The struggle for local government: Indian democracy's new phase

Publius: The Journal of Federalism

Volumn 33, Issue 4, 2003, Pages 99-118

  DeSouza, Peter Ronald ^a,b,c  

^a GOA UNIVERSITY   (India)

^b CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF DEVELOPING SOCIETIES   (India)

^c Lokniti Network   (India)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 5744252714     PISSN: 00485950     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a005015     Document Type: Review

References (67)

1. rd Amendment, I referred to it as the "second wind" of Indian democracy because it promised so much and was regarded as a response to India's crises of governability. Peter Ronald deSouza, "Decentralization and Local Government: The 'Second Wind' of Democracy in India," India's Living Constitution: Ideas, Practices, Controversies, eds. Zoya Hasan, Eswaran Sridharan, and R. Sudarshan (New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2002), pp. 370-404.
2. Panchayati Raj Update, (New Delhi: Raj Kishore Institute of Social Sciences, monthly). Facts about panchaynti raj institutions (PRIs) as on 31 May 1998.
3. Panchayati Raj Update. This is a compilation of events and episodes relating to PRIs and serves as an invaluable chronicle of the recent history of panchaynti raj.
4. A study on "Dalits, Discrimination and the Struggle for Equal Citizenship," recently completed by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (July 2003) for the World Bank, shows that the reservation of the sarpanch post in a panchayat produces both a backlash by the rural dominant castes, which try to undermine and frame the Dalit sarpanch, and a resistance by the Dalit castes, which try to use the opportunity space to improve their positional goods.
5. "Summary of Digest of Newspaper Reported Atrocities Against Dalits (July-December 2002)," PUCL Bulletin 2 April 2003; http://www.indianet.nl/ atroc.html.
6. See the articles in Kurukshetra dealing with panchayati raj. Some of the papers by George Matthew, S. Anand and S. Kothari, and Thomas Issac are examples of the evangelical mode, while some of the papers by Anand Inbanathan, V. Vijayalakshmi, and Jos Chathukulam are examples of the skeptical mode. This classification of "evangelical and skeptical" is borrowed from the comments of Niraja Gopal, who made them in her discussion of my paper "Decentralization: An Exploration of Local Government in India and the United States," presented at a conference on Democracy and Diversity: India and the American Experience, organized by the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI), Delhi, 24-25 January 2003.
7. Alfred Stepan's paper, "Federalism, Multi-National States and Democracy: A Theoretical Framework, The Indian Model and a Tamil Case Study," at the abovementioned conference is an example of this celebration.
8. P. Sainath's writings, such as "The Age of Inequality," India: Another Millennium? ed., Romila Thapar (New Delhi: Viking, 2000), pp. 152-168, are examples of this.
9. S. Sabherwal, "Introduction," India's Living Constitution: Ideas, Practices, Controversies, eds. Zoya Hasan, Eswaran Sridharan, and R. Sudarshan (New Delhi: Permanent Black, 2002), pp. 1-30.
10. The two "Status Reports on Panchayati Raj" brought out by the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS); the several articles in Kurukshetra, The Administrator, Journal of Rural Development and The Indian Journal of Public Administration; and the many books on the subject, such as S.N. Jha and P.C. Mathur, eds., Decentralization and Local Politics (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1999), give ample data on the progress of local government institutions.
11. The two "Status Reports on Panchayati Raj" brought out by the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS); the several articles in Kurukshetra, The Administrator, Journal of Rural Development and The Indian Journal of Public Administration; and the many books on the subject, such as S.N. Jha and P.C. Mathur, eds., Decentralization and Local Politics (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1999), give ample data on the progress of local government institutions.
12. The two "Status Reports on Panchayati Raj" brought out by the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS); the several articles in Kurukshetra, The Administrator, Journal of Rural Development and The Indian Journal of Public Administration; and the many books on the subject, such as S.N. Jha and P.C. Mathur, eds., Decentralization and Local Politics (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1999), give ample data on the progress of local government institutions.
13. They have dealt with the powers and functions of local government; the jurisdictions of each tier; control between the various authorities; personnel; the provisions for the participation of members of Parliament and members of legislative assemblies in local government decision bodies; the reservation of places for disadvantaged groups; the operation of the state election and finance commissions; inter-tier relations; issues of local government finance; methods for the execution of decentralized planning; parallel programs for rural development such as the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme; relationships with other departments of the state government, especially the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA); relationships with parastatals, especially those supplying services such as sewage, water, and electricity, particularly in the case of municipalities; relationships with civil society associations such as community-based organizations (CBOs), self-help groups (SHGs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Peter Ronald deSouza, "Multi-State Study of Panchayati Raj Legislation and Administrative Reform," Report submitted to the World Bank, New Delhi, February 2000.
