Jagdish Chandra Kapur (1920-2010) was an Indian social scientist, entrepreneur and the founder of ''Kapur Surya Foundation'' and ''Kapur Solar Farms''. He was also the Editor of ''World Affairs Journal'', a publication aiming at and providing a platform for better interaction between the developed and the developing nations. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

honoured him in 2010, with the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, the third-highest civilian award, for his services to the fields of science and technology.

Life sketch

Jagdish Chandra Kapur was born on 16 February 1920. He did his graduate studies at the Punjab University and secured his master's degree from the

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. Later, he went to the United States and had higher studies at the

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

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, New York. Kapur's activities are largely centred on the four institutions he has helped found viz. the ''World Public Forum'', ''World Affairs'' journal, ''Kapur Foundation'' and ''Kapur Solar Farms'' and the social activities such as organising seminars and delivering keynote addresses on topics such as science and technology, urban and rural development and future of mankind. The World Public Forum is a consultative body which serves as a platform for various

non-governmental organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

(NGO), public, academic, cultural, spiritual, social and business institutions for exchange of views and ideas on global problems and their resolutions. ''Dialogue of Civilizations'' or ''Rhodes Forum'' is one such initiative by WPF. WPF was founded by Jagdish Kapur, along with

Vladimir Yakunin Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin (russian: Владимир Иванович Якунин; born 30 June 1948) is a Russian businessman and close Vladimir Putin confidant. He was president of Russian Railways from June 2005 to August 2015. In March 2 ...

, former President of the

Russian Railways Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...

and has participation from many known personalities such as Alfred Gusenbauer, Federal Chancellor of Austria, Fred Dallmayr, Professor of

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, Nicholas Papanicolaou, president of Titan Corporation, Greece,

Walter Schwimmer Walter Schwimmer (born 16 June 1942, Vienna) is a former politician and diplomat from Austria. Was Secretary General of the Council of Europe from September 1, 1999, to August 31, 2004. Life After being a member of the Austrian Parliament (Nation ...

, former Secretary-General of the Council of Europe and Hans Koechler, Director of Research Emeritus at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France Henri Favre. Surya Foundation, a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

and its sister concern, Surya Solar Farms, are founded by Kapur and focus on research on renewable energy such as solar energy and putting them to practical uses. The Foundation, apart from publishing journals on quarterly intervals, organises meetings and seminars on the subject. It is also involved in charitable activities in the areas of health and education. Kapur's efforts on dissemination information and knowledge on renewable energy and the future of mankind are effected mainly through the journal, the ''World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues''. It attempts to take the views of the developing nations into the notice of the developed nations and thereby attempt to bridge the gap of information flow between them. The readers of the journal include politicians, academics, leaders and the general public. Jagdish Chandra Kapur died on 19 November 2010, aged 90, due to age related illnesses.

Awards and recognitions

– 2010 * Kanpur Municipal Corporation has honoured Jagdish Chandra Kapur by naming a road after him, stretching from Vijay Nagar to Sastri Nagar.

Writings

* * * * * * He has also published more than 50 papers and articles on the subject of the future of mankind.

External links

* Indian Journals.com * Reference on

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

* Reference on

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* Reference on

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

* Jagdish Chandra Kapur in dialogue with

Tu Weiming Tu Weiming (born 1940) is a Chinese-born American philosopher. He is Chair Professor of Humanities and Founding Director of the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies at Peking University. He is also Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow of Asi ...

on 11 July 2010 * Reference on the University of Chicago Library

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapur, Jagdish Chandra 1920 births 2010 deaths Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Indian ecologists Indian Institute of Science alumni Panjab University alumni 20th-century Indian biologists