Natural Wonders to See Before They Disappear

The world has heard the dour inflections of increasing global warming bleaching the Great Barrier Reef by 2030, glaciers in the Swiss Alps and Glacier National Park, and snow caps of Mt. Kilimanjaro will wane in under 40 years. We have also taken notice of Arctic ice melting that would leave the North Pole bare and Polar Bears wiped out. The immediacy of this situation prompts flocks of curious eco-tourists to travel to places that are environmentally delicate. We spotlight a few areas in danger - some of them lesser known than the rest - that can be visited conscientiously.

The Yangtze River Basin:
Being home to various exotic species like the dwarf blue sheep, giant pandas, Yangtze finless porpoises, and Siberian cranes - all this along with some 400 million people; the area is in jeopardy of losing its most unique marine and animal life by the blow of China's gigantic $24 billion Three Gorges Dam. Though it is too early to know how huge the structure's impact on the environment, the government of China has also acknowledged the destruction that maybe caused.

The reservoir has swamped villages, factories, mines and farms that add to the Yangtze River's existing polluting from agriculture, raw sewage, manufacturing and shipping. Landslides have also occurred and seismologists wonder if the pressure of water above fault lines might result in a disastrous earthquake. Landslides have also happened, and seismologists wonder if the water pressure above two fault lines might result in a devastating quake.

Ranthambore, Rajasthan:

Known as one of the best places to see tigers, Ranthambore in Rajasthan holds half of the world's population of wild tigers. With the world's population of felines falling down to as few as 3200, half of which are found in India, these far-roaming beautifully ferocious creatures may be extinct within dozens of years if extreme precautions and efforts are not undertaken. You can see that things have changed dramatically when you compare the number of tigers that lived in India in 1900 (100,000) to two centuries later. The habitats of the big cats have been reduced by a huge ninety-three percent albeit there are reserves across Asia. Most of these reserves are small and have no corridors between them. It is also said that the population of these felines reduces by one every day as they are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The Poles:

Soaring ice bergs, Aurora Borealis, magnificent animals like penguins, polar bears and whales - the natural occurrence you find at the Poles are exceptional and inspiring. It is envisaged that eighty percent of the emperor penguin population of Antarctica will be lost and the rest endangered to extinction if global warming continues. In the Arctic, the steady loss of ice (ice has decreased three percent per decade since the 1970s) endangers the existence of polar bear. The entire ecosystems are in threat if sea ice wanes at the poles: the phytoplankton that grows under ice sheets feeds zooplankton and small crustaceans like krill, which are on the food chain for fish, seals, whales, polar bears and penguins. If studies that predict persistent global warming are true then it means, within twenty to thirty years, no ice will for in Antarctica.

Madagascar:

With more than eighty percent of its flora and fauna not found anywhere else on Earth, gratefulness to millions years of remoteness, Madagascar's forests will be gone in thirty-five years. The world's fourth biggest island that was once 120,000 square miles, and are now down to 20,000, will be gone if nothing is done to save them and the islands will take their unique inhabitants along with them.

Forest ecosystems are being ruined by logging, burning for subsistence farms, and poaching. The twenty species of lemurs that Madagascar is famous for are endangered. The game reserves found are not large enough as they take up only five percent of the island and is not neighboring, consequently failing to offer passageway for the animals to pass through. Some of Madagascar's endemic groups have never even been documented, and will probably be lost before they can be deliberated.

The Everglades:

This is the only place is where crocodiles and alligators share territory along with cypress swamps, mangroves, saw grass and pine savannahs. The fragile peat bog is at risk from pollution from farms, invasive species, and encroaching development and because 60 percent of the region's water is being diverted to nearby cities and farms, the Everglades are at the present half the size it was in 1900. Even worse is the fact that this wetland is the solitary territory of the Florida panther which stands at a population of less than hundred left in the wild. These big cats may be extinct in the next 40 years as their habitat disappears along with twenty other species like turtles, manatees, and wading birds that are endangered

Waiver to get divorce within 1 year of marriage

Delhi High Court
Sh. Tarun Kumar Vaish vs Ms. Meenakshi Vaish

on 13/4/2005

JUDGMENT

Mukul Mudgal, J.

