It has been suggested that Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, Amended 2003 be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since August 2009.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972
An Act to provide for the protection of Wild animals, birds and plants and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto.
Citation	Act No. 53 of 1972
Enacted by	Parliament of India
Date enacted	9 September 1972

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Wildlife of India
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Conservation Projects Tiger · Elephant Associated acts Indian Forest Act, 1927 Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 Wildlife Protection Act, 2003
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The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 refers to a sweeping package of legislation enacted in 1972 by the Government of India. Before 1972, India only had five designated national parks. Among other reforms, the Act established schedules of protected plant and animal species; hunting or harvesting these species was largely outlawed.

The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants; and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. It extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir which has its own wildlife act. It has six schedules which give varying degrees of protection. Schedule I and part II of Schedule II provide absolute protection - offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties. Species listed in Schedule III and Schedule IV are also protected, but the penalties are much lower. Schedule V includes the animals which may be hunted. The plants in Schedule VI are prohibited from cultivation and planting. The hunting to the Enforcement authorities have the power to compound offences under this Schedule (i.e. they impose fines on the offenders). Up to April 2010 there have been 16 convictions under this act relating to the death of tigers.

Definitions under the Act (Section 2)[link]

• "animal" includes amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and their young, and also includes, in the cases of birds and reptiles, their eggs.
• "animal article" means an article made from any captive or wild animal, other than vermin, and includes an article or object in which the whole or any part of such animal has been used and an article made therefrom.
• "hunting" includes

(a) capturing, killing, poisoning, snaring, or trapping any wild animal, and every attempt to do so

(b) driving any wild animal for any of the purposes specified in sub clause

(c) injuring, destroying or taking any body part of any such animal, or in the case of wild birds or reptiles, disturbing or damaging the eggs or nests of such birds or reptiles.

• "taxidermy" means the curing, preparation or preservation of trophies.
• "trophy" means the whole or any part of any captive or wild animal (other than vermin) which has been kept or preserved by any means, whether artificial or natural. This includes:

(a) rugs, skins, and specimens of such animals mounted in whole or in part through a process of taxidermy

(b) antler, horn, rhinoceros horn, feather, nail, tooth, musk, eggs, and nests.

• "uncured trophy" means the whole or any part of any captive animal (other than vermin) which has not undergone a process of taxidermy. This includes a freshly killed wild animal, ambergris, musk and other animal products.
• "vermin" means any wild animal specified in Schedule V.
• "wildlife" includes any animal, bees, butterflies, crustacean, fish and moths; and aquatic or land vegetation which forms part of any habitat

Hunting (Section 9)[link]

This section describes what constitutes hunting and the intent to hunt. Hunting of wild animals is prohibited.

Ownership (Section 40 & 42)[link]

Regarding ownership issues and trade licences.

Penalties (Section 51)[link]

Penalties are prescribed in section 51. Enforcement can be performed by agencies such as the Forest Department, the Police, the Customs and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Chargesheets can be filed directly by the Forest Department. Other enforcement agencies, often due to the lack of technical expertise, hand over cases to the Forest Department.

External links[link]

• "The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972" from the Official website of: Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests
• “Legislations on Environment, Forests, and Wildlife” from the Official website of: Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests
• Official website of: Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests
• Dutta, Ritwick. (2007) Commentaries on Wildlife Law- Cases, Statutes & Notifications . Wildlife Trust of India. A commentary on the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, and includes a compilation of the Supreme Court and High Courts judgements on Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Indian Forest Act, 1927, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and other relevant statutes.

Swami Nithyananda (also known as Paramahamsa Nithyananda, Tamil: பரமஹம்ஸ நித்யானந்தா; born 1 January 1978) is a spiritual master, mystic ^[3] and the founder of Dhyanapeetam, a worldwide movement for meditation, based in Bangalore, India ^[4]. He came into fame after his series Kadavai Thira, Kattru Varattum (Open the door and let the breeze in) (Tamil: கதவை திற காற்று வரட்டும்) ^[5][6] was published in the widely circulated Tamil weekly, Kumudam (Tamil: குமுதம்) and due to the popularity of his spiritual healing processes. Nithyananda Swami has a huge following in southern India and his mission has branches in several countries, including the US and Europe ^[7]. His followers and acquaintances included a number of high profile politicians such as Narendra Modi, the Chief minister of Gujarat ^[8] and B.S.Yeddyurappa, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka ^[9] and famous actors from the Indian film industry such as Vivek Oberoi ^[10] and Juhi Chawla ^[11]. In April 2010, Nithyananda was arrested after failing to answer bail for criminal charges regarding allegations arising after a video was released allegedly showing him in a compromising situation with a woman. In June 2010 he was released on bail. The group of people purportedly involved in the production and release of the video were charged with conspiracy and cheating, and arrested. In 2012, Swami Nithyananda was named by Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in the world ^[2]. He was also coronated in April 2012 as the 293^rd pontiff of The Madurai Aadheenam, which is the oldest Saivite mutt in south India ^[12].

