1) The article discusses the degrading environment and the need for sustainable development as promoted by the green movement. 2) It notes that while environmentalists have brought awareness, the planet's health continues to decline at an unsustainable rate due to problems like deforestation and overfishing. 3) The author compares the ailing planet to a sick patient and argues that humanity must respect the Earth's processes and act as responsible stewards to preserve it for future generations.

1. The Ailing Planet:
The Green Movement’s Role
Nani Palkhivala

2. Nani Palkhivala
Nani Palkhivala was born in 1920
in Bombay to blue collar, middle-
class Parsi parents. His family name
derives from the profession of his
forefathers (a common practice among
Parsis), who had been manufacturers
of palanquins ("palkhis"). He was
educated at Masters Tutorial High
School, and later at St. Xavier's
College, both in Bombay.

3. He was a dedicated scholar and excelled
even though he was hampered by a bad
stammer. At college, he earned a
master's degree in English literature.
He overcame his speech impediment.
Upon graduating, Palkhivala applied for a
position as lecturer at Bombay
University, but was not awarded the
post. Soon found himself trying to
obtain admission to institutions of higher

4. It being late in the term, most courses
were closed, and he enrolled at
Government Law College, Bombay, where
he discovered that he had a gift for
unraveling the intricacies of
jurisprudence.

5. ABOUT THE LESSON
This chapter is based upon degrading
position of mother earth. The present
scenario of India is highly deplorable as
a report of parliament‟s estimates
committee highlights near catastrophic
depletion of India's forests at the rate
of 3.7 million acres a year. The article
“ The Ailing planet: The Green
movement's role“ was written by Nani
Palkhivala and published in "The Indian
Express" on 24th November 1994.

6. The article raised vital issues regarding
the degrading environment of the planet
and immediate need to promote
sustainable development, which have
become the burning issues of the day.
However, despite conscientious efforts
of environmentalists and the rapid
awareness towards "Green movement" ,
the success story of depleting the
earth is bleak. The planet is heading

7. There is immediate need to promote
'sustainable development' as popularized
in 1987 by World Commission on
environment and development.

8. SUMMARY OF THE LESSON
The green movement started nearly
twenty-five years ago. The world‟s first
nationwide Green party was founded in
New Zealand. It is noticed that there is
a revolutionary shift in human
perceptions. Their outlook has under a
sea change. There is a shift from the
mechanistic view to a holistic and
ecological view. There is a growing
worldwide consciousness that the earth
itself is a living organism.

9. It has its own needs and processes
which need to be respected and
preserved. The writer compares the
earth with a patient in declining health.
But he also says that the earthlings
have begun to realize their ethical
obligations to be good stewards of the
planet and responsible trustees of the
legacy to posterity. The concept of
sustainable development was popularized

10. People have become aware of the
irresponsible deeds of the fellow human
beings. They have realized the man is
the world‟s most dangerous animal in the
world.
Scientists have catalogued about 1.4
million living species with which mankind
shares the earth. About three to
hundred million other living species still
stay unnamed in ignominious darkness.

11. The Brandt Commissions, the first
inter nation commission to deal with the
question of ecology, raised the question
“Are we to leave our successors a
scorched planet of advancing desert s,
impoverished landscapes and ailing
environment?”
Mr. Lester R Brown says that the
earth‟s principle biological systems are
four viz. fisheries, forests, grasslands,

12. They are the foundations of the global
economical systems. The writer says
that human claims on these systems are
reaching an unsustainable level.
Overfishing and deforestation are
common everyday. It has been well said
that forests precede mankind and
deserts follow.
It has been observed that India is a
nation where laws are never respected
nor enforced. The record says that

13. A three year study using satellites are
aerial photography, conducted by the
united Nation, warns that the
environment has deteriorated so badly
that it is „critical‟ in many of the eighty
eight countries investigated.
There can be no doubt that the
growth of world population is one of the
strongest factors distorting the future
of human society. It is eliminated that
every four days the world population
increases by one million. Fertility falls
as income rise, education spread, and

14. Thus development is the best
contraceptive. The writer has
emphasized the point that the rich get
richer and the poor beget children which
condemns them to remain poor.
The population of India is
estimated to be 920 million. No one
familiar with the conditions in India
would doubt that the hope of the people
would die in their hungry hutments unless
population control is given topmost

15. The modern man really ruminates
over the environmental conditions. He
not only thinks of his survival but also
of the planet. The responsible behavior
of industrialists would bring radical
changes in the environment. Margaret
Thatcher says, “No generation has a
freehold on this earth. All we have is a
life tendency – with a full repairing
lease.