Panchayati Raj is an insignificant provision of the Gandhian principle. However, the constitution did not obligate governments to constitute panchayats. Article 40 of the Indian Constitution only provided a Directive Principle of State Policy that said the state should organise village panchayats and give them the necessary powers and authority to function. However, this was not mandatory then.
With the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, the modern Panchayati Raj was introduced in Indiato illuminate democracy at the grassroots level and was entrusted with rural development in the country.
It is enlisted in Part 9 of the Indian constitution. Articles 243 and 243A- 243O under this Part discuss rural local self-government.
The History of Panchayat Raj in India:
The Panchayati Raj system has an ancient origin in India.
- In the vedic era, the word ‘Panchayatan’ has been mentioned in many Sanskrit texts, which means a group of 5 persons who used to decide various affairs. In the Rigveda, we found evidence of Sabha, Samiti and Vidatha as local self-units.
- In epic era, the ‘Ramayana’ indicates that the administration was divided into 2 parts, viz. Pur (city) and Janpad (village). We also found the example of self-government of a village in the ‘Shanti Parva’ of the Mahabharata and in the Manu Smriti.
| Chief Official | Number of Villages |
| Dashap | Chief of 10 villages |
| Vinshya Adhipati | Chief of 20 villages |
| Shat Gram Adhyaksha | Chief of 100 villages |
| Shat Gram Pati | Chief of 1000 villages |
- In ancient times, village panchayats were mentioned in Kautilya’s Arthashastra.
- In the Medieval Period (Delhi sultanate), for the village administration, Mukkaddam (administrator), Choudhrie (disputes settler) and Patwaris (revenue collector) were appointed.
- Under British rule, village panchayats lost their autonomy and became weak. It was only in the year 1870 that India saw the dawn of representative local institutions.
Evolution of Panchayati Raj after Independence
The first Panchayati Panchayati Raj came up at Nagaur (Rajasthan) in 1959 as per the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Committee. This committee did far-reaching work in rural democracy, which brought Balwant Rai the title of “Father of Panchayati Raj.” Gradually, this system was adopted by other states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
1. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957)
- In January 1957, the central government appointed a committee to inquire into the working of the National Extension Service and Community Development Programme and also asked for suggestions for their better working.
- Balwant Rai G Mehta was the chairman of this committee. Under his chairmanship, the committee submitted its report in November 1957.
- The committee recommended the establishment of ‘democratic decentralisation’.
| Recommendations of Balwant Rai Mehta Committee |
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Most of the recommendations of this committee were accepted by the National Development Council in January 1958. However, the council did not insist on a single rigid pattern for all the states. It left the decisions to the states to evolve their patterns suitable to respective local conditions without disrupting the basic principles and broad fundamentals of Panchayati Raj.
- For example, even today, West Bengal has adopted the 4-tier system, Rajasthan has adopted the 3-tier system, and Tamil Nadu has adopted the 2-tier system.
