Dear Friends, We are overflooded with numbers during this pandemic: cases, recoveries, deaths, tests and doubling rates are few amongst them and these are certainly not encouraging. We have started tuning our minds to the fact that we will have to live with this invincible virus as we have learnt to accept that even after the bitter experience of the Spanish Flu pandemic way back in 1918, as a society, we have not yet had a societal perspective to try and halt these.

This pandemic has given rise to global hunger for scientific work which has lead to "Darsee syndrome" leading to withdrawal of articles from NEJM and Lancet. Science is really being manhandled. I know that our members are struggling to manage COVID patients in their Institutes. We do not even know exactly how long we will have to wait to be able to get rid of the social distancing norms to be able to embrace our fellow members. With this background, we need to decide regarding our most coveted national event - the IRACON which is supposed to be held at Indore this December . Keeping in mind the existing difficult situation and having had extensive discussions with the Organising Secretary and Scientific Chair, I have had to take this painful decision to postpone the Congress in the greater interest of our fraternity.

Our next Congress (IRACON 2021), as decided by our Executive committee members earlier and as you all know, will be planned to be held at Hyderabad. I, along with the executive committee members have decided to therefore request Indore and their team to host the 2022 IRACON with the same scientific zeal and vigour as they had been planning for this year. For continuation of dissemination of rheumatology knowledge amongst our members, we will be planning IRA sponsored webmeets along with UG and PG motivating programs.

We would be in touch with you shortly with the new virtual academic calendar. Let us dream for a better tomorrow . Stay safe with your family and friends .