bit.ly – Our true environment is one of total interconnection with others, but we don?t feel this interconnection. Why? What should we do about it?
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Rep. Pete Sessions addresses IFMA Advocacy Day attendees.

Houston, TX (Vocus) April 29, 2009

Members of the U.S. Congress and representatives from the International Facility Management Association met to discuss energy efficiency and high performance federal buildings last week during IFMA Advocacy Day 2009.

Held April 22, the second annual Advocacy Day featured presentations from Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan.; Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo.; Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas; Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas; and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. The lawmakers spoke on issues ranging from energy efficiency and climate change to federal property sales and the role of the U.S. General Services Administration.

Following their presentations, members of the IFMA board of directors met with senators and representatives from their home states and other congressional staff to discuss the role the 111th U.S. Congress will play in shaping the future of the built environment. IFMA representatives encouraged lawmakers to join the congressional High Performance Buildings Caucus to stay informed about the health and safety impacts of the built environment and opportunities to design and operate buildings that are safer and more sustainable.

“Advocacy Day 2009 was an unqualified success. IFMA’s board of directors heard firsthand about Congress’ interest in creating high performance federal buildings, investing in energy efficient technologies and promoting education and training for federal facility managers,” said IFMA Director of Government Relations Jeffrey Johnson. “The congressional members we spoke with were engaged and receptive and understand how the built environment impacts their districts. We look forward to working with lawmakers in the future and continuing to elevate the role of the facility manager on Capitol Hill.”

IFMA’s next event in the nation’s capital will be its fourth annual Public Policy Forum in September. Held in conjunction with the National Academies of Sciences’ Federal Facilities Council, the forum will focus on efficient energy use in buildings.

IFMA is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for professional facility managers, supporting more than 19,500 members in 60 countries. The association’s members, represented in 125 chapters and 16 councils worldwide, manage more than 37 billion square feet of property and annually purchase more than US$ 100 billion in products and services. Formed in 1980, IFMA certifies facility managers, conducts research, provides educational programs, recognizes facility management certificate programs and produces World Workplace, the world’s largest facility management conference and exposition. To join and follow IFMA’s social media outlets online, visit the association’s LinkedIn , Facebook , YouTube and Twitter pages. For more information, visit the IFMA press room or http://www.ifma.org.

Contact:

Andrea Sanchez

713-623-4362

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More about Environment Impact

Kensington, MD (PRWEB) November 1, 2010

Christian, Jewish and Muslim Abrahamic faith leaders concur as Rabbi Warren Stone shared: “Now is time for world leaders to act boldly to alleviate the challenges of climate change and help create a more sustainable world economy as we approach the World Economic Summit in Seoul, Korea and the UN Cancun Climate talks both in November following a failure in Copenhagen to take significant action. The United Nations and world leadership have failed to act to alleviate the ongoing dangers of climate change. This failure jeopardizes the global family.”

U.S. Embassy to the Vatican and Rome’s Gregorian Pontifical University recently sponsored a unique conference, “Building Bridges of Hope: Success Stories and Strategies for Interfaith Action.” The Conference brought together international faith leaders and activists from Christian, Jewish and Muslim perspectives. Three faith leaders spoke on caring for the environment. All three have been activists on environmental issues within their various faith communities: Washington D.C. Jewish activist, Rabbi Warren Stone, Co-Chair of the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care and Founding Chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbi’s Environmental Committee; Father Joseph Rozansky, Director of the Franciscan Office for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation, based in Rome; and Mr. Fazlun Khalid, representing the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and the Environment, based in the United Kingdom. These faith leaders concurred that world leadership has not done nearly enough. For more information on the conference go to to http://vatican.usembassy.gov/missionroot/events/2010/Interfaith/

Fr. Joseph George Rozansky, Director of the Rome’s Franciscan Office for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation, spoke out:

“The message of Jesus invites us to be concerned with building the Kingdom of God in our midst. It is a Kingdom of justice, peace, love and truth. It should be characterized by harmonious relationships between God and all created beings, between created beings themselves, and between created beings and the world in which they live. The current state of the planet speaks of broken relationships, and of an unprecedented ecological crisis, much of it due to global climate change. The great faith traditions of the world are united in their call to everyone to respond to this situation. They issue a special call to world leaders to make the environment and climate change important priorities, especially in view of increasingly frequent and destructive “natural” disasters. God has made us the stewards of the earth; we must discover effective and urgent avenues of action to repair the damage that has been done to our common home. Failure to act now will jeopardize the future of our world for ages to come.”

