The Indian Art History Congress (IAHC) was established on 21st April, 1992 with its headquarters in Guwahati. Its avowed objective was to provide a suitable academic platform to the students and scholars engaged in the study of antiquarian objects, sculptures, icons, paintings and architecture. The objectives of the organisation were announced on this momentous occasion.

The necessity of forming a broad-based association of art historians to study the variegated Indian art-forms has long been felt. On the 21st April, 1992 an association called Indian Art History Congress was duly set-up with its headquarters in Guwahati, Assam. This Congress has been formed on the auspicious occasion of the Annual Day Celebration of the Assam State Museum, Guwahati.

The chief aim of the Indian Art History Congress is to study and publicise various fine arts, including architecture, sculpture, painting, performing arts and the folk arts. This body will endeavour to help, in all possible ways, the art historians working in different regions on various themes. In this connection, co-operation and guidance of scholars working in India and abroad will obviously be needed

So far, studies have been made on the origin and growth of Indian arts and their inter-relations in different parts of the country. Some comparative studies of Indian art with the art of the Western World and several parts of Asia have been fruitful in the assessment of the position of Indian art in the World context. Not only from the view-point of antiquity but also from the consideration of quantity and aesthetic excellence, Indian art has been appreciated by eminent art-critics of the world.

The archaic rock-paintings lately discovered in a considerable number in the country, particularly in the valleys of Narmada, Betwa and Chambal in central India have furnished quite useful pictorial bearing on the material culture of pre and proto-historic India. The rock-art continued to flourish in several parts of the country during the ancient and medieval periods.

The first efflorescence of plastic art has been noticed in the Harappa culture, assigned to the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. The remains of this chalcolithic culture have been discovered in a wide area, ranging from Punjub to Southern Gujarat and from Baluchistan and Sind to western part of Uttar Pradesh. The early symbolism, found in the Vedic texts, can well be compared with certain symbols occurring in the Harppan art.

The philosophical basis of ancient Indian art was mainly the dvaita doctrine of Sankhya. This is discernible in Indian literature and various art-forms. Though the media of fine arts, and integration between ethics and aesthetics was sought for in this country, the Indian art aimed at a harmony between the human life and various manifestations of Nature. The role of Indian art in the cultural integration of the country has been significant indeed.

The late Prof. K. D. Bajpai formally declared the formation of the IAHC during the inaugural ceremony of the Ethnography Gallery of the Assam State Museum and the Workshop on Ethno-lab organised jointly by the Directorate of Museums, Assam and the Indian Museum, Kolkata. The late Dr. R.D Choudhury, Late Dr. R. C. Sharma, Director, Indian Museum, Kolkata, Dr. S.K. Chakravorti and Dr. A.K. Chatterji were also present in this meeting. The idea to form such a society for the benefit of the art historians was conceived by the late Dr. R.D Choudhury when he was the Director of Museums, Assam and he was actively supported by Professor K. D. Bajpai, who took the decision to convene the first formal meeting at Guwahati for the formation of the Congress

Prof. Bajpai established a link with Assam through Late Dr. R.D. Choudhury and Dr. N. P. Choudhary, who were his students. He visited Assam many times, attended many seminars and delivered lectures. He also had the opportunity to visit some archaeological sites. In the words of the Late Dr. R.D. Choudhury:

He also came to know about the feelings of neglect amongst the people of Assam. So, in the best interest of the integration of the country and to remove the feelings of neglect from the minds of the people of Assam, particularly the intellectuals of Assam, and Northeast India, Prof. Bajpai decided to have the headquarters of this organisation in Guwahati so that in the capacity of General Secretary of the Congress, the Late Dr. R.D. Choudhury could function without any difficulty. This was for the first time that an all India body set up its headquarters in Assam

However, in June, 1992 Prof. K.D. Bajpai passed away before he could preside over the first formal session of the organisation he had founded. He had also planned to bring out a standard journal of art of IAHC. He proposed to name it as Kalā. The First Session of the newly formed Indian Art History Congress was held along with the annual sessions of the Indian Archaeological Society, Indian Society for Prehistory & Quaternary Studies and Indian History & Culture Society on 6th-8th November, 1992 at Dharwad University (Karnataka). Dr. V.S. Pathak, the Vice Chancellor of Gorakhpur University U.P. was the General President of the first session and Dr. M.L. Nigam Retired Director Salar Jjung Museum Hyderabad was the President of the IAHC as Prof. Bajpai was no more.

In this session the constitution of the Congress was passed, Dr. M. L. Nigam, Ex-Director, Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad was selected as the Chairman and Dr. S. D. Trivedi, Director, State Museum, Lucknow as a Vice-Chairman. The responsibility of editing the new journal Kalā was entrusted to Dr. A. L. Srivastava, Allahabad, whom Prof. Bajpai had himself co-opted as his Assistant Editor.

The second annual session of IAHC was held along with the annual conference of the Indian Museums Association at the State Museum, Lucknow, on 7th-8th May, 1994 under the Chairmanship of Dr. M. L. Nigam. On this occasion the first Prof. K. D. Bajpai Memorial Lecture was delivered by Prof. Ram Asraya Awasthi of Lucknow University

The third annual session was hosted by the Department of Sculpture & Art History, Tamil University, Thanjavur where for the first time the Indian Art History Congress held its session separately and independently. Since then the IAHC has been holding its sessions every year (except in 2020 and 2021 due to the global Covid 19 pandemic) in different parts of India.

It has also been regularly publishing the Proceedings of the annual conferences. Kalā, the journal of the Indian Art History Congress has also been continuously published every year without fail till the present day. However, due to the global Covid 19 pandemic Volume XXVI (2020-2022) was published as a single issue.