DOCSLIB.ORG

Panchayati Raj in India. the Evolution Between 1947 and 1992

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITÄT HEIDELBERG FAKULTÄT FÜR WIRTSCHAFTS-UND SOZIALWISSENSCHAFTEN Panchayati Raj in India The Evolution between 1947 and 1992 Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Dr. rer. pol. an der Fakultät für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg vorgelegt von: Kai Fabian Fürstenberg Februar 2015 Erstgutachter: Professor Subrata K. Mitra, PhD (Rochester) Zweitgutachter: Professor Dr. Dietmar Rothermund Content List of Figures and Tables iv 1. Introduction 1 1.1 State of Research 10 1.2. Why Evolutionary Institutionalism? 13 2. Theory 16 2.1. Rational Choice Institutionalism 17 2.1.1. The Role of the Equilibrium 19 2.1.2. Structured and Unstructured Institutions 21 2.2. Historical Institutionalism 23 2.2.1. Path Dependence and Critical Junctures 25 2.2.2. Critique on Path Dependency 29 2.3. Sociological Institutionalism 30 2.3.1. Isomorphism 31 2.3.2. Change and Legitimacy 34 2.4. Three Institutionalisms – A Critique 35 2.4.1. Oversimplifying Reality: Rational Choice Institutionalism 35 2.4.2. No Change from Within: Historical Institutionalism 36 2.4.3. What are Institutions Exactly? Sociological Institutionalism 38 2.5. Evolution and the Origins of Universal Darwinism 40 2.5.1. Evolutionary Thought: An Overview 41 2.5.2. What is Darwinian Evolution? 44 2.5.3. A Short History of Evolutionary Theory in the Social Sciences 47 2.5.4. Sociobiology and Meme-Theory 48 2.5.4.1. Sociobiology 49 2.5.4.2. Meme-Theory 54 i 2.6. Evolutionary Institutionalism 58 2.6.1. Change: The Analogy between Genes and Institutions 59 2.6.2. Change: Human Preferences and Cognition 66 2.6.3. Schemas and Ideas – The Replicators and Mutants of Institutional Evolution 72 2.6.4. Stability of Institutions and Institutional Arrangements 74 2.6.5. Methods of Evolutionary Institutionalism 76 2.6.6. Concluding Remarks 79 3. Methodology 83 3.1. The Parameters 85 3.2. Application and Selection of Cases 89 3.3. Sources 91 4. The Evolution of Panchayati Raj between 1947 and 1992 92 4.1. India between 1947 and 1992 94 4.2. Panchayats before 1947 107 4.3. The First Decade 113 4.3.1. Uttar Pradesh 115 4.3.2. Assam 122 4.3.3. Madhya Bharat 124 4.3.4. The Constituent Assembly and Panchayati Raj 128 4.3.5. Conclusion 129 4.3.6. Community Development 132 4.4. The Zenith of Interest in Panchayati Raj 135 4.4.1. The B.R. Mehta Committee Report 136 4.4.2. Uttar Pradesh 147 4.4.3. Assam 153 4.4.4. Madhya Pradesh 156 4.4.5. West Bengal 162 ii 4.4.6. Conclusion 165 4.5. Decline 168 4.5.1. Assam 170 4.5.2. West Bengal 175 4.5.3. Conclusion 180 4.6. Reforms 182 4.6.1. The Asoka Mehta Committee Report 185 4.6.2. Madhya Pradesh I 192 4.6.3. The G.V. Rao Committee Report 195 4.6.4. The L.M. Singhvi Committee Report 197 4.6.5. Assam 199 4.6.6. The R.S. Sarkaria Commission Report 200 4.6.7. The 64th Amendment Bill 201 4.6.8. The 74th Amendment Bill 205 4.6.9. Madhya Pradesh II 206 4.6.10. The 73rd Amendment Act of 1992 208 4.6.11. Conclusion 212 5. Conclusion 215 5.1. An Analogy to Biological Evolution 217 5.2. The Advantages of Evolutionary Institutionalism 218 5.3. A Brief Recapitulation of Institutional Evolution 223 5.4. Evolution within the Ecological Systems 229 5.5. Ideational Evolution - The Government Committee Reports 234 5.6. Final Remarks 238 5.6.1. Prospects for Future Research 242 Bibliography 243 iii List of Figures and Tables Table 1: Indicators of Parameters (In Case of Local Governments) 87 Table 2: Methodological Key 87 Table 3: Period-wise Ecological Systems in India 112 Figure 1: The Institutional Arrangement within its Ecological Niche 88 Figure 2: The Institutional Arrangement Responding to Ecological factors by Institutional Variation 88 Figure 3: Methodological Key 113 Figure 4: Hierarchical Relation between Gaon Sabha and Gaon Panchayat 120 Figure 5: Panchayati Raj according to the B.R. Mehta Committee 144 Figure 6: A Genealogical Tree of Panchayati Raj Legislations 222 Figure 7: Genealogy with Government Committee Reports and Constitutional Amendment Bills 237 iv 1. Introduction Panchayati Raj1, the system of local governments in India, is one of the most challenging topics when it comes to institutional change, a quintessential issue that underpins politics in changing societies. In the Indian case the period from independence in 1947 to the 73rd Amendment Act in 1992, which unified the relevant legislation, is a case in point. It is, for serving as the empirical foil to my work on Evolutionary Institutionalism (EI), highly interesting. This period of development and change is, from an institutional point of view, not well researched. Understanding the institutional changes demands a theoretical approach that takes into account many possible influences on institutions, either external or internal, either socio- economic or natural. Evolutionary Institutionalism is such an approach. EI is evidence based evolutionary