Mr. Fazlun M. Khalid, Founder and Director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science affirmed:

“Moderating our behavior is what climate change is about, and we call upon rich nations particularly to give the lead by tightening their belts so that those less fortunate could loosen theirs ever so gently. As members of faith communities, we recognize that there is no gain without pain, and we call upon world leaders to wake up to the teachings of their respective faiths and join forces with other like-minded people to leave a livable planet for our children.”

Rabbi Warren Stone who served as a UN Jewish delegate at the UN Kyoto and Copenhagen Climate talks and will soon participate in a world religious forum in Seoul, Korea sponsored by the Global Peace Initiative of Women during the Economic Summit of World Leaders posited:

“For all of us, impoverished and comfortable alike, our future will be tied to the scarcity of fresh water and food, as our glaciers melt and water sources, including the Jordan River in our holy lands which has been diminished. Who is responsible for responding to these threats to our environment? We may believe that our political leaders and bodies, which came together at the United Nations in Kyoto and Copenhagen and which will meet again in Cancun, or our individual nations’ leaders and lawmakers will have the political will to solve these issues. Others put the burden on our scientists and particularly, our environmentalists. But climate change and the despoliation of our earth and its limited resources are the most urgent moral and spiritual issues for all of us, and we are going to have to be active instruments for driving the necessary changes. In this regard, people of our faith traditions have a great deal to say. Our futures and the futures of our families are at stake. People of faith around our world number in the billions. We are the largest constituency of any nation of our world. The opportunity to be heard is greater than in previous decades, and we have a prophetic responsibility to seize it. There is so much that each of us can and must do, within our own homes, congregations, and countries, and beyond, as we work together as a global family in common cause, to preserve and sanctity life.”    

These Abrahamic faith leaders call upon not only world leaders but people of all disciplines, be they diplomats, political leaders, scientists, environmentalists, engineers, architects, writers, educators, artists, poets and journalists to create lives that changes hearts and minds and helps to refocus us on sustainable living and a culture of meaning, not possessing.

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Find More Environment Climate Change News

www.email2db.com

(PRWEB) June 25, 2009

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Parker Software today announced multiple global client wins across the education sector including the University of Wales and Princeton University in the US as well as successes in the following states, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts to name a few.

Currently over 40 major Universities and colleges across the world have signed up to the benefits of Parker Software’s Email2DB software which helps them streamline business processes, increase efficiency and strengthen customer relations by automatically processing emails and updating databases through the use of Email2DB.

Email2DB is a product designed for businesses that receive orders, payments or any other type of regular form-based information via e-mail. It parses the e-mail message and extracts field data, which is then used to update databases. Email2DB can also send custom e-mail responses, process attachments and update Outlook Contacts.

The education sector is finding this tool particularly useful to process web forms as more and more student applications, event registration, general enquiries and surveys are received or undertaken online. Customer care is the foundation of every business and time and efficiency are critical to any business or organisation; particularly the education sector, however the daily demands of running an educational establishment, the quantity of emails received and the time it takes to process them can make it too easy to let customer service slip.

Email2DB’s automatic email response and customised follow-up emails enables users to maintain regular contact and strengthen customer relations, helping to create satisfied customers, repeat custom and build a professional reputation. Email2DB is a powerful tool that automates email processing and updates backend databases, integrating data into critical applications, e.g. accounting and CRM, to streamline business processes, free staff from the tedious task of transferring data and avoid making potentially damaging manual entry mistakes.

