Kailas Nath Kaul (1905–1983) was an Indian botanist, naturalist, agricultural scientist, horticulturist, herbalist, plant collector and herpetologist, and a world authority on Arecaceae. He founded India's National Botanical Research Institute and was instrumental in organizing the country's modern scientific infrastructure. He is regarded as a vital influence behind his niece Indira Gandhi's proactive role in environmental protection by means of extensive legislative and policy interventions.
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Notable achievements
Kaul earned a M.Sc. in botany degree from the University of Lucknow in 1928, and then he completed advanced research and studies at institutions including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Cambridge University.
Having served as the first Indian scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and worked with the Natural History Museum, London, and several British universities including the University of Cambridge, Professor Kaul established the National Botanical Research Institute (formerly, the National Botanic Gardens of India), at Lucknow in 1948. He directed the Institute until 1965, during which time it remained one of the world's five best botanical gardens, along with those at Kew (UK), Bogor (Indonesia), Paris (France) and New York (USA). From 1953 until 1965, Kaul surveyed botanically the whole of India, from the Karakoram mountains in the north to Kanyakumari at the southern tip of the country, and from the North East Frontier Agency in the east to the Rann of Kutch in the west. In the same period, he contributed to the development of the botanical gardens at Peradeniya (Sri Lanka), Singapore, Bogor (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Tokyo (Japan), and Manila (Philippines). He represented India at the International Botanical Congresses at Paris (1954), Montreal (1959), and Edinburgh (1964). In 1968, he was elected as the President of the Palaeobotanical Society, India. In 1975, he was appointed the first Vice Chancellor of the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, India.