14. rd Constitution Amendment: A Case for Further Amendment," Journal of Rural Development 61 (October 1997): 554.
15. Hugh Tinker, The Foundations of Local Self-Government in India, Pakistan and Burma (Bombay: Lalvani Publishing House); M. Venkatarangaiya and M. Pattabhiram; eds., Local Government in India: Select Readings (Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1967).
16. Hugh Tinker, The Foundations of Local Self-Government in India, Pakistan and Burma (Bombay: Lalvani Publishing House); M. Venkatarangaiya and M. Pattabhiram; eds., Local Government in India: Select Readings (Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1967).
17. S.S. Singh, et al., "Decentralization and Rural Local Government: Historical Perspective," Legislative Status of Panchayati Raj in India (New Delhi: Indian Institute of Public Administration, 1997).
18. K.C. Sivaramakrishnan, Power to the People? The Politics and Progress of Decentralisation (New Delhi: Konark, 2000).
19. Ibid. The insider's debates in the ministries is well documented in Sivaramakrishnan's book. He was secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development during this period and was a member of the core group of secretaries entrusted by the prime minister to prepare a draft bill.
20. Some of these are listed in "Implementation, Delivery Mechanism and Institutional Development," Ninth Five Year Plan 1997-2002, chapter five. They include (1) inadequate analysis of available information during program formulation, (2) top-down and target-oriented rather than a bottom-up approach, (3) lack of accountability of the implementing agencies either to the government or to the people, (4) social sector programs formulated without addressing the question of sustainability of benefits, and (5) failure to ensure timely and adequate flow of funds to the implementing agencies.
21. C. H. Hanumantha Rao, "Decentralized Planning: An Overview of Experience and Prospects," Economic and Political Weekly, 25 February 1989, pp. 411-416.
22. B. Mishra, "Rationale of Decentralized Planning," Kurukshetra (June 1997): 19-22.
23. James Manor lists 22 reasons in favor of decentralization culled from his comparative study across continents. The Political Economy of Decentralization (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1999), pp. 37-38.
24. Satish Sabherwal, "Civilization, Constitution, Democracy," India's Living Constitution, eds. Hasan, Sridharan, and Sudarshan, pp. 1-30.
25. Gopal Guru, "Dalits: Reflections on the Search for Inclusion," Contemporary India: Transitions, ed. Peter R. deSouza (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2000), pp. 59-72.
26. Nivedita Menon, ed., Gender and Politics in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1999).
27. The National Institute of Rural Development recognizes this link between land, markets, and social institutions such as caste. It sees "land and agrarian reforms (as the) unfinished agenda of the last five decades. Even if its scope is severely restricted in the present day due to demographic pressure, access to land, its optimal use, investment, and cooperation are possible only if such reforms are put in place. Land reform is not just distribution of land. It aims to break the land-caste based controls, guarantee access to technology and credit, and create conditions for maximum production and marketable surplus, all so necessary for rural transformation." NIRD, India: Rural Development Report 1999, p. 121.
28. Harsh Mandar, "Dalit Status and an Agenda for State Intervention," The Administrator39 (April-June 1994): 76.
29. I b i d.
30. Such a habit of reflexivity is a must for any exercise of democratic transformation. Institutions have to be evaluated periodically in the light of new evidence and in the light of new perspectives and discourses. It may be early days yet, as mentioned earlier, but new evidence coming in, although "insufficient," still needs to be interrogated.
31. Examples are the "Consultation Paper on the Working of the Constitutional Provisions (Part IX) for Decentralization - Panchayats," submitted to the Advisory Panel on Decentralization, National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, Institute for Social Science (ISS), New Delhi, 2001; and also the "Consultation Paper on Decentralization and Muncipalities," submitted by the Nagarpalika Network of the All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG), New Delhi, 2001.
32. Examples are the "Consultation Paper on the Working of the Constitutional Provisions (Part IX) for Decentralization - Panchayats," submitted to the Advisory Panel on Decentralization, National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, Institute for Social Science (ISS), New Delhi, 2001; and also the "Consultation Paper on Decentralization and Muncipalities," submitted by the Nagarpalika Network of the All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG), New Delhi, 2001.
33. Jan Breman, Peter Kloos and Ashwani Saith, The Village in Asia Revisited (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997); M.N. Srinivas, "The Indian Village: Myth and Reality," The Dominant Caste and Other Essays, ed. M. N. Srinivas (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994).
34. Jan Breman, Peter Kloos and Ashwani Saith, The Village in Asia Revisited (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997); M.N. Srinivas, 'The Indian Village: Myth and Reality," The Dominant Caste and Other Essays, ed. M. N. Srinivas (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994).
35. The concept of "institutional opportunity space" is important to signify the new potential for freedom available to the oppressed groups, where freedom is seen as a "range of meaningful choices" available.
36. By social capital, we refer to the knowledge, status, solidarity, networks, and other resources available to the groups for effective participation.