theory in the Darwinian strain. It applies many assumptions from Darwinian Evolutionary Theory, as far as possible, to institutions. This thesis builds on these assumptions to trace the evolution of Panchayati Raj between 1947 and 1992. This is done by categorising institutions as morphological (institutions of form) and physiological (institutions of function). Taking four Indian States as examples, the comparison morphological and physiological institutions in Panchayati Raj legislations in these States over time can reveal their relation over time and facilitates the identification of evolutionary processes. The various legislations will also be put into relation with their contemporary environments, socio-political and natural, and the ideational developments regarding Panchayati Raj in form of government committee reports on the subject. The main argument of my thesis is that the institutional development of Panchayati Raj between 1947 and 1992 can be analysed as an evolutionary process in the Darwinian sense.2 I base this on the conjecture that Evolutionary Institutionalism (EI) is the appropriate theoretical approach to do this. I am convinced that a biology-based approach to political 1 The term can be loosely translated as ‘the rule of the council of five’. 2 Darwinian Evolution is the Theory of Evolution based on the observations made in On the Origin of Species and developed into the framework used today to explain biological evolution. For more see chapter 2.5.2., pp. 44. 1 institutions and change, which are ultimately outcomes of human, and therefore biological, behaviour, is the most satisfying approach. Besides the investigation of the applicability of Evolutionary Institutionalism, this thesis provides an accessible method for the investigation of institutional evolution. Remaining close to the methods of evolutionary biology, the categorisation into morphological and physiological institutions enables researches to analyse institutional relations over time easily and trace their variations. Putting these institutional variations directly into the natural, political and socio-economic contexts of their times, researches can identify influential factors for institutional changes. Especially by relating institutional variations to ideational developments, a researcher could directly investigate the muting influences of ideas on institutional changes. This work will be the narrative of a Panchayati Raj system, or more precisely, a system of Panchayats. It will be the narrative of the inception and evolution of Panchayati Raj from the formative years of the Indian State and the consolidating years of the Indian Nation to the troublesome times in which the 72nd Amendment Bill became the 73rd Amendment Act of 1992. Narrative is also precisely the correct term to describe this undertaking. I want to follow the evolution of Panchayats to explain how it came to the Act and what happened between 1948, when the Constituent Assembly drafted India’s post-independence Constitution in which the word ‘Panchayat’ is not even mentioned, and 1992, when the Lok Sabha made the Panchayati Raj System an integral part of that Constitution. Such an endeavour as mine, to go back six decades into Indian history and even ending more than two decades ago, may seem to be an unusual procedure for a political scientist. But in my understanding the institutional developments in the 22 years since the ratification of the 73rd Amendment Act and which a present today, have their origins deep in the history of independent India. Therefore, it is essential to have a look into the past. There is of course a great body of literature when it comes to Panchayati Raj in its 1992 avatar and of course, they deal with its history as well. Nevertheless, they devote only a few pages, if any, to it, marking crucial events, which led to the 73rd Amendment Act. Literature before 1992, dealing more extensively with the old system(s), naturally, is missing the connection to the Act. In 2 addition, they are usually more concerned with concepts and regulations and not with the overall evolution of the institutional system. The understanding of Panchayati Raj includes also the understanding of its context. The political, social, cultural and economic environment of any institutional system at any specific time has consequences throughout its whole evolution. Some factors may weigh more at certain times and less at others, but their effects influence an institution even decades later. This insight, which any historian will automatically agree to3, is less spread in political science (see for example Pierskalla et al. 2013). Furthermore, Panchayati Raj is a highly complex system within a highly complex system, influenced by other complex systems, by individuals and ideas. Studying the institution of Panchayats does not only include the Panchayats alone.
Recommended publications
  • Panchayati Raj and Watershed Management in India: Constraints and Opportunities