1. Rule. With the consent of the counsel for the parties, the petition is taken up for final hearing.

2. This petition under Article 227 under Article 227 of the
Constitution of India, challenges the Order dated 27th July, 2004,
passed by the Additional District Judge in HMA. No. 591 of 2004, by
which an application moved by which an application moved on 13th July,
2004 by both the parties, that is, the petitioner, Sh. Tarun Kumar
Vaish and the respondent, Ms. Meenakshi Vaish, seeking permission to
present the petition under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act,
1955(in short the `HMA’) for divorce, by mutual consent prior to the
expiry of one year from the date of marriage of the parties, that is,
30th April, 2004 was rejected and accordingly the petition under
Section 13B of the HMA Act was dismissed.

3. The relevant portion of the proviso to Section 14 of the HMA reads
as follows:-

“14(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, it shall not
be competent for any court to entertain any petition for dissolution
of a marriage by a decree of divorce, [unless at the date of the
presentation of the petition one year has elapsed since the date of
the marriage :

Provided that the Court may, upon application made to it in
accordance with such rules as may be made by the High Court in that
behalf, allow a petition to be presented [before one year has
elapsed] since the date of the marriage on the ground that the case
is one of exceptional hardship to the petitioner or of exceptional
depravity on the part of the respondent, but if it appears to the
Court at the hearing of the petition that the petitioner obtained
leave to present the petition by any misrepresentation or
concealment of the nature of the case, the court may, if it
pronounces a decree, do so subject to the condition that the decree
shall not have effect until after the [expiry of one year] from the
date of the marriage or may dismiss the petition without prejudice
to any petition which may be brought after the [expiration of the
said one year] upon the same or substantially the same facts as
those alleged in support of the petition so dismissed.”

4. Both the parties have contended that their plea for exemption from
waiting for one year under proviso under Section 14(1) of the Act
should have been granted since the parties have been living separately
since 14th May, 2005 and the marriage has not even been consummated. It
has further been contended that the parties have irreconcilable
differences between them and that they will suffer mental as well as
physical hardship on account of the continuation of their marriage. It
has also been submitted that the families of both the parties have
already initiated the process of re-marrying them.

5. On these grounds, the exemption for presenting the petition under
Section 13(B)(1) of the Act prior to the one year from the date of the
marriage, that is, 30th April, 2004 was sought. The impugned Order
dated 27th July, 2004 has noted that the exceptional hardship has not
been explained by the parties and as such the petition was dismissed on
the ground that it was premature and that there was no justification to
waive the statutory period of one year.

6. In my view, the parties have given sufficient indication of the
hardships for seeking exemption for expiry of one year in their
petition before the Additional District Judge.

7. This Court also in a judgment in FAO 756 of 2003 in Pooja Gupta and
Anr. v. Nil in respect of a petition under Section 13B(1) of the Act
had held as follows:

“The above statement of objects and reasons though made in the
context of parity with Section 28 of Special Marriage Act also
clearly indicates that the legislative intent was expeditious
disposal of divorces by mutual consent. In my view as long a the
Court is satisfied as an essential reason for exemption for filing a
divorce by mutual consent prior to expiry of one year after the
marriage that the plea for mutual consent is not under
coercion/intimidation or undue influence and there are no chances of
reconciliation and the parties have fully understood the impact and
effect of the divorce by mutual consent, the continuance of such a
marriage is bound to cause undue hardship to the spouses. The other
relevant considerations which may be considered for granting the
exemption from passage of one year before filing a petition for
divorce by mutual consent are:-

a) the maturity and the comprehension of the spouses;

(b) absence of coercion/intimidation/undue influence;

(c) the duration of the marriage sought to be dissolved;

(d) absence of any possibility of reconciliation;

(e) lack of frivolity;

(f) lack of misrepresentation or concealment

(g) the age of the spouses and the deleterious effect of the
continuance of a sterile marriage on the prospects of re-marriage of
the parties.

8. I have ascertained the resolve to dissolve the marriage from both
the parties as well as from the elder sister of the respondent, present
in Court today, who agree and reiterate that it would be appropriate
and indeed desirable and essential if the divorce by mutual consent is
granted. On my personal examination of the parties, I am satisfied that
the decision is not influenced by any external factor. Both the parties
are aged 33 and 26 years respectively. They both appear to be matured,
independent and fully committed even after a passage of about 8 months
from the date of filing of the petition to part company. Thus, even
after a passage of about 11 months from the date of the marriage, the
parties are firm in their resolve to dissolve the marriage. Thus it is
not a hasty decision to seek a divorce but the decision is a mature and
a well considered one and has not been arrived at under any external
influence.

