Panchayat Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Panchayat refer s to a village council commonly found throughout South Asia. The term is derived from Hindi meaning “five elders.” In ancient times, this referred to a group of trusted village members who were responsible for resolving any conflict between village members or other villages.

The most well-known panchayat system is in India. The Indian constitution adopted in 1950 states that “the State shall take steps to organize village Panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.” However, it was not until the seventy-third amendment of the Indian constitution that the panchayat raj system was considered legitimate. Until then, several mandates for organizing panchayats were not fulfilled. Many that did exist were not organized effectively and elections were infrequent. The panchayat system continues to provoke controversy, as proponents note that the system has played a major role in granting women and members of the lower castes access to governance that they would otherwise be denied. Critics, however, counter that panchayats place power into the hands of a select few and therefore counteract the potential advantages of a system of decentralization.

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