The Green Movement
The author begins by commenting on the great attention received by the Green Movement that began some 25 years ago. The world’s first nationwide Green party was founded in New Zealand in the year 1972 and the movement has been a great success since then.
A change in the human perception
A revolutionary change has come in the perception of the human beings bringing in a “holistic and ecological” view of the world. There has been a shift from the understanding developed by Copernicus to the people’s belief that the earth is a living organism whose needs must be respected and preserved by us. According to the writer, our earth is like a “patient in declining health”. Thus, we have to realise our ethical responsibility of guarding the planet.
Sustainable Development
The World Commission on Environment and Development propagated the concept of “sustainable development” in 1987. Sustainable development calls for a well-balanced development so as to meet the demands of the present and not to deprive our future generations from the natural world of resources.
Man and the other living-species
Man has been considered as the most dangerous being on the planet. However, due to the efforts of a number of agencies all over the world, man is learning to live in harmony with the other living species on the planet. Man’s existence is shifting from the system of domination to that of partnership.
The depletion of the principal biological systems
There are still many millions of living species that have not been catalogued. The author mentions the ecological concern pointed out by Mr. Lester R. Brown in his book “The Golden Economic Prospect”. Mr. Brown points out four principal biological systems- fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands. These form the foundation of the global economic system as they supply food and provide raw materials for industries except minerals and petroleum-derived synthetics. The demand of the human beings on these systems is increasing to such an ‘unsustainable’ extent that the productivity of these systems is being hampered. The excessive demand result in deterioration and depletion of resources leading to the breakdown of fisheries, disappearance of forests, deterioration of croplands and turning of grasslands into barren lands.
Deforestation
The forests are being destroyed in large proportions to obtain firewood in poor countries. Depletion of tropical forests has lead to the extinction of several species. In fact, the tropical forests or “the powerhouse of evolution” are eroding at the rate of forty to fifty million acres per year. Besides, the increasing use of dung for burning deprives the soil of important natural fertilisers. According to our Parliament’s Estimates Committee, a near “catastrophic depletion” has been marked in the number of the forests of India over the last four decades. Ironically, article 48A of the Indian Constitution states that the state shall “protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country”. However, India is losing its forests at the rate of 3.7 million acres a year. The condition of the environment is ‘critical’ as per a study conducted by the United Nations.
The problem of over-population
One of the major factors adding to the deforming future of the human society is the fast-growing world population. The present world population is estimated at 5.7 billion. With this ever-increasing population, development seems a far-fetched dream. As per the author, the best contraceptive to control the population is development. Voluntary family planning with an element of coercion is the only alternative. Rise in income, spread of education and improved health would lead to fall in fertility. Population and poverty are directly proportional to each other. Thus, control of the population should be our top-most priority.
“Era of Responsibility”
The author now re-mentions the “holistic view” of the basis of our existence. He points that it is an “Era of Responsibility” that calls for “seeing the world as an integrated whole rather than a dissociated collection of parts”. Industry plays an important role in this responsibility. Excellence in environmental performance is required for the manufacturers to continue their existence. Our earth belongs as much to the future generation as much to us. We should soon realise our duty towards our planet and should not treat it solely as our property. The chapter concludes with the beautiful lines of Mr. Lester Brown, “We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children.”

Answer:-

The Indian Partnership Act, 1932 defines partnership as “the relation between persons who have agreed to share the profit of the business carried on by all or anyone of them acting for all.” Some people consider partnership to be relatively unpopular because the inherent features of partnership such as joint risk bearing and profit sharing, collective decision making, unlimited liability of partners, etc. Sometimes lead to conflicts among partners and undue burden on some of the partners. Besides, public confidence in partnership firm is low. But partnership as a form of business organization actually has both merits and limitations as discussed below

Merits of Partnership

(i) Ease of Formation and Closure A partnership firm can be formed with minima] legal formalities by an agreement between the prospective partners whereby they agree to carry out the business of the firm and share risks. Registration of the firm is also not compulsory. Closure of the firm can be done easily too.
(ii) Varied Expertise and Effective Decisions The partners can look after different functions according to their areas of expertise. This reduces the burden of work on individual partners and leads to more effective decisions.
(iii) More Capital In partnership, the capital is contributed by many partners. Thus, larger amount of funds are available as compared to a sole proprietor to undertake additional operations when needed.
(iv) Risk Sharing All the partners share the risks involved in running a partnership firm. This reduces the anxiety, burden and stress on individual partners. (v) Secrecy A partnership firm is not legally required to publish its accounts and submit reports. Hence, it can maintain confidentiality of information relating to its operations.