Dr Owen Parry, Head of Information Services at the University of Wales comments: “At the University of Wales we use Email2DB for several purposes. All our web forms go through a post-submission process which emails the Email2DB user with all form variables. We then add a record to a MSSQL database table for audit or later analysis, send a thank-you email to the respondent and/or send a further email to a member of staff. Typical forms are enquiries, event registration and surveys as well as Freedom of Information requests. We also use the software as a way of securely passing documents from remote organisations to specific areas of our file systems – again it’s a web form with an upload to a server with strong anti-virus checking but this time the post-processing sends the uploaded files as attachments to messages which we can then process with scripts to the correct staff member. We also use this for Welsh-English translation requests internally. In addition, we have just bought some temperature monitors for our server rooms which I have set up to email alerts to the Email2DB user with a trigger to SMS to support staff mobile phones if there is an environment problem overnight or at weekends/holidays. It is an excellent product and we have found it invaluable.”

Parker Software’s Business Development Manager Ian Rowley adds: “Any business that receive orders, enquires, payments or any sort of feedback form via e-mail or online form will find Email2DB an invaluable tool. For instance, a business can receive an order via e-mail. Email2DB will read it, extract the data and update the accounting database. Then, it will send a customized confirmation e-mail to the customer, forward the order to the order processing department and print a report,” he said. “It also improves on secure electronic transactions because it allows databases to be updated away from the Web server.

Email2DB can process e-mail messages from POP3 and IMAP servers and directly from Microsoft Outlook folders. The Email2DB server runs as a system service and does not interfere with the normal e-mail flow. Email2DB also includes a powerful scripting language, allowing businesses to create custom business processes that can be executed in response to e-mail messages.”

Parker Software is providing companies, large and small, with a 30-day free evaluation version of Email2DB. The evaluation software can be downloaded at http://www.email2db.com under the free trial section.

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You might think that keeping a clean environment is very difficult. Well, maintaining it can be difficult, but it is not impossible. You can actually do lots of ways to make it possible. This article might be of great help. It provides three effective ways to maintain one:

Avoid creating pollution – Avoid creating pollution. Pollution can come in various forms. You can have air, water and land pollution. Well, these three forms can actually be prevented. Start it with yourself. Try to avoid throwing trash anywhere. You make sure you throw all your garbage properly. Dispose biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes properly. Avoid littering all over the places. You avoid creating pollution because it can negatively affect one’s health and even destroy the environment.
Start reducing contaminants at home – Start reducing contaminants and all those toxic materials at home. These things can actually destroy the environment. Start the changes at home. Your home is still part of your environment. If you are concerned with the safety and cleanliness of your home, certainly, all else will follow. Reduce it by cleaning and doing proper disposal of wastes.
Be a good example – Be a good example. Try to do what is right. When you do the right things, everyone else will follow. Make sure they are following the right things from you. Set as a good example to all kinds of people, especially to the youth. The children are the most fragile individuals that are easily influenced by almost anything. When you teach them the right way, they will follow, and with that, they know how to take care of their environment.

It is very important to maintain a clean environment. If you are still wondering on what to do, try these three effective ways and help each other to keep it clean.

Elizabeth is a passionate writer. She has been writing online articles for three years now. You can check out her latest article twill pants and painters pants on her website.

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Thomas McDade, professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, and colleagues has compared two similar studies on home and family lifestyle and health status between the U.S. and Philippines. From this study, scientists want to observe effects on the immune system development from the childhood environment for the growth. The researchers focused the study on the blood concentration of C-reactive protein, which are non-specific acute phase inflammatory reactants and serious bacterial infection and tissue damage in a diagnostic index. As usual, C-reactive protein at high concentrations meant getting infections easily and a high degree of inflammation may lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and other diseases. The Philippines study involved more than 3300 local families, from the 1980′s, the researchers began tracking these families of newborns until they grow up to 22 years old. The researchers visited these families once every two months before the age of two, then once every four or five years. Projects of assessment in the research include the cleanliness of their children daily life such as whether there are pigs, dogs or other animals and the family’s socio-economic resources.