Biography[link]

Nithyananda, was born as Rajasekaran in January 1978 ^[13] in the spiritual town of Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu made famous by spiritual masters such as Arunagiri Yogeshwara, Arunagirinathar, Ramana Maharishi and Yogi Ramsuratkumar. He studied Yoga, Vedanta, Sidda, Tantra and other eastern metaphysical sciences from his mentors Raghupati Yogi,^[13] Kuppammal, Annamalai Swami and others.^[1] According to his biography, he had an intense spiritual experience at the age of 12 and after long years of wandering and spiritual practice he says to have attained, in the year 2000, the state of spiritual enlightenment or eternal bliss ^[1] - and hence the name Nithyananda (Sanskrit - नित्य Nithya (eternal) and अनन्दा Ananda (bliss)). In the year 2003 he started his ashram or spiritual center, Dhyanapeetam, in Bidadi near the city of Bangalore in south India and the US branch named the Life Bliss Foundation, headquartered in Los Angeles.^[8].

Teachings[link]

Swami Nithyananda's teachings are aligned with the Advaitic school of thought of Sri Adi Shankara. However, he integrates many streams of Vedic Hindu thought into his teachings including Jnana, Bhakti, Yoga, Dhyana and Karma. He is primarily popular for his meditation techniques and the idea of Dhyana or meditation ^[14] as the way to reach what he calls the state of Jeevan Mukti or Living Enlightenement. He defines Living Enlightenment in simple terms as living a conflict free life.^[15] He is well known for his spiritual discourses ^[9] and has given discourses on scriptures such as the Brahma Sutras, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Shiva Sutras, Jain Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

Life Bliss Foundation[link]

Swami Nithyananda has developed a diverse range of meditation courses catering to a wide cross section of people ^[8] which he teaches at his centers and public programs. He has followers across the world and runs a number of ashrams in India and abroad.^[16] The mission claims to run more than 1000 spiritual centers and temples worldwide with the main ones being in Bidadi, Thiruvannamalai and Los Angeles. Since 2003, Nithyananda's following has grown rapidly mainly in south India and the US.^[7] There is, however, a wide variation in publicly reported numbers of his following ranging from 2 million ^[17] to a self published 10 million followers.^[1]

Awards and honors[link]

Swamy Nityananda's banner in Bangalore in 2008.

• In 2007, he was elected chairman of the Hindu University of America, also known as the International Vedic Hindu University, an institution in the U.S. state of Florida.^[18]
• In 2012, Paramahamsa Nithyananda featured in the Watkins' list of the top 100 most spiritually influential living people in the world ^[2].
• On April 27th 2012, Swami Nithyananda was coronated as the 293^rd pontiff ^[12] of The Madurai Aadheenam, which is the oldest Saivite mutt in south India - established 1400 years ago by Thirugana Sambandar a poet saint and one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars, Tamil Saiva bhakti saints who lived between the sixth and the tenth centuries CE.

Controversy[link]

A video that claimed to show Nithyananada hugging and kissing a woman while watching television^[19] was broadcast on the Tamil television channel Sun News on 2 March 2010. This resulted in protests outside the Ashram during which a fire broke out. The Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam's website called the video defamatory, terming it "a mix of conspiracy, graphics and rumour". On March 4, Nithyananda made an application to a civil court in Chennai, seeking an injunction blocking further broadcasting of the video material.^[20]

Swami Nithyananda was arrested on April 21, 2010 in Arki in Himachal Pradesh by Bangalore Police with the help of the police of Himachal^[21] and the interrogation was done in Bangalore by the CID of the Bangalore Police.^[22] On 11 June 2010 Nithyananda was granted bail, and was released from judicial custody after fifty two days in Ramanagaram sub-jail. In October 2010, the releaser of the video who worked as Nithyanda's driver was charged by Bidadi police under several sections of the IPC with accusations of defaming Nithyanada through distributing the video.^[23] .^[24] Subsequently in July 2011, Nithyananda's ashram has filed a complaint against Sun TV Network, claiming they were the agents behind what the ashram alleged was a morphed video and the repeated telecast of it^[25]

Works[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Paramahamsa Nithyananda