37. V. Vijayalakshmi, "Politics of Inclusion: Scheduled Tribe Women in Local Governance," Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) Working Paper 88 (Bangalore, 2001).
38. The achievements and the limitations of the plan can be found in the works of Thomas Issac and Jos Chatukulam respectively.
39. "Consultation Paper on the Working of the Constitutional Provisions (Part IX) for Decentralization - Panchayats," chapter two, p. 6.
40. Shikha Jha, "Strengthening Local Governments: Rural Fiscal Decentralization in India," Economic and Political Weekly 29 (June 2002): 2611-2623.
41. Anand Inbanathan, "Fixers, Patronage, 'Fixing,' and Local Governance in Karnataka," Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) Working Paper 112 (Bangalore, 2002). The term "fixers" is an apt expression to describe them because they act as intermediaries or interceders between the citizens and the political system. They make the system accessible where it is normally opaque.
42. Message of Yashwant Sinha, the Union Finance Minister, Government of India, to the National Conference on "The Gram Sabha," Strengthening Village Democracy, eds. R.C. Choudhury and S.P. Jain (Hyderabad: National Institute of Rural Development, 1999), p. 49.
43. "Consultation Paper on the Working of the Constitutional Provisions (Part IX) for Decentralization - Panchayats," p. 39.
44. Bo Rothstein, "Political Institutions: An Overview," A New Handbook of Political Science, eds. Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter Klingemann (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 139. This is a view associated with Ronald Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (London: Duckworth, 1977), and James G. March and Johan P. Olsen, Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics (New York: Free Press, 1989).
45. Bo Rothstein, "Political Institutions: An Overview," A New Handbook of Political Science, eds. Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter Klingemann (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 139. This is a view associated with Ronald Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (London: Duckworth, 1977), and James G. March and Johan P. Olsen, Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics (New York: Free Press, 1989).
46. Bo Rothstein, "Political Institutions: An Overview," A New Handbook of Political Science, eds. Robert E. Goodin and Hans-Dieter Klingemann (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 139. This is a view associated with Ronald Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (London: Duckworth, 1977), and James G. March and Johan P. Olsen, Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics (New York: Free Press, 1989).
47. Elinor Ostrom, "New Horizons in Institutional Analysis," American Political Science Review 89 (March 1995): 174-178.
48. David Miller, "Deliberative Democracy and Social Choice," Prospects for Democracy, North, South, East, West, ed. David Held (Oxford, Polity Press, 1993), pp. 74-92.
49. Rothstein, "Political Institutions," p. 153.
50. The six states are Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
51. Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and its Network of Collaborating Regional Support Organizations (NCRSO), "Local Self-Governance: Myth or Reality of Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha," (paper prepared for the seminar "Strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions in India," New Delhi: India International Centre, 30 August 1997).
52. The third tier of government is itself comprised of three tiers. The lowest of these three tiers is the gram panchayat (village council), the next is the panchayat samiti (intermediate council comprised of representatives of village councils), and then the zila parishad (district council).
53. Harsh Mander, "Towards Direct Democracy: The Legal Empowerment of Gram Sabha," Kurukshetra 48 (October 1999): 2-13.
54. George Matthew, "Gram Sabha and Social Audit," Kurukshetra 48 (October 1999): 25-29.
55. M. Devendra Babu, "Working of Gram Sabhas in Andhra Pradesh: Problems and Prospects," Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISKC) Working Paper 103 (2002).
56. The main deficiency is non-attendance or low attendance at the gram sabha because this allows village oligarchs to claim that they are speaking on behalf of the village and to pass off their self-interest as public interest.
57. "Consultation Paper on the Working of the Constitutional Provisions (Part IX) for Decentralization - Panchayats," p. 39.
58. M. S. John and Jos Chathukulam, "The Relationship between Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat," Kurukshetra 48 (October 1999): 40-45.
59. Kerala Planning Board order number 37805 L3/98.
60. Kerala Planning Board MS number 17/2000, dated 3 April 2000.
61. Jos Chathukulam and M. S. John, "Five Years of Participatory Planning in Kerala: Rhetoric and Reality," Economic and Political Weekly, 7 December 2002, p. 4923.
62. Matthew, "Gram Sabha and the Social Audit;" George Matthew, "Panchayati Raj Institutions and Human Rights in India," Economic and Political Weekly, 11 January 2003, pp. 155-161.
63. Matthew, "Gram Sabha and the Social Audit;" George Matthew, "Panchayati Raj Institutions and Human Rights in India," Economic and Political Weekly, 11 January 2003, pp. 155-161.
64. Examples are the "Consultation Paper on the Working of the Constitutional Provisions (PartIX) for Decentralization - Panchayats," and the "Consultation Paper on Decentralization and Municipalities."
65. Daniel J. Elazar, "Federalism," The Encyclopedia of Democracy, ed. Seymour Martin Lipset (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1995): volume 2, p. 475.
66. rd ed. (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1987).
67. Elazar, "Federalism," p. 479.