Compared to people in the United States at the same age, although these Filipinos are easily infected in infants and young children, but the concentration of C-reactive protein is lower than 80% at their adulthood. C-reactive protein in per liter of blood from Filipino is 0.2 milligrams while the American’s is 1 to 1.5 milligrams per liter. “Compared with the Americans, C-reactive protein in Filipinos is significantly lower, the result is contrary to many people’s expectations, because we know that the Philippines have a higher risk of disease contagious”, Thomas McDade said, “Our results show that early life with the ultra-clean environment may lead to more inflammation in adult life, thereby increasing the risk of suffering from various diseases.”

McDade said in a research report, adults with high levels of C-reactive protein means that less exposure to animals waste in childhood. “Bacteria and microorganisms play an important role in the promotion of development of the immune system” he said. At the same time, he cited an example that development of brain is faster in early life, many neural established connections during this time, you need to keep in touch with your environment thoroughly to promote the establishment of these connections. Development of the immune system also needs to stimulate the external environment, which make it feel the need for further development.

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Get more Clean Environment info…

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Landscape Architecture is the scientific study and research of the planning and designing of new urban settlements with natural environment. Therefore, it is the combination of natural and man-made environment in a well planned way to make it pollution free. Though, it is not a new concept rather has been practicing from the very inception of human settlements, but in modern period, specifically in 20th century, the environment has been experienced two major incidents, first, excessive growth of population – which extinguished the flora and fauna mercilessly and second, the development of science and technology – which undoubtly helps to reach people on the moon, but at the same time damaged the environment like anything. Subsequently, all these activities resulted into many problems such as global warming, ozone depletion, ice melting, sea level rise, green house effect, etc accompanied with various sorts of pollutions such as air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, eutrophication etc. And all these nuisances gradually became threat for all lives on this earth, and ultimately unbalanced the ecosystem.

Apparently, researchers from all corners of the world planned to protect our natural environment with the help of all possible means, but at the same time human lives also need new settlements and scientific development as well, therefore, Landscape Architecture renaissanced once again very scientifically in order to protect natural life and also helps human beings in their development.

Landscape Architecture has following scientific procedures viz..

Possibility of Planning and its implementation

Site analysis and evaluation

Its impact on immediate environment

Conservation and resettlement

Land reclamation

Master Plan

    However, the Landscape Architecture is still practiced only in developed and the few developing countries because of…

Need deep research

High coast

Required advanced technologies

Specialized and expert professionals

    Moreover, the Landscape Architecture is a sustainable method and planning which includes ecological, social and economic aspects of earth lives. Hence, Landscape Architecture is very effective and conducive for the environment management. It will not only protect the dying environment but also re-establish the lost ecological balance. For the protection of environment, however, many laws have been legislated by concerning authorities, but yet it is not practiced all over the world properly and feasibility of its equal implementation throughout the world is very less. Consequently, the threat on the environment remains as it is. In this situation, the Landscape Architecture planning in every country will help not only the respective country’s environment but the whole world’s environment.

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(PRWEB) July 10, 2003

Raleigh, (PRWEB) July 8, 2003 Â? The International Visitors Council / World Affairs Council (IVC / WAC) of Research Triangle Park has been awarded a grant from the National Council for International Visitors via the Office of Public Affairs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State entitled Diverse Tradition / Common Ideals. In light of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the project is designed to bring together Muslim and non-Muslim citizens to openly discuss and explore similarities and differences. The project will include three dialogues Â? all free and open to the public Â? on three separate topics, in addition to a half-day event. IVC / WAC is partnering with The Interfaith Alliance of Wake County to administer the project.

The second dialogue Â? Ethics Across Faith Traditions: Finding Common Ground Â? will bring together people from a variety of faiths. Date is Tuesday, July 22, 7 Â? 9 p.m., at the Martin Luther King Resource Center, 130 E. Morgan Street, Raleigh.

The event will include refreshments and opportunities for socializing and networking. This event is ideal for people of all ages and all faiths.