9. In this view of the matter, the petition is allowed and the Order
dated 27th July, 2004 is set aside. The claim for exemption from
waiting from one year on the facts of the present case, therefore
justified. Accordingly, the permission to file the petition under
Section 13(B) of the HMA on 13th July, 2004 was justified in view of
the exceptional hardship explained by the parties, in the present
petition. The petition under Section 13(B)(1) of the Act which was
filed on 13th July, 2004 is accordingly allowed and the marriage
solemnized between the parties, that is, Tarun Kumar Vaish and
Meenakshi Vaish on 30th April, 2004 is dissolved by a decree under
Section 13(B)(1) of the Act with effect from 18th, April 2005.

10. The petition stands allowed and disposed of accordingly. Office to draw up the decree accordingly.

Anna Ready to Support Non-BJP, Non-Cong Front

In a statement that can add more controversy to the ongoing anti-corruption movement, Anna Hazare said he is ready to support and campaign for any political outfit that is corruption-free and belongs to the non-Congress and non-BJP front. In an exclusive interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief of IBN18, Anna said that the movement will be restarted if the demands on the Jan Lokpal Bill are not met by Parliament's Standing Committee.

He said the movement is against those who block the Bill and is not anti-parliament in any form.

Anna also categorically cleared the point that the movement will not support the BJP Yatra and said, BJP can support the anti-corruption movement by appointing Lokayukta in their states.

While showering praises for Indira Gandhi, Anna said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is remote controlled who lacks authority and nobody listens to him in his team.

Planning to go aggressive with his campaign, he said "we will sing bhajans outside their houses. I will go to their constituencies and tell people not to vote for them."

Anna's To-Do List

Anna Hazare, whose fast pushed through the Jan Lokpal Bill, is not tired yet. He assured many more fights in the coming days. Though his declining health showed some sign of weariness among the supporters, the 75-year-old Anna is not ready to give up at any cost.

The youth who participated in the Jan Lokpal Movement are in full spirit asking "What do we do next?" and they are appealed not to tolerate corruption in any way.

Team Anna is now ready to take the Jan Lokpal agitation further by undertaking yatras and referendum to certify that the people are acquainted with their elected representatives' performance and their poise on the Jan Lokpal Bill. He feels that these steps can assure that people hold the MPs answerable. The team Anna is ready to take action against people who made wrong allegations against the movement and tried to defame the committee members. Asking an apology from them, Prashant Bhushan said, "Some newspapers and magazines have published articles that defame the core committee members, and are misguiding people. Digvijay Singh has been saying that the Jan Lokpal Movement is backed by the RSS. We will serve defamation notice on such people and ask for an apology. " Bhuwar Singh Meghvanshi, associated with Aruna Roy's organisation Majdur Kisan Shakti Sangathan, will be sent a notice for fingering another member of the committee, Arvind Kejriwal's father.

Hazare will take an active part in the yatra with other members and he says, "I will myself undertake propaganda against the MPs who are against the Bill in the yatra. I am not afraid of anything." Team Anna will soon be appointing committee of three-retired judges of Supreme Court and the High Court to investigate corruption cases against its members and the movement. Team Anna aims at uniting all the other organizations in their movement.

The anti-corruption protest has brought a wide awakening among the Indians. People are ready to go to any extent to show their support for Anna and against the corruption. The "Main Anna Hoon" or "I Am Anna" caps are now the latest accessory among the Indians.

Kiran Bedi came up with this innovative thought of wearing the "I Am Anna "cap when asked for bribe. Bedi is all charged up with enthusiasm and said, "All of you who are wearing the Anna cap, I suggest that you should carry this with you to uproot corruption from your lives. Every time an official asks you for bribe, just wear the Anna cap to put across your message," Recently an accused in 2008 cash-for-vote scam appeared in Delhi court wearing a Gandhian cap written "Main Anna Hoon"

The fight for better India does not only end with Jan Lokpal Bill. Hazare's next focus will be towards the rising suicidal activities among the farmers. He wants the education system to be corruption free so that the farmer's children can pay money and get themselves admitted to schools and colleges. Anna feels, "There is a big chain of corruption and we have to break that. We will bring a change in the country," says Anna. Anna calls people of India his own family and said, 'I might not have a family but all you people are my family and together we can do lot of things. We have to fight for true independence and a real republic."

Anna's To-Do List

Anna Hazare, whose fast pushed through the Jan Lokpal Bill, is not tired yet. He assured many more fights in the coming days. Though his declining health showed some sign of weariness among the supporters, the 75-year-old Anna is not ready to give up at any cost.

The youth who participated in the Jan Lokpal Movement are in full spirit asking "What do we do next?" and they are appealed not to tolerate corruption in any way.

