such cases

 the member concerned will be given sufficient opportunity of defending

 himself/herself.

The members shall have the right to inspect the books of accounts/registers

 containing minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee and the General

 Body and the register of membership or any other document of the Association on

 any working day during business hour by giving reasonable notice to the Secretary

 and after obtaining written permission from the President.

Article X: Membership Register

The Secretary shall maintain a register of members of the Association

 containing the names, addresses, occupations of the individual member/institutions.

 Members should notify changes in their names and addresses etc to the Secretary

 within reasonable time. The Register of members shall be available for inspection to

 any members at the Secretary’s office.

Article XI: General Body

(a)            All Life Members, Patrons, Annual Members and one representative each of various institutional members shall constitute the General Body of the Association. Only the Life members will have the right to vote in and contest elections.

(b)            Powers and Functions of the General Body

The supreme authority of the Association will be vested with the General

 Body. It will perform the following business at an Annual General Meeting, which

 will be normally held at the time of the Annual Conference.

(i)            To consider and approve the Annual Report of the activities of the Association which will be presented by the Secretary.

(ii)            To consider and approve the annual budget, audited/unaudited Balance

             Sheet and Statement of Income & Expenditure which will be presented by the Treasurer.

(iii)            To consider and approve proposals prepared by the Executive Committee and its sub-Committees for the smooth functioning of the Association.

(iv)            To add, amend, alter or delete any of the articles or clause of the Rules and Regulations of the Association in accordance with the law and the relevant provision of the Societies Regulation Act 1860.

(v)            To elect whenever due, the office bearers and members of Executive Committee in accordance with the rules by secret ballot.

(vi)            To generally direct the affairs of the Association through the office-bearers and other members of the Executive Committee; and to conduct all such business as may be necessary for furthering the academic interest of the members and for promoting the cause of Canadian Studies in India.

(c)            Annual meeting of the General Body is to be convened by the Secretary according the direction of the Executive Committee by Notice of not less than 30 (thirty) days given in writing to the members specifying the place, date, time and agenda of the meeting. All the meetings other than Annual General Body meetings, shall be special General Body Meetings. No business shall be transacted at a special General Body meeting save such as is specified in the notice convening the meeting.

(d)            The Association shall hold an annual General Body Meeting not later than 15 (fifteen) months after the last Annual General Body meeting.

(e)            The Secretary shall be notice of not less than twenty one days given in writing to members of the Association specifying the place, date, time and agenda convene a Special General Body meeting when directed by the Executive or upon the written requisition of 1/5 (one-fifth) of total life member or 20 (twenty) life members whichever is more, stating the business to be transacted at the meeting. The requisition signed by the required number of life members shall be delivered at the Secretary’s Office of the Association. On receipt of the requisition the Secretary with the consent of the Executive Committee shall forthwith proceed to convene a special General Body meeting. If the Executive Committee shall fail to comply with such requisition with five weeks of receiving the same, the requisitioning members may themselves convene such as meeting after giving 21 (twenty one) days’ notice to all members of the General Body. The decisions taken in such requisitioned meetings shall be binding on the Executive Committee.

(f)            The decision in General Body meetings taken with regard to matters on the agenda will be read out to the members present at the end of the meeting and shall be final.

(g)            One fifth members of the General Body shall constitute  a quorum for any General Body meeting. If the quorum is not present within 30 (thirty) minutes of the time fixed for the commencement of the General Body meeting, the meeting shall be adjourned for 30 (thirty) minutes and reconvened. The members present then shall constitute a quorum.

(h)            The President shall be the chairperson of any General Body meeting at which she/he is present. In her/his absence, the Vice-President shall be the chairperson. If both are no present within 30 (thirty) minutes of the time fixed for the commencement of the meeting, members present may elect one from amongst themselves as the chairperson for that meeting.

Article XII: Office Bearers and the Executive Committee

1.            (a) Office Bearers

                        President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be the Office Bearers of the Association in the Executive Committee. All office bearers except the Treasurer shall be elected by the Life members of the Association from amongst themselves. The elected members of the Executive Committee shall co-opt the Treasurer who shall be a Life Member stationed at the same place as the Secretary of the President.

            (b) Elected Members

                        Seven Members of the Executive Committee shall be elected

from amongst the eligible Life members out of which three will be from

 Literature, two from Science & Humanities, one from French Canadian

 Studies and one common to all the categories.