Ethics Across Faith Traditions: Finding Common Ground is part of series entitled Diverse Traditions / Common Ideals, a joint project of the International Visitors Council / World Affairs Council (http://www.ivc-rtp.org) and The Interfaith Alliance of Wake County (http://www.interfaithalliance-nc.org). Funding for the project is courtesy of the National Council for International Visitors through the Office of Public and Intergovernmental Liaison, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

WHO WE ARE

For 30 years, the International Visitor Council has brought participants to the Triangle from all over the world to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience the United States firsthand. The visitors, who are current or potential leaders in government, politics, business, the media, education, and other fields, are selected by American officials overseas. They come to the United States for two to four week periods of sponsored travel through the auspices of the International Visitor Program of the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State.

When their national itinerary includes the Triangle area, the International Visitors Council arranges their professional activities in a wide variety of fields, including biotechnology, business management, pharmaceuticals, environment law, government, grassroots democracy, print journalism, and broadcasting, finance, trade issues, the arts, and education. The emphasis of the program is to increase mutual understanding through communication at the personal and professional levels.

More than 200 current and former Heads of State, 1,500 cabinet-level ministers and many other distinguished world leaders in government and the private sector have participated in the International Visitors Program.

Our 2002 merger with the Triangle World Affairs Council complements our current programming and gives us additional resources, including access to former ambassadors and other prominent individuals available for speaking engagements in our area.

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POLYANDRY A SOCIAL SYSTEM IN INDIA: NOW STATE OF DISAPPEARANCE

· Madan Mohan.L*

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What is Polyandry?

Social scientists believe that it is derived from Greek word ‘Polyandria’, made up of ‘poly’ means many and ‘andria or andry’ means men (ary) referring to the condition of a woman having many men. Notes and Queries in Anthropology defines polyandry ‘by which a woman is permitted to have more than one husband at the same time’. According to Kapadia “polyandry is a form of union in which a woman has more than one husband at a time, or in which brothers share a wife or wives in common”. According to Goldstein “polyandry is a form of marriage where two or more male share a bride”, and to Berreman it is a “form in which a woman has more than one husband at a time”. Sangree and Levine is of the view that “the term ‘polyandry’ can be used in reference to any situation in which a woman is married to two or more men simultaneously”, Rapson adds to this and writes that “strictly speaking, epic polyandry is the marriage of one woman to a family of brothers’. Briffault opines that “the converse or complementary of the rule of sororal polygyny is that of fraternal polyandry i.e., that a woman contracts a marriage with a member of another family she marries all the marriageable males of the family”.

The polyandry has three main requisites namely a woman, more than one man and marriage or social sanction of the union or legitimate social union. Thereby indicating clearly that legitimacy (of marriage) of a woman with more than one man in polyandry is a must. In other words the recognized legitimate plurality of husbands to a woman is polyandry. A union without marriage can be termed as’cicisbeism’ or ‘concubinage’.

Types of Polyandry

So as far as its types are concerned polyandry has been divided into two types depending upon the kind of relation the different husbands have among themselves. The husbands may be brothers or not at all related. Thus this relational affinity divides polyandry into two: 1. Fraternal Polyandry in which husbands are all brothers: 2. Non-Fraternal Polyandry in which husbands are non-related.

Fraternal Polyandry

In this the husbands of the woman are all brothers. This type of polyandry is common among the Khasas of Dehra Dun. Among other tribes where fraternal polyandry is present in some or the other form, mention may be made of the Gallongs Mala Madessars, Mavilans, etc. of Kerala. Rivers opines that the Todas practise fraternal polyandry but it is not much in practice these days.

Non-Fraternal Polyandry

In non-fraternal polyandry, the husbands of a woman need not be fraternally related to each other. A woman is free to choose partners from among the persons other than her husband’s brothers. She successively lives in the apartment of her different husbands and while she is staying with one, the other husbands have no right to enter. Among the Todas of Nilgiri a woman has perfect liberty to choose any individual as her mate. The woman, having several husbands, makes the arrangement in such a way that she spends the first month with, say, the first husband, the second month with the second, the third, and so on, or, according to as she allots the months. The Nayars are considered to be a specific case for the non-fraternal polyandry. Aiyappa is of the view (in our personal discussions) that this type of polyandry or polyandry as such has now become a thing of the past. The Kotas also practise this kind of polyandry. Against it to some extent are found tribes like the Karvazhies, Pulayas, Muthuvans and Mannans in Kerala.

