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Kali Prasad
Kali Prasad
Professor and Head, Department of Philosophy and Psychology, University of Lucknow
	In office; 1944-1960
12th Vice-chancellor of the University of Lucknow
	In office; 1960-1961
Appointed by	Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, Governor of Uttar Pradesh
Preceded by	K A S Ayyer
Succeeded by	Randhir Singh
Research Consultant at India International Centre
	In office; 1961-
Personal details
Born	Sitapur, India
Alma mater	University of Allahabad

Kali Prasad was a prominent Indian psychologist and academic who contributed to the development of psychology education in India and conducted significant research in parapsychology and contributions to social and clinical psychology. He served as the head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology at Lucknow University from 1944 ^[1]and was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at MIT from 1954 to 1956. At the time of his passing, he was leading a UNESCO research project on "Industrialization and Social Change."

Early Life and Education

Kali Prasad was born in 1901 in Sitapur, India. He pursued his higher education at University of Allahabad, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1924.^[2]

Academic Career

Kali Prasad became a professor and head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology at Lucknow University in 1944, where he played a pivotal role in establishing a postgraduate course in psychology in 1950, significantly enhancing the university's academic offerings. The department was initially founded by Professor N. N. Sengupta, who relocated from Calcutta University in 1929. In 1953, psychology was introduced as an optional subject for undergraduate students, with Prasad focusing his research on social and clinical psychology, as well as psychometrics. Additionally, he served as a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1954 to 1956, furthering his research and academic collaborations. He was later appointed as the 12th Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University,^[3] a position he held from 1960 to 1961.

Research Contributions

Following his tenure as Vice-Chancellor, Kali Prasad worked as a Research Consultant at the India International Centre in New Delhi. At the time of his sudden death in 1961, he was leading a UNESCO research project titled "Industrialization and Social Change: A Value Approach."^[4] As part of this project, he traveled to several Southeast Asian countries and visited the University of the Philippines, where he was the inaugural speaker at the Lecture Forum Series of the International Association of Schools (IAS).

Books

Kali Prasad was the author of The Psychology of Meaning (1949)^[5] and contributed to the section on "Communal Tensions" in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Report on India (1952).Additionally, he published the journal article "Vedānta Solution of the Problem of Evil" in the Journal of Philosophical Studies (Vol. 5, No. 17, Jan. 1930, pp. 62-71),^[6] where he explored philosophical perspectives on evil. He was also featured in In the Minds of Men (1953) by Gardner Murphy. Prasad had a keen interest in telepathy and psychokinesis, engaging in various research projects funded by the Parapsychology Foundation that focused on extrasensory perception (ESP) and the influence of interpersonal relations between subjects and experimenters on ESP results.

Catalogue Of Oriental Manuscripts In The Lucknow University Library^[7]

Legacy

In recognition of his contributions to psychology, the Prof. Kali Prasad Memorial Research Prize^[8] was established to honor the best Ph.D. or D.Litt. thesis in psychology at Lucknow University. Notably, the prize was awarded in 2010 for the best Ph.D. thesis in the Department of Psychology.