It was way back in 1954 under the Prime Minitership of the Late Former and Ex-Prime Minister , Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that the formation and the implementation of the panchayati Raj especially at the nook end corner of the villages in India was planned to be set up.
It took a little over five years that The Panchayat Raj system was first adopted by the state of Rajasthan in Nagaur district on 2 Oct 1959 but first started by Andhra Pradesh. During the 1950s and 60s, other state governments adopted this system as laws were passed to establish panchayats in various states.
The Panchayati Raj system was a common government structure used throughout South Asian countries for nearly 2000 years. In this article learn about the historical and modern use of Panchayati Raj in India.
Mahatma Gandhi and his model for Panchayati Raj
Actually during the British rein it was Mahatma Gandhi who had advocated about the implementation of the panchayati Raj in India but that did not find any favour with the Britishers. The moment when the Britishers were palnning to decide about giving freedom to India it was again Mahatma Gandhi who severaly laid the importance of this rule at India and it took 12 years and a little more to legally implement this at India.
Return to Traditional Government
Why was it considered very important to implement this raj ie this rule in India.There are many a reasons advocated but according to the reasons that was FIRST advocated by Netaji Subash in 1930 which then did not find any importance within the Congress and then within the Congress afterwards in 1954 when Pandit Nehru was the Prime Minister of India is advocated as follow::
'' India is poor because villages of India are poor. India will be rich if the villages of India are rich. Panchayats should be given great powers, for we want the villagers to have a greater measure of swaraj [self government] in their own villages.''
This increasing pressure on agriculture was one of the major causes of the extreme poverty of India under the British rule. Hence, the peasantry of Indian villages was crushed under the triple burden of the Government, the zamindar or landlord, and the moneylender
British idea of freedom, equality, liberty and human rights along with western education resulted in to massive social-religious, reform movements and had great impact on the society. It brought a more scientific, rational and modern approach to life among Indians.
However this refroms were mostly seen in the fast moving cities and at some places where the Britishers had built their institutions in terms of the Military stations, the Police stations, the Revenue Collection stations etc .
This feature and the benefits were not to be sen at the villages. As a result the villages of India started falling back. The agriculture slowly started taking a backlash and a nosedive end.
Not only that the animal husbandry and the importance of poultries as well as the fisheries also started taking a death though very slowly however most effectively. Hence it was decided that the importance ought to be given to the villages so that the villages of india survives and it contributes to the agriculture and the other means in terms of contributing to the nations GDP.
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Historic Context
Panchayati Raj is found in countries throughout South Asia. The term 'panchayat' means 'assembly of five' and 'raj' means 'rule'. This is the oldest form of government in many South Asian countries, including India.
However, under British colonization, the system was abandoned altogether in some places and very disorganized in others. When India gained its independence in 1947, only one-third of villages had active Panchayati Raj systems.
Traditionally, this system used five wise elders who were trusted to make decisions for their community and settle disputes among the people living there and to settle conflict between villages.
Modern Implementation
As written earlier the system and the rule did not find any favour with the Britishers.The Britishers laid down their own rules and it saw to it that the Indian villages slowly dies a natural death.They destroyed the agricultural system and broke it’s backbone in an unimagined manner. However from 1954 the Panchayat Raj and it’s system got attention because the Government of the day then wanted to normalize and stabilize the villagers and the village of India.
As the movement for Indian independence gained strength, so did the push for a return to the Panchayati Raj form of government. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most famous proponents of this idea. Calling it Gram Swaraj ('village self-governance'), the system Gandhi proposed was very decentralized, which gave local communities great power.
Starting in the 1950s, some states began to re-adopt the system. In 1957 the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee was established to determine the best way to create a structured system for the Panchayati Raj throughout India.
Their recommendations created the structure for the current Panchayati Raj system. The system actually was the FIRST step of reforming India. It was visualized and it was thought of that if India has to be strong and self-reliant the villages ought to be made very strong that it not only stood all by itself to exist by itself but the economy of the villages ought to be that the contribution by the villages to the GDP of India ought to be at least THREE percent With this thought the Panchayati system was to be formulated and laid so that the villages becomes very strong economivcally and not only that it took it’s ecision at the spot to remove the obstacles and the barracdaes for it to operate functionally
This system was formalized by a constitutional amendment passed in 1992. Since then, all but a few states use the Panchayati Raj. Here are two of the most important decisions the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee made:
- Establish a system with three tiers of self government. Today, those tiers are as follows:
- Gram Panchayat (smallest, village level)
- Panchayat Samitis (middle size, block level)
- Zila Parishad (largest size, district level)
- Transfer of power, responsibility and resources to local government. This makes the transfer of power authentic because local authorities have something to work with.