What lead to the origin and development of polyandry? Prince Peter in his momental work on polyandry (The Study of Polyandry), categorized the various causes reasons (for polyandry) into five categories namely historical, demographic, sociological, economic, and personal. But the most vital and important cause ‘ecology/environment’ has not been included as a distinct important cause. ‘Thus we group the various causes, which might gave rise to polyandry, into following five categories.

Historical View

Majumdar writing on Jaunsaries people inhabiting Jaunsar-Bawar of Dehradun district, U.P. remarks that polyandry in Jaunsar-Bawar has been reinforced the mythology of the Pandavas from whom the Khasas trace their origin. On the other hand, Prince Peter writes “with regard to the polyandry of the Mahabharat in India, Vysasa says that the custom of taking more than one husband has existed in the country since time immemorial. It is therefore historically justifiable”. Basing his generalization on the circumstances and availability of information, Briffault writes that “the practice of polyandrous marriage among the Indo-Aryans of the Punjab is associated with other survival of a more archaic and tribal order of society, which are culturally identical with usages of the polyandrous people of Hindu-Kush, when the invaders came to India.

Ecological Impact

The environment, however, dictates its own terms and customs grow out of necessity and human invention. Symons consider polyandry to be a product of harsh or ‘unnatural’ environment in which man recognizes that ‘half a loaf is better than none’ Singh writing on Polyandry in Ancient India writes that “life was hard as ever in the high mountaineous terrain and polyandry decidedly helped sibling and family unity. The growth of population was held in check by confining the procreative power of many males to a single female, even as women feel more secure with many husbands in an inhospitable environment”.

The “ecology is perhaps the most important factor in favour of polyandry to have flourished in the North-Western Himalayan societies. Polyandry among Khasas was perpetuated by their physical environment as well as by the biological and social factor of Khasas life among the other group it does not reflect the impact of physical environment or of the biological factor. Van den Bargha and Barash opined, “Polyandry lined to very special conditions such as severe ecological conditions”. “An analysis indicates that wherever polyandry was prevalent, the environment was harsh and this social institution might have been a result of adoption”.

Afanasyev rightly and aptly remarked that “Society and the natural environment are organically interconnected, and as a result of their interconnection arises a quality not inherent fighter in nature or in society separately” Crook surmises on Prince Peter’s write-up that it “reveals the association between ecology, inheritance and polyandry”. At another place writing on Ladakhi polyandry he submits polyandry’s origin “in an ecologically adapted culture. It seems likely that early tribals settlements may have evolved polyandrous tendencies as a way of solving their ecological problems”.

The emergence and existence of polyandry may be due to various factors, but social institution-polyandry is intimately associated with the ecology, and ecology is one of the most important determinant of polyandry”. Raha and Coomar thinks that “there is a reason to believe that polyandry may be a product of a peculiar ecological condition or peculiar ecological condition may have helped in the development and nourishment of polyandry”. Thus it can be reasonably argued that ecology (environment) is one of the main determinant or cause of polyandry.

Hindu Tradition

Mahabharata maintains that the Pandavas travelled the India during their wanderings, and provides the traditional foundation for polyandry also provides the foundation for an inequality of marriages among brothers and polygyny, neither of which are practiced to the same extent as polyandry in either Tibetan Nepal or the Pahari region. Lack of substantial support for polyandry demonstrates its anomaly among marriage institutions of the world and further studies among other polyandrous cultures in India and Nepal are necessary to discover the benefits of polyandry in a contemporary society.

Demographic inequalities between men and women

One of the most important much discussed and probable cause for polyandry lies in demography. The disparity in sex-ratio may be one of the main reasons for prevalence of polyandry. Singh referring Mclennan writes “The origin of exogamy must be referred to that want of balance. And the origin of polyandry, too, must be referred to the same cause”. On the other hand, Drew was of the opinion that “Polyandry alters the proportions of the sexes in the children born-lessons the number of females, but this is hypothetical”. Breeks says the Toda whose polyandry is undoubtedly connected with scarcity of women and its practise depends now on means of individuals.