Team Anna is now ready to take the Jan Lokpal agitation further by undertaking yatras and referendum to certify that the people are acquainted with their elected representatives' performance and their poise on the Jan Lokpal Bill. He feels that these steps can assure that people hold the MPs answerable. The team Anna is ready to take action against people who made wrong allegations against the movement and tried to defame the committee members. Asking an apology from them, Prashant Bhushan said, "Some newspapers and magazines have published articles that defame the core committee members, and are misguiding people. Digvijay Singh has been saying that the Jan Lokpal Movement is backed by the RSS. We will serve defamation notice on such people and ask for an apology. " Bhuwar Singh Meghvanshi, associated with Aruna Roy's organisation Majdur Kisan Shakti Sangathan, will be sent a notice for fingering another member of the committee, Arvind Kejriwal's father.

Hazare will take an active part in the yatra with other members and he says, "I will myself undertake propaganda against the MPs who are against the Bill in the yatra. I am not afraid of anything." Team Anna will soon be appointing committee of three-retired judges of Supreme Court and the High Court to investigate corruption cases against its members and the movement. Team Anna aims at uniting all the other organizations in their movement.

The anti-corruption protest has brought a wide awakening among the Indians. People are ready to go to any extent to show their support for Anna and against the corruption. The "Main Anna Hoon" or "I Am Anna" caps are now the latest accessory among the Indians.

Kiran Bedi came up with this innovative thought of wearing the "I Am Anna "cap when asked for bribe. Bedi is all charged up with enthusiasm and said, "All of you who are wearing the Anna cap, I suggest that you should carry this with you to uproot corruption from your lives. Every time an official asks you for bribe, just wear the Anna cap to put across your message," Recently an accused in 2008 cash-for-vote scam appeared in Delhi court wearing a Gandhian cap written "Main Anna Hoon"

The fight for better India does not only end with Jan Lokpal Bill. Hazare's next focus will be towards the rising suicidal activities among the farmers. He wants the education system to be corruption free so that the farmer's children can pay money and get themselves admitted to schools and colleges. Anna feels, "There is a big chain of corruption and we have to break that. We will bring a change in the country," says Anna. Anna calls people of India his own family and said, 'I might not have a family but all you people are my family and together we can do lot of things. We have to fight for true independence and a real republic."

Who Says Women are Not Corrupt?

May be it's the concept of 'Bharatiya Nari' that often stops us from associating women to burning issues like corruption. May be its ironical to boast of the fact that we still stick on to such a value system today. However, it's those male figures, as always, figure out mostly when we say corruption and the public anger is mechanically directed towards our male netas. Contrary to the common belief, women in power could never make any significant change. Right from the era of tyrannical Indira Gandhi who was accused of electoral corruption, to the modern women politicians, there are many carrying the bundle of corruption on them.

She flies a private jet to Mumbai when she needs sandals. The rich and famous, Mayawati is undoubtedly the most controversial women in Indian politics. She has been charged in a series of cases including disproportionate assets and Taj Corridor case etc.

The self-proclaimed face of the poorest of the state's poor Dalits who came to power on the call of 'sarvajan hitaye' (for the benefit of all) has always getting richer and richer. Her net worth in 2010 was at 87 crore, an increase of at least Rs 35 crore in three years' time. Besides these, she owns properties in different parts of the country, the cumulative cost of which is valued around 73 crore. The Dalit queen has been fighting many legal battles over cases relating to the Taj corridor case, diamond-laden lavish birthday parties, disproportionate assets case and spend large sums of money on building statues of herself. The UP Chief Minister has been exposed by WikiLeaks to have a "penchant for corruption".

In the long legal battle, Supreme Court asked the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha to appear personally before a Karnataka trial court for a case against dealing with her disproportionate assets. There are several other cases against the actress-turned politician on charges involving embezzlement and monetary fraud. In 2011, Jayalalitha was convicted for criminal breach of trust and for illegally acquiring governmental property belonging to TANSI, a state-run agency. Later in 2003, she was acquitted in same case due to lack of evidence. Of the 11 corruption cases levied against her in period 1996-2003, she was acquitted in 9.

Rabri Devi, whose only experience was home and kitchen, was chosen to take up the post of Chief Minister of Bihar when her husband Lalu Prasad Yadav was forced to resign on corruption charges. She too also has several cases for amassing wealth disproportionate to her income. In an obvious result, she lost election for both Raghopur and Sonepur assembly seats last year.