Now that we know the
basics of this system, let's look at what each level of government is
responsible
for.
Pic : The Government Model of Panchayati Raj
Gram Panchayat
(Village Level)for.
Today there are almost 10,000 gram panchayat. This smallest level of government works within towns and villages. Elections are held every five years to elect members to the governing council. The main responsibilities of this level include:
- Working on community development including establishing schools and medical systems
- To repair the road from the cities to the deep end root of the village
- Providing CLEAN drinking water to the villager
- Opening of industries like the small scale industry
Not withstanding and NOT underestimating the role of the Panchayat system at the villages it is not needed at all to explain the IMPORTANCE of the panchayat system and it’s plan of being implemented at India. It had many a scathing and teething problems when it was laid but over the period of time with better micro-management and eradicating the loose ends the system slowly gained prominence at India.
Panchayats have been the backbone of the Indian villages since the beginning of the recorded history. Gandhiji s dream of every village being a republic or Panchayats having powers has been translated into reality with the introduction of three-tier Panchayati Raj system to enlist people’s participation in rural reconstruction.
24th April, 1993 was a landmark day in the history of Panchayati Raj in India as on this day the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force to provide constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions.
The salient features of the Act are as follows:
i. To provide three-tier
system of Panchayati Raj for all states having population of over 20 lakh.ii. To hold Panchayat elections regularly for every 5 years.
iii. To provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women (not less than 33 percent).
iv. To appoint State Finance Commissions to make recommendations regarding financial powers of the Panchayats.
v. To constitute District Planning Committees to prepare draft development plan for the district as a whole.
According to the Constitution, Panchayats shall be given powers and authority to function as institutions of self-government.
Powers & Responsibilities : Development of Economy
The powers and responsibilities to be delegated to Panchayats at the appropriate level are:
1. Preparation of plan for economic development and social justice.
2. Implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice in relation to 29 subjects given in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution.
3. Levying and collecting the appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
The 73rd Amendment Act gives constitutional status to the Gram Sabha. The provisions of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 extends Panchayats to the tribal areas of eight states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. This has come into force on 24th December, 1990. Except Rajasthan and Bihar, all states have passed laws to give effect to the provisions contained in the Act 40 of 1996.
Under the Act, Gram Sabha has been vested with powers for:
i. Ownership of minor forest produce, approval of development plans, selection of beneficiaries under various programmes.
ii. Consultation on land acquisition, manage minor water bodies, control mineral leases, regulate/prohibit sale of intoxicants, preventing alienation of land and restoring unlawfully alienated land of STs, managing village markets, controlling money lending to STs, and controlling institutions and functionaries in all social sectors.
The ministry extends limited financial assistance to the states to train and create awareness among the elected members of Panchayats and functionaries. The Ministry has been providing financial assistance through the Council for Advancement of Peoples Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) to the non-governmental organizations for conducting training and awareness generation programmes on Panchayati Raj. The Ministry also commissions research and evaluation study related to Panchayati Raj from voluntary organizations institutions.
Remarks-:
Today on April 24th 2020 we are celebrating the 61st years of the panchayati Raj and it’s implementation at India. Looking into the affairs of the villages we and I can surely say WE HAVE NOT STREBGHTEN OUR VILLAGES TO EVEN CONTRIBUTE 0.50% of the GDP where as it was envisaged at 3% per annum
In that manner so far the contribution should have been 183% but it hardly has been 32% over the LAST SIXTY ONE YEARS.
What more to say – “ THERE IS A LONG WALK TO GO AND DO BEFORE I REST TO SLEEP ”
Well that summarises everything that explains the role and the need of this Raj and it’s system at india . Even if the system and the Raj might not be needed or be viable at all but the VILLAGES of INDIA needs to be made STRONG, STRONGER and STRONGEST
Regards
Shyamal
Bhattacharjee
Mr. Shyamal Bhattacharje, the author was born at West Chirimiri Colliery at District Surguja, Chattisgarh on July 6th 1959 He received his early education at Carmel Convent School Bishrampur and later at Christ Church Boys' Higher Secondary School at Jabalpur. He later joined Hislop College at Nagpur and completed his graduation in Science and he also added a degree in B A thereafter.
He joined the HITAVADA, a leading dails of Central India at Nagpur as a Sub-Editor ( Sports ) but gave up to complete his MBA in 1984 He thereafter added a Diploma In Export Management.
He has authored THREE books namely Notable Quotes and Noble Thought published by Pustak Mahal in 2001 Indian Cricket : Faces That Changed It in 2009 and Essential Of Office Management in 2012.
He has a experience of about 35 years in marketing
Very Good Post, Informative Content. Thank You.
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