A Living Memory

National Panchayati Raj Day is the national day of the Panchayati Raj System in India celebrated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually.

A Panchayata in action; Source: Public Domain

India is a massive country - if not by size then by numbers. That is the reason it is called the largest democracy in the world. From the Prime Minister to a person sitting in a remote village, they are connected through a federation in which power and rights travel both ways. But how was this possible?

It all began some 3500 years ago. After the Harappans had declined, people migrated towards the eastern side of the subcontinent and settled in the Ganga-Yamuna doab. The lifestyle went backwards as massive cities were abandoned for village life and trade for agriculture. In the Vedic texts, references are found to the social, political and economic life. Village (grama) was the basic unit of administration administered by a village head. There were various assemblies like sabha and samiti, in which people participated together - to distribute resources, administer justice and plan for the future of the clan. This unit was largely self-sufficient.

History happened - cities rose, kings came, empires rose and fell, wars happened, invaders came, foreigners looted; but the village, it more or less remained the same. Sabha and samiti became Panchayats - an assembly of five. The head of this assembly was called sarpanch - the head of the five. Most often than not these panch were the village elderlies or people of prominent castes and status.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi saw in these Panchayati Raj systems the future of Indian politics. They were a living example of self-sufficient units. He advocated largely for decentralization of power and Panchayats were one way to hold that idea real. However, the Constitution was written in 1950 and adopted as the sole authority on Indian law and rights.

Erasing history is impossible. Panchayats became a significant part of the Constitution. They were the only medium through which democracy could reach even the remotest parts of the nation. Panchayats along with municipalities connected India into one thread.

But unlike earlier, post-independence, these units of local power were to be elected based on merit every five years and not based on birth. This all began in Bihar when in 1947, the Bihar Panchayati Raj Act was passed. Rajasthan followed in 1959 and became the first state to adopt the Panchayat post-independence. Then what? Others followed in the stead. Finally, on 24 April 1993, an Amendment was passed that gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions. This gave powers to the Panchayats to devise economic plans at the local level, dispense justice and collect taxes.

With this step India's federation became three-tiered. In 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared 24 April as the National Panchayati Raj Day.

Every year the Ministry of Panchayati Raj organizes a function in which the best Gram Panchayats are awarded. Today is the day to celebrate democracy and power to all, when finally through a little amendment, it was made sure that justice and rights reach even the last person living in this nation.