Social activist J N Kaul passes away

Jagan Nath Kaul, founder member and patron for life of SOS Children’s Villages of India and instrumental in helping lakhs of underprivileged children in the country, passed away on Tuesday. Popularly known as “Papaji”, Kaul died in Faridabad after a prolonged illness. He is survived by his wife Indira, son, three daughters and grand children. Born on October 13, 1924 in Srinagar, Kaul started his career with the Delhi administration. After meeting the late Dr Hermann Gmeiner, founder of SOS-Kinderdorf International in 1963, he left his government job and established the first SOS Children’s Village at Greenfields, Faridabad in 1964 with support from then PM Indira Gandhi. Kaul, associated with many government and voluntary agencies engaged in childcare, was awarded the Padma Shri in 2000.