It is suggested that where polyandry existed, there is a surplus of male children but deficiency of female arises in all parts of India as a biological phenomenon and was never confined only to the areas of polyandrous communities. The growth of population was held in check by confining the procreative power of many males to a single female in polyandry. Another aspects are “to check the increase of population in regions from which emigration is difficult” or for preventing and under increase in the number of the family. Few such as Rivers, suggested that polyandry generally results from female infanticide, but Walton pointed out that “there is no trace of this having existed in Jaunsar-Bawar’ though polyandry was / in prevalent there. The literature on female infanticide bears out clearly that polyandry can’t be a result of female infanticide, but paucity of females may be an additional factor for prevalence of polyandry along with ecology.

Raha and Mahato is of the opinion that “as the Himalayan regions have inhospitable weather condition, limited resources the insufficient supply of food required the limitation of the growth of population, and the existence of polyandry has helped to solve these problems to great extent”.

Economic benefits

The economy has been assigned as one of the major factor for polyandry by various researchers (Westermarck, Saxena, Kapadia, Furer-Haimendrof, Parmar, and others). Shishaudhia is of the view that in Jaunsar-Bawar “this unequal distribution of family property among the brothers has indirectly encouraged the continuation of polyandrous joint families in the region”. On the other hand Westermarck opined that it is possible that “poverty and paucity of women easily may be a combined cause of polyandry”. The “two reasons for polyandry meager estate and additional labour (and) third theory, custom arose as a by-product of feudalism”.

Sometime it is combined with ‘scarcity of land’ to prevent division of estates ‘property’ and high bride price. In Kinnaur “Polyandry in former days directly encouraged by the state through penalties exacted on partitions”. (Punjab State Gazetteerm, Shimla Hill State, Govt. of Punjab). Furer-Heimendorf thinks “property consideration plays a significant role in the formation of polyandry”. Singh writes “when the wealthy practice polyandry, that is because they want to keep their wealth undivided, and their influence unimpaired. When the bride-price in some areas is too high for a single individual to afford, many men pool their resources to purchase a common wife”. There had been a long discussion on the role of economy in maintenance of polyandry and most of the researchers feel that it is one of the main causes for polyandry and must have worked with other forces.

An analysis of various reveals that there is not one cause, which gave rise to polyandry and its perpetuation, but the institution is multi-causative, some play greater role and some play supportive role. But this is a collective manifest of various causes. Thus the single-cause theory does hold good. The most important and major causes are Ecology, Demography and Economy, besides many others which might have acted as a catalyst or supplemented to other causes for polyandry. The space and time might have given rise to polyandry in different communities at different times in different parts of world due to various (and / or different) causes. The cumulative effect of various causes must be responsible for polyandry, and thereby man adjusted himself to the time and space. Thereby multi-causative theory is the only explanation for the emergence and existence of polyandry.

Retrospect

“The earliest known proof of polyandry comes from Sumer the Harappan civilization (had) link with ancient Sumer”. According to Singh “the practice of polyandry, known alike to the gods and men, harks back to the age of the Rigveda. The Vedas, the Sutras and the Smritis, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the Buddhists texts as well as the Jains, Kautilya and the Kamasutra all attest its existence in early India. And the evidences of literature is reinforced by the later iconography and art and by the presence of polyandrous pockets from Tibet in the north right down to Ceylon in the South”. The equivocally of the prevalence of polyandry in India in the past, specially when Draupadi got married, is very clear from earlier writings. Rigveda certainly permits polygamy though monogamy may have been the rule probably, polygamy, though allowed, was practically confined to the Rajanya class, polyandry is not referred anywhere in the Rigveda. The few passages in the wedding hymn in which “husbands” (plural) are spoken of in connection with a single wife can be explained on a mythological basis.

