Bihari Lal Bhatia obtained his DSc degree (1932) from Panjab University, Lahore. His area of specialization was Zoology. He was Principal, Government College, Hoshiarpur (1927-37) and Ranbir College, Sangrur, Jind State; and Superintendent of Education, Jind State, Punjab (1938-41).

Academic and Research Achievements: Bhatia's research covered wide areas in protozoology, particularly, microscopic studies in the field. He was an acknowledged authority on the morphology and taxonomy of protozoa. His treatise Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma — Volume I, consisted of Cilophora in which he described as many as 310 species of freshwater and parasitic ciliates and the Volume II on Sporozoa contained an account of 320 species of parasitic protozoa. He authored / co-authored five books, including An Elementary Textbook of Zoology for Indian Students. Bhatia was a teacher par excellence.

Awards and Honours: Bhatia was a recipient of Kaisar-e-Hind Medal. He was President, Zoology Section of Indian Science Congress (1931). He was a Fellow of Zoological Society of India and Royal Microscopical Society (UK).