earticle

영어

Panchayat has been an integral part of rural Indian polity and society. Since 1992, gram panchayats have been functioning in the villages. However, caste has been the predominant social reality of India, which have dictated the organizing principles of polity and society long time, gram panchayat couldn't go far from this shadow. Hereby, issues were raised among the gram panchayats, caste panchayats and bureaucracy. Caste panchayats have been taking the essential position of maintaining socio-ethical norms and order, and often dispensing justice. How this process of decision-making will be converted to participatory and democratic is one of the key issues related with the three. Democratic consensus should be formed and generated from the framework of a hierarchical society along with bureaucratic support. The panchayats are supposed to be derived their legitimacy from the support of the village community and their decisions should be accepted as harmonizing factors on the community.