On the other hand, Wheeler opines that “the marriage of one wife to many brothers was an existing institution”, during the period when Draupadi got married. But in Muir’s view polyandry might have been practiced even prior to Pandava period and must have “fallen into disuse or have become discredited”. Kapadia inclined to agree with Muir’s view and writes “polyandry seems to have discredited as a cultural trait from the time of the Aitareya Brahmans (800 B.C.). Where it was said that a man could have many wives but a women could have only one husband. The Mahabharata reiterates this tradition. To have many wives is not adharma on the part of man, but to violate the duty owed to the first husband would be a great adharma in case of women”.

Westermarck writes ‘generally speaking polyandry in north India is restricted to non-Aryan Tibetan or Dravidian – tribes or castes yet it is often supposed to have existed among the early Aryans”. Polyandry “was once practiced by the peoples of cis-Himalayan tract in northern India and among some tribes of the pre-Dravidian or Dravidian groups in South India. It is supposed to have once been a trait of the Brahmanic culture from the classic instance of Draupati and some vague allusion to polyandry in the Vedic mythology. Polyandry among these groups and tribes presents different patterns and has different origins and development”. It was not confined to poor people, but was also found among ‘higher class’ people.

Westermarck gave a good account of prevalence of polyandry in the four continent of the world, namely America, Asia, Australia and Africa. In Indian sub-continent, the institution was mainly prevalent in Himalaya, South India and in few other pockets here and there. Westermarck, Prince Peter, Singh, Majumdar, Tyagi and Tewari, Kapadia, Rivers, Iyer and among many others who have detained about polyandry. Basing on these writings and the research on the polyandry it can be easily said that the institution was prevalent (and in few cases even now) among various communities. Among few communities it was a well-established practice, whereas in others it was doubtful. But none-the-less, some kind of polyandry, it is said, has existed among them in one or other form.

Prospect

The practice of polyandry, which has been reported earlier not only from Indian sub-continent, but from other parts of the world has been “vanishing fast”

Tyagi, Tewari and Singh was of the view that “practice of polyandry ceased to be respectable in the middle country or Madhayadesa from the Gupta period onwards”. At another place he writes that “increasing contact with the non-polyandrous society of the plains is making serious inroads into their distinctive family organization; and their polyandry is perhaps on the way to comparative obsolescence. The operation of varying economic and political factors apart, the disappearance of polyandry from large parts of India can be partly explained in terms of the ‘castes’ and individual exclusiveness that Brahmanism promoted and that militated against the clannish proclivity of polyandrous households. That clannish or tribal feeling, was, however, kept alive by caste; and even polyandry could not totally be uprooted. But now the feelings are eroding and polyandry is disappearing fast.

Mann was of the opinion that increase in literacy and education along with outside contact etc. in Ladakh do not favour polyandry. Somewhat similar are the views of Raha and Coomar. When they write “modern education, cash and market economy, better communication and transport, new legislation, immigration of the nonpolyandrous people from the plains and lower hills etc. are the factors responsible for the decline of this type of marriage”. Polyandry in Himalayas in disappearing. Bhat writes “changes, both planned and unplanned, growing contact with the plains and impact of growing public authority and of modern technology, couched in capitalistic economy precipitate changes in the sub-systems of polyandry.

According to Iyer, Polyandry is said to be “fast dying out among these and other caste man, owing to the influence of western civilization”. In the course of the 19th century polyandry was dwindling away among the Nayars and many now be said to be extinct.

This institution of polyandry may die its natural death. There may be many reasons, such as ban on female infanticide; industrialization and urbanization, which effects family type and leads to monogamy; individuals psychology; social / economic / political constraints, women’s awareness of their rights, etc. It is also possible that monogamous mass majority is forcing micro-minority of polyandry to disband the archaic institution. And thereby polyandrous people may simply imitate their neighbourly monogamous people. The institution of polyandry in various communities has died out and in many others, such as Ladakhis, Jaunsaris, etc., where it existed earlier, are at various stage of disappearance and decay. In a nutshell polyandry may be wiped out in India (but may remain in few cases in some isolated pockets) by the end of this century or at the end of first quarter of next century. Thus in future, it will remain only in the books, especially as ethnographic material of the past.

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