Birbal Sahni joined hands with some other
scientists to form the Indian Botanical Society in 1921. In 1924, he became its president.
?He presided over the Botany Section of the Indian Science Congress in 1912, within just
two years of his return from Cambridge. Again he presided over the Geology Section in 1926
and the Botany Section for the second time at the Silver Jubilee Session of the Science
Congress in 1938. He had the honor of presiding over the Science Congress in 1940.
Birbal Sahni was twice president of the National Academy of Sciences. He was a Fellow
and Vice-President of both the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of
Sciences. He was also the Vice-President of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of
Science. He was a member of the Governing Council of the Indian Institute of Sciences in
Bangalore, and a Fellow of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. He was representative of the
Inter University Board on the Council of Agricultural Research. Birbal Sahni served the
cause of science in India by associating himself with many other learned bodies also.
Many Indian universities honoured him with doctorates and a number of awards. He was
made Honorary Professor of Botany at the Benaras Hindu University. He was awarded the
Barclay Medal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal for outstanding research in the
biological sciences.
Birbal Sahni represented India at the Conference of Scientists convened by the Royal
Society in 1945. He was deputed by the Government of India in 1947 to visit research
centers in Europe and America. He was twice the Vice-President of the Palaeobotany
Sections of the International Congresses in 1930 and 1935. He served on the Editorial
Board of the International Botanical Journal, Chronica Botanica. He was
elected as one of the vice-presidents of the International Palaeobotanical Union. He was
an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1936 he was
elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. This fellowship is considered as the
highest distinction in the field of science. Birbal was the fifth Indian to receive this
honor.