Ideals of Panchayati Raj

The literal meaning of Panchayati Raj is “governance by five individuals.” The core ideal behind it is to create a functioning, vibrant democracy at the village or grass-roots level. This idea of grass-roots democracy is not a foreign import to India, but the society in which it must operate is marked by sharp inequalities based on gender, caste, and class. These inequalities make genuine democratic participation difficult.

Traditional caste panchayats have existed in villages for a long time, but they have usually represented dominant groups. They have often held conservative views and have taken — and continue to take — decisions that go against democratic norms and procedures.

When the Constitution was being drafted, panchayats did not find a mention in it. Many members of the Constituent Assembly expressed sorrow, anger, and disappointment over this omission. At the same time, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar argued from his own rural experience that local elites and upper castes were so deeply entrenched in society that local self-government would only mean a continuation of the exploitation of the downtrodden masses. The upper castes would, in his view, silence this segment of the population even further.

The concept of local government was dear to Mahatma Gandhi. He envisioned each village as a self-sufficient unit conducting its own affairs and saw gram-swarajya (village self-rule) as an ideal model to be continued after independence.

It was only in 1992 that grass-roots democracy, or decentralised governance, was finally ushered in by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. This act gave constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). It is now compulsory for local self-government bodies in rural and municipal areas to be elected every five years. More importantly, control over local resources is given to the elected local bodies.

The 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution ensured the reservation of one-third of the total seats for women in all elected offices of local bodies, in both rural and urban areas. Out of this, 17 per cent of seats are reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This amendment is significant because, for the first time, it brought women into elected bodies and bestowed decision-making powers on them. One-third of the seats in local bodies — gram panchayats, village panchayats, municipalities, city corporations, and district boards — are reserved for women. The 1993–94 elections, held soon after the 73rd amendment, brought 800,000 women into the political process in a single election. That was a major step in enfranchising women.