Limitations of Partnership

(i) Unlimited Liability The partners of a firm have unlimited liability. Personal assets may be used for repaying debts if the business assets are insufficient. Further, the partners are jointly and individually liable for payment of debts. Hence, if some partners are unable to pay the debt proportionate to their share, the others will have to repay the entire debt causing excessive burden on them.
(ii) Limited Resources Partnership firms usually do not operate on a large scale as there is a restriction on the number of partners and hence, contribution in terms of capital investment remains insufficient for business expansion beyond a point.
(iii) Conflicts Decision making authority in a partnership is shared by all the partners. Difference in opinion may thus lead to conflicts between partners. Decisions of one partner are binding on other partners and a wrong decision by one may result in financial problem for all others. If a partner decides to leave the firm due to conflicts, this can result in termination of partnership as there is a restriction on transfer of ownership.
(iv) Lack of Continuity Partnership comes to an end with the death, retirement, insolvency or lunacy of any partner. It may result in lack of continuity if the remaining partners do no enter into a fresh agreement to continue the business.
(v) Low Public Confidence Due to lack of transparency in the business of a partnership firm, the confidence of the public in partnership firms is generally low. It is difficult for the public to ascertain the true financial status of a partnership firm as it is not legally required to publish its financial reports or make other related information public.

सांप्रदायिकता

सांप्रदायिकता उस राजनीति को कहा जाता है। जो धार्मिक समुदायों के बीच विरोध और झगड़े पैदा करती है। और एक समुदाय को किसी न किसी अन्य समुदाय के खिलाफ लड़ने के लिए प्रेरित करती है।

Totipotency is the ability of a cell to divide and differentiate into a complete body. In plants, the meristematic cells divide continuously and give rise new cells of the plant body. At maturity, the meristematic cells are fully developed and functional and develop the capacity of totipotency. This implies that when they provided with all the necessary conditions of temperature, humidity and nutrients at any stage of life, they can grow and develop into new plant tissue. These totipotent cells are used in plant tissue culture to generate a new plant from an explant.

According to Emile Durkheim, “Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, creating into a simple moral community all those who adhere to those beliefs and practices.”

• Sociologists study religion as the belief in spiritual beings.
• Religion is a mode of action as well as a system of beliefs and a sociological phenomena as well as personal experience.
• Religion rests upon beliefs in supernatural which embraces animism.
• From sociological perspective religion performs many functions for the society. It is a form of social control.
• Religion exists in all known societies although religious beliefs and practices vary from culture to culture.
• Religion is only a personal phenomena, but also has a public aspect which has an important influence upon the social institution.
• Religion is the collection of customs and rituals. Because of religion people respect the customs and norms which maintains the social network.
• Religion encourages people to develop a complex, balanced, integrated, healthy and happy personality and get involved in social welfare activities. It helps people in maintaining internal force.

Sociologists study the public form of religion because it is quite important from social perspective which takes care of society and social institution.

• According to the functionalists “the family performs important tasks, which contribute to society’s basic needs and helps perpetuate social order”.
• The functionalist perspective argues that modern industrial societies function best if women look after the family and men earn the family livelihood.
• According to the functionalist perspective, the nuclear family is seen as the unit best equipped to handle the demands of industrial society. They believe that in such families one adult can work outside home while the second adult cares for the home and children.

Daoism includes: the ideas and attitudes peculiar to the Laozi (or Daodejing; Classic of the Way of Power the Zhuangzi, the Liezi, and related writings.

For: The methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar. In the story, The Adventure one can find the perspectives of History, Philosophy, and Science converging towards a focal point. History employs the methods of observation, analysis, and rationalism in understanding the course of past events. Science is based on observation, experimentation, and analysis. Rationalism is the most fundamental principle that Science follows. Philosophy is thoroughly critical in methodology.

Against It is a misinterpretation that the methods of inquiry of History, Science and Philosophy are similar. The similarity is at the superstitious level and not at the core. In the story, The Adventure Rajendra tried to demonstrate the experience of Prof Gaitonde by applying the Catastrophic theory. But this explanation is not convincing though it convinced the professor. Catastrophic theory can best explain the phenomenon of the physical world but History deals with the behavioural world. It is concerned with the behaviour of society and individuals. The methods of inquiry will also vary accordingly.