            (c)        Special Invitees

The following shall be the special invitees at the meetings of

 the Executive committee.

i. High Commissioner of Canada in India or his/her nominee

ii. President of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute or his/her

                         nominee in New Delhi

iii. Chairman of the U.G.C or his/her nominee

iv. Immediate past President for one term only

2. The Office Bearers and the elected members of the Executive Committee shall hold office for a period of two years which shall constitute one term from the date of their election. No Office bearers or Executive Committee Member shall hold any office or remain the member of the Executive Committee for more than two consecutive terms. A person who has completed two consecutive terms as part of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to contest election after a gap of at least one term. The outgoing members shall continue to hold office till the newly elected members o the committee take over the charge. Ordinarily this extended period shall not be of more than three months.

3. Quorum and Notice of Meetings of the Executive Committee: The meeting of the Executive Committee shall be convened by the Secretary in consultation with the President or by the President himself. Quorum for he meetings of the Executive Committee shall be one third of the total elected members of the Executive Committee including the Office Bearers. If the quorum is not there, the process as described for the General Body meeting shall be followed. The meeting of the Executive Committee shall be held as and when necessary but at least once in six months with not less than seven days’ notice. The business of the Executive Committee may be transacted through correspondence if required.

4. The General Body can appoint a Committee consisting of three Life Members to inquire into allegations, if made by more than one third of the total number of Life Members against any office bearers of the Association. The Committee shall submit its report to the Executive Committee and the Executive Committee will accept the report of the committee and act on it on behalf of the General Body. The Executive Committee will lay down the procedure of enquiry as early as possible, not later than three months.

Article XIII: Powers and Duties of the Office Bearers

(a) President

                        The President shall preside over all the meting of the Association and shall have the casting vote in case of a tie over any resolution/decision.

                        The President shall supervise the functioning of the Association and shall guide and co-ordinate the activities of the Association.

(b) Vice-President

                        The Vice-President shall preside over the meeting of Executive Committee and the General Body whenever the President is not present. He will assist the President in his presidential functions.

(c) Secretary

(i)                  Subject to the overall control of the Executive Committee the Secretary shall carry on the day-to-day administration of the Association and co-ordinate its activities.

(ii)                The Secretary shall ensure that tall the information as required is forwarded to the Registrar in accordance with the Act.

(iii)               The Secretary shall prepare and present the Annual Report of the Association at the Annual General Body meting.

(iv)              The Secretary shall maintain the archives, records, dead stock register of the Association.

(d)               Treasurer

(i)                  Subject to the over all control of the Executive Committee the Treasurer shall make suitable arrangement for the receipt and expenditure of money on behalf of the Association.

(ii)                The Treasurer shall ensure the proper books of accounts are maintained at his office in accordance with the provisions of the Act and make such accounts available to any member for inspection within reasonable time at his office.

(iii)               The Treasurer shall ensure that all accounts of the Association are duly audited once a year and the Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure Accounts are prepared in Accordance with the provisions of the Act.

(iv)              The Treasurer shall file all the necessary financial returns with appropriate authorities.

(v)                The Treasurer in consultation with Secretary and President shall prepare the annual budget and present it to the Executive Committee.

(vi)              The Treasurer will have the custody of the books of accounts, vouchers and registers.

 

Article XIV: Powers and Functions of the Executive Committee

            The Executive Committee shall

            (a)            Take decisions with regard to the business of the Association

            (b)            Appoint and delegate responsibilities to the committee

            (c )            Appoint the editors for the publications of the Association

(d)               Appoint the auditors to audit the account of the Association with the

            approval of the General Body.

(e)            Authorise necessary expenditures, contracts and all other matters

            related to monetary transaction.

(f)            Members of the Executive Committee shall serve without

            remuneration, salary and profit but reasonable expenses incurred by

             them in the performance of their duties as members of Executive

             Committee may be reimbursed.

(g)            The Executive Committee may allocate work among its members and

             office bearers as and when required.

(h)            Any member of the Executive Committee who has a pecuniary or

             academic interest in the matters placed before the Executive

             Committee must declare that interest and may, at the discretion of the

            other members remain absent during the discussion about the matter.

Article XV: Academic Committee

            The Academic Committee shall consist of the Office Bearers of IACS and one representative each of the recognised Canadian Studies Centre in different Indian universities situated in different regions of India.

      A meeting of this Committee shall be held at the time and place of the Annual General Body Meeting.

            The Committee shall discuss the Academic affairs of the Centres and possibilities of co-ordination of interaction between the Centres and the Association.

