J. L. Kaul

J. L. Kaul
Born 28 July 1944
Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Other names Jawahar Lal Kaul
Occupation Indian social worker
Awards Padma Shri
Louis Braille Medal
Marga Schulze Award
FICCI National Award
Thomas Memorial National Award
World Human Rights Promotion Award
T. P. Jhunjhunwala Award
NCPEDP – Shell Helen Keller Award
R. M. Alpaiwala Memorial Award
Website Official web site od All India Conference of the Blind

Jawahar Lal Kaul, is a blind[1] Indian social worker and the founder of the All India Conference of the Blind, an NGO working towards the rehabilitation of the blind.[1] He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his services to the field of arts.[2]

Biography

The biggest challenge for visually impaired students is availability of textbooks in Braille,, Says J. L. Kaul about the state of affairs on the opportunities to the blind people.[3]

Jawahar Lal Kaul was born as a normal child, on 28 July 1944, in Sri Nagar, in the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir, India.[4] The little Kaul lost his eyesight, following a small pox attack, at the age of five. However, the boy pursued his education, studied at a local school and graduated in Sanskrit, with gold medal from the Punjab University, in 1967, standing first in the BA examination.[4]

In the mid sixties, Kaul shifted to Delhi with a view to do something for the rehabilitation of the blind people. In Delhi, he set up the Training and Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind, in 1967 and served as its Secretary. With the organization to support, Kaul played an active role is the establishment of the National Federation of the Blind, reported to be the first national level self-help organization for the blind people in India[4] and was its founding Secretary. He continued in the post till 1978 when he turned his attention to the setting up of an organization on a larger scale.[4]

J. L. Kaul, in 1980, founded the All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB),[5] an NGO[6] operating out of a small rented office with a capital of ₹ 300.[4] The organization, over the years, has grown into a nationwide institution, with own campus and branches across the country, becoming the largest braille production centre in the country.[5][6] AICB caters to the braille requirement of 10 states in India, with regard to their college and school text books. The organization also runs a science laboratory and a Resource Centre, providing opportunities to the visually impaired people to have facilities on par with the normal students.[4][5]

AICB, under the guidance of Kaul, operates a modern school in Gurgaon, for the blind children.[5] The activities include:[5][6]

In order to generate employment for the visually impaired, Kaul has set up stenography and IT training centres, under the aegis of AICB. The organization also conducts regular eye camps for prevention of blindness. They also tie up with other organizations on projects such as providing braille books to the students and has set up a corpus to provide scholarships to blind students.ref name="CBM India" />[4][3]

J. L Kaul was the Executive Secretary of the East Asia Committee of the International Federation of the Blind from 1977 to 1985. He served as the Secretary General of the World Blind Union for two terms from 2000 to 2012.[4] He was also the Chairman of the Credential Committee of the Asian Blind Union[7] and a member of the Credential Committee of the World Blind Union. He also served as the Chairperson of the World Braille Council from 2009 to 2012.[4] of which he is an honorary life member.[4]

Awards and recognitions

J. L. Kaul was honoured by the Government of India by awarding him the Padma Shri, in 2014, in recognition of his efforts to the society.[2] He is also a recipient of the Louis Braille Medal in 2012, the highest honour awarded by the World Blind Union. Kaul is the first recipient of the award from a developing country.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "WBU". 2012. WBU. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Padma Awards Announced". Circular. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. January 25, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Amway" (PDF). Amway. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "AICB bio". AICB. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "CBM India". CBM India. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "Disability Directory". Disability Directory. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ "ABU". ABU. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "AICB awards". AICB. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ "NCPEDP". NCPEDP. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ "NAB". NAB. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
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