The wide spreading corruption cancer is very much in-built in our political system regardless of the gender. The new-generation wakeup call is getting its momentum and Anna Hazare movement is the only beacon of hope. While women empowerment is a much talked about issue, it's disheartening to see that many women of whom a lot is expected, fail to deliver their promises and guards the houses of corruption.

Kanimozhi is the latest in the series of women politicians accused of corruption charges. The jailed daughter of DMK Chief M Karunanidhi has been in Tihar Prisons since May 2011 in connection with the 2G spectrum scam, in which she is alleged to be co-conspirator. Out of his three fives and six children, Kanimozhi has been the favorite child of Karunanidhi and has been the urban face of the party. Basically a poet and journalist, her political career that began in 2007 after being elected to the Rajya Sabha had taken a slow and steady course. It was, of course, a transition period from what is labeled as her father's literary legacy to his political legacy. Her political future plunged into darkness ever since the 2G scam was out to the public. CBI charge sheeted Kanimozhi in the historical corruption scandal for her role in accepting 214-crore kickback for Kalaignar TV in which she owns a 20 percent stake. She was arrested and sent to jail on 20 May, 2011 after her bail plea was rejected

Divorce Rate High Among Indian Techies

Techies are known to solve the toughest problems in the computer world using complex algorithms, but when it comes to marriage the smallest problem takes a toll on them. The pressures of the modern workplace has made a bigger difference in the lifestyle of techies.
India still has one of the lowest divorce rates in the world, with about one in 1,000 marriages collapsing, according to recent studies.

But the courts are now seeing so many new cases that the government has proposed making divorce easier and faster, in line with other countries.

"There has been a huge change, a drastic change and divorce rates are increasing," Dr Geetanjali Sharma, a marriage counsellor working in Gurgaon, a wealthy Delhi satellite city, told the BBC.

"There's been a 100 percent increase in divorce rates in the past five years alone.They don't want to put more efforts into a relationship to fix the issues."

Most of those splitting up are members of India's thriving, urban middle class whose lives have been transformed by India's boom, and whose aspirations are radically different to those of their parents and grandparents.

The pressures of the modern workplace make a bigger difference, she thinks, than whether it was a traditional arranged marriage, or a so-called "love marriage".

"I feel people are concentrating more on the careers and less on their personal lives," she said.

"I also feel they lack patience and tolerance. They don't want to put more efforts into a relationship to fix the issues, and they feel that escapism is the solution."

The divorce rates in Kerala are going up. In 2009-10, the number of divorce cases numbered 11,600, with the majority being from the IT industry. "The situation is disturbing," says Rajiv Menon (name changed), a senior legal practitioner, who works at the Family Court, Kochi. "Most couples who work in the IT industry break up within two to three years of marriage." Rajiv puts it down to the odd working hours, usually at night, the high stress of the job, and an egoistic attitude. "The spouses adopt an attitude of superiority to each other," he says. "There is also a lack of communication which causes many misunderstandings."

Meanwhile, Antony gives other reasons. "When they first join the industry, youngsters get swayed by the high incomes," says Antony. "Many of them take to drinks, drugs, late night parties and watching porn on the internet." Inevitably, the youngsters lose their equilibrium. "There is a widespread prevalence of pre-marital sex," says Antony. "They have been influenced by the serials on TV which glorify pre- and extra-marital sex in order to garner good ratings."
IT professionals in troubled marriages are hacking into their spouse's email account for proof of extramarital affair or salary, say lawyers and cyber experts.

Cyber experts say a growing number of cases have come to light where couples are hacking into each other's email accounts to collect evidence for divorce. And some are going a step further by fabricating electronic evidence for early separation reports NDTV
Lawyers also claim that couples on the verge of separation are increasingly resorting to hacking techniques to score on each other.
"No good lawyer would advise the litigants to hack into each other's accounts, but we are coming across many litigants who come to us already in possession of sheets of conversation wherein it becomes clear that the other person is having a relationship outside of marriage that goes beyond mere friendship," said Advocate Ajit Kulkarni.

According to lawyers in the city, 30 percent of all divorces that happen in the city every year are among couples working in the IT sector, and 50 percent of them use hacking techniques to collect electronic evidence against each other.

"Gen Next relies on the Internet for almost everything it does, right from online banking to shopping, so when it is time to gather electronic evidence there are growing cases where in couples are also relying on Internet," said Advocate Abhay Apte.

Advocate Pratibha Ghorpade said, "In many cases people meet on social networking sites and choose to marry without checking each other's background, and when it is time for separation they once again resort to the Internet and submit sheets of conversations between their spouse and the man or the woman who has allegedly jeopardised the marriage."