Article XVI: Elections

(a)    The Executive Committee shall appoint an Election Committee consisting of three life members to conduct the elections to the next Executive Committee. The members of the Election Committee will not be eligible to be candidates for any post in the Executive Committee.

(b)   The Election Committee shall elect a Returning Officer from amongst themselves.

(c)    The Secretary shall prepare a list of eligible voters. The Returning Officer shall call for nomination on behalf of the Election Committee for elections from individual life members at least 45 (forty five) days prior to the date of elections. He shall also announce the schedule of the elections and complete the entire election process.

(d)   Only life members of minimum one year’s standing shall be entitled to be nominated for election to the Executive Committee.

(e)    Only Life members of at least 3 (three) months’ standing shall be entitled to vote in the election.

(f)     Office bearers and members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the eligible life member voters by single non-transferable vote.

(g)    The election shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast by secret ballot.

(h)    The decisions of the Election Committee with regard to all matters of the election shall be final.

(i)      In case of equal number of votes, the candidate will be declared elected by a lot drawn in the presence of the candidates or their nominees.

(j)     An eligible life member can contest election at the most for one post of office bearer and one post of member of Executive Committee at the same time. However if a person gets elected to both the positions then he/she will be required to vacate one of them and the person who secures the next maximum votes shall be declared as elected.

 

Article XVII: Filling in the Casual Vacancy in the Executive Committee

                        A casual vacancy in the Executive Committee can be filled in by a resolution passed by a majority of votes by the Executive Committee members present at that particular meeting.

 

Article XVIII : Source of the Income and Utilisation of Funds

            1.The rights of property and assets of the Association shall be vested in

   the Association.

2.All money received by the Association shall be credited to the

 account maintained in the name of the Association with any scheduled

 bank and it shall be operated by Treasurer and President/Secretary.

3.Any funds of the Association, not immediately required for any of its purposes, may be invested by the Executive Committee in fixed deposits with any scheduled bank or insecurities as are permissible in law and as the Executive Committee may from time to time think fit.

4.The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the safe custody of the funds and assets of the Association.

5.No member of the Committee shall be personally liable for any loss incurred by the Association unless such a loss shall have arisen from his/her willful act of omission and/or commission.

6.All fees, subscriptions, donations, contributions, endowments, grants, subsidies, royalties, loans and other receipts from any source within India and abroad shall constitute part of the funds of the Association.

7.If upon the winding up or dissolution of the Association there remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities any property movable/immovable, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Association, but shall be given or transferred to some other institution or institutions having objects similar to those objects of the Association in accordance with the provision of the Act.

8.All the income of the Association shall be utilized for the achievement of the aims and objectives of the Association.

Article XIX: Financial Year

      The Financial year of the Association shall be from 1st April to 31st March of the following calendar year.

Article XX: Legal Proceedings

      The Association may be used or sue in the name of the President as per the provisions laid down under S.6 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Article XXI: Change in Name, Objectives, Rules and Regulations (Amendments)

      Amendments/alterations or abridgement of ‘purpose’ aims and objectives or changes in the name shall be made in accordance with Sec. 12 and 12-A of the Societies Registration Act. These Rules and Regulations may be amended or altered or replaced at any time by a majority comprising of at lest 2/3 (two/third) of the members of the Association present and voting at a General Body Meeting. The agenda of that meeting shall specify the proposed amendments or alterations.

Article XXII: Dissolution and Adjustments of Affairs

      If the Association needs to be dissolved it shall be dissolved as per the provisions laid down under S.13 and S.14 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Article XXIII: Amalgamation of the Association

      The General Body may determine to amalgamate the Association wholly or partially with any other Association in accordance with S.12 and S.12-A of the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Article XXIV: Application of the Act

      All the provisions under all the sections of the Societies Registration Act 1860 shall apply to this Association.

Article XXV: Essential Certificate

      We, the undersigned members of the Executive Committee of the Indian Association of Canadian Studies, do hereby certify that the above is the correct copy of the Rules and Regulations of the Society.

      The amended constitution as a whole and with its modified provisions has come into operation with effect from 6th January 1995 onward as per the resolution passed by the General Body in its meeting held on the same day at University of Poona, Pune.

Sd/-                                   Sd/-                                         Sd/-

(President)                                   (Secretary)                           (Treasurer)

 

 

 

Constitution  Amendment  Committee:

Convenor          :                        U.B.Bhoite

Members          :                        G. Palanithurai, A.S. Narang,

                        S.K. Bhatnagar, Kavita  A. Sharma