Two Decades of Panchayat Raj in India
Two Decades of Panchayat Raj in India

Author: Yatindra Singh Sisodia

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 9788131609279

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Decentralisation is a much-debated issue in India and other countries with a federal system of governance. The enactment of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1993 and the subsequent state-wise Panchayat Raj acts in India brought to the front the significance of the grassroots democratic processes. After two decades, Panchayat Raj has been a matter of debate and speculation about its performance and impact. All the major states have completed at least four rounds of Panchayat elections. Almost three million people, including more than one million women, took part in these elections. The experiences of the states provide vital insights into the process of institutionalising Panchayat Raj. This volume strives to encompass all these issues related to Panchayat Raj in India.

Panchayati Raj and Women Empowerment
Panchayati Raj and Women Empowerment

Author: Nupur Tiwari

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788177084283

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Panchayats are local governments mandated in the Constitution of India. As per the Constitution, a three-tier structure of panchayats is in place across the country, excepting areas where Part IX of the Constitution does not apply. Panchayats are to be instituted, through elections every five years, except in States with a population of less than 20 lakh, where panchayats at two tiers may be created. The Constitution recognizes the gram sabha, i.e. all the electors in a village panchayat. The Constitution provides that seats and offices of chairpersons be reserved for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) in proportion to their respective population, and not less than one-third seats and offices of the chairpersons be reserved for women, including within the SC and ST reservations. Women's increased political participation has yielded positive results. Issues central to development-including health, nutrition, family income and education-have taken center stage as women participate in panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), village development boards, and other governance structures. India has primarily relied upon this method of reservation to ensure women's presence in decision-making bodies. This has increased de jure, but not necessarily de facto, participation. There is a need to encourage women's participation in other kinds of groups and associations which contribute to an atmosphere of leadership by women. This book discusses the background and future possibilities of women and PRIs. [Subject: Gender Studies, India Studies, Constitutional Studies]

Gender, Governance and Empowerment in India
Gender, Governance and Empowerment in India

Author: Sreevidya Kalaramadam

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-22

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 1317246837

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Since the mid-1980s, the presence of women in governance has become a major marker of successful democracy in global and national discourses on the democratization of society. A diverse set of nation-states have legislatively mandated gender quotas to ensure the presence of elected women representatives (EWRs) in various rungs of governance. Since 1993, the Indian state has legislated a massive program of democratization and decentralization. As a result, more than 1.5 million EWRs have taken office within the lower rungs of governance or the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). This book is an ethnography of the Indian state and its policy of legislated entry of women into political life. It argues that political participation of women is necessary to change the political practices in society, to make institutions more gender, class and caste representative, and to empower individual women to negotiate both formal and informal institutions. Its locus is the everyday life contexts of EWRs in the southern Indian state of Karnataka who negotiate their own meanings of politics, state, society, empowerment and political subjectivity. Analysing three factors – structural boundaries, sociocultural divisions and conjunctural limitations imposed on the participation of EWRs by political parties – the book demonstrates that the social embeddedness of PRIs within everyday practices and social relations of identity and power severely constrain and shape the political participation and empowerment of EWRs. Providing a valuable insight into contemporary state and feminist praxis in India, this book will be of interest to scholars of grass-roots democracy, gender studies and Asian politics.

Democratic Decentralization in India
Democratic Decentralization in India

Author: E. Venkatesu

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-06-10

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1317192311

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This book explores experiences, issues and challenges which have emerged since Constitutional status was granted to the local bodies at grassroots level in India in the early 1990s. Among other issues, it focuses on: the contrasting political ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar on Panchayati Raj Institutions the legal and constitutional provisions which were introduced through the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts the devolution process, status and challenges of democracy for local governmental bodies empowerment of the women and lower castes through reservations in the local bodies governance in Schedule V and VI tribal areas Based on extensive fieldwork across India, this volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of political science, sociology, public administration as well as policymakers and civil society activists.