    Panchayati Raj and Watershed Management in India: Constraints and Opportunities

    Working Paper 114 PANCHAYATI RAJ AND WATERSHED MANAGEMENT IN INDIA: CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES PARI BAUMANN December 1998 Overseas Development Institute Portland House Stag Place London SW1E 5DP 2 3 Acknowledgements This report is based largely on interviews with representatives from the Government, Panchayati Raj Institutions, NGOs, Self-help Groups and Academic Institutions. I would like to thank all of the respondents for the generous amounts of time they spared to discuss their experiences of Panchayati Raj and Watershed Development with me. I would like to thank Ashok Kumar of Development Alternatives in Bangalore for accompanying me on the visit to Gram Panchayats in Tumkur District. I would like to thank Write Arm in Bangalore for their logistical support in Bangalore, and for providing an inviting base from which to plan the work. Thank you also to Janet Seeley and Peter Reid, of the Rural Development Office of the Department for International Development in New Delhi, for suggesting contacts for interviews and for their interest in the study. 4 Contents Summary 6 Acronyms 9 1 Introduction 10 1.1 Introduction 10 1.2 Background 10 1.3 The terms of reference and research methodology 11 2 The legal framework and historical background 12 2.1 Brief outline of the new policies 12 2.2 Panchayati Raj and the 73rd Constitutional Amendment 12 2.3 State planning and the Guidelines 16 2.4 The research question 17 3 Decentralisation: the spirit and the letter of the law 19 3.1 Different types of decentralisation 19 3.2 Decentralisation
  • Strengthening of Panchayats in India: Comparing Devolution Across States

    Strengthening of Panchayats in India: Comparing Devolution Across States

    Strengthening of Panchayats in India: Comparing Devolution across States Empirical Assessment - 2012-13 April 2013 Sponsored by Ministry of Panchayati Raj Government of India The Indian Institute of Public Administration New Delhi Strengthening of Panchayats in India: Comparing Devolution across States Empirical Assessment - 2012-13 V N Alok The Indian Institute of Public Administration New Delhi Foreword It is the twentieth anniversary of the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution, whereby Panchayats were given constitu- tional status.While the mandatory provisions of the Constitution regarding elections and reservations are adhered to in all States, the devolution of powers and resources to Panchayats from the States has been highly uneven across States. To motivate States to devolve powers and responsibilities to Panchayats and put in place an accountability frame- work, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India, ranks States and provides incentives under the Panchayat Empowerment and Accountability Scheme (PEAIS) in accordance with their performance as measured on a Devo- lution Index computed by an independent institution. The Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) has been conducting the study and constructing the index while continuously refining the same for the last four years. In addition to indices on the cumulative performance of States with respect to the devolution of powers and resources to Panchayats, an index on their incremental performance,i.e. initiatives taken during the year, was introduced in the year 2010-11. Since then, States have been awarded for their recent exemplary initiatives in strengthening Panchayats. The Report on"Strengthening of Panchayats in India: Comparing Devolution across States - Empirical Assessment 2012-13" further refines the Devolution Index by adding two more pillars of performance i.e.
  • Home Again George Clarke on Why Reviving Britain’S Architectural Past Could Ease the Housing Crisis

    Home Again George Clarke on Why Reviving Britain’S Architectural Past Could Ease the Housing Crisis

    RSA Student Opportunity Journal Spring 2013 Fund Home again George Clarke on why reviving Britain’s architectural past could ease the housing crisis From encouraging young enterprise, to cultural visits and To find out more, or to make a debating contests, the new Student Opportunity Fund will donation and help us reach our provide enrichment activities for students target of £35,000, please visit in our RSA Academies. www.thersa.org/opportunityfund Dieter Helm considers the sustainable practices that will reverse our nation’s natural decline The fund will be used to help to grow students’ confidence and There are two ways to donate: Colin Beard and Ilfryn Price on how space is shaping the way we work encourage creative thinking and problem solving. It will give them new +44 (0)20 7451 6902 opportunities and skills that offer the best possible chance to realise their potential when they leave school. www.thersa.org/opportunityfund RSA_J582_house_journal_advert_7.3.13.indd 1 07/03/2013 14:56 Help future generations Do you know fulfi l their potential someone Journal Spring 2013 1755 RSA awarded its fi rst premiums for new products and who would inventions 2010 RSA Catalyst set up, seed funding Fellows’ make a great projects that make an impact in the UK and internationally Fellow? 1856 RSA launched the fi rst national exams for vocational qualifi cations 2008 The RSA Tipton Academy opened, continuing the RSA’s strong commitment to education Your nominations are a great way to add the expertise and enthusiasm of friends and colleagues to the Fellowship community.
  • India Freedom Fighters' Organisation

    India Freedom Fighters' Organisation

    A Guide to the Microfiche Edition of Political Pamphlets from the Indian Subcontinent Part 5: Political Parties, Special Interest Groups, and Indian Internal Politics UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA A Guide to the Microfiche Edition of POLITICAL PAMPHLETS FROM THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT PART 5: POLITICAL PARTIES, SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, AND INDIAN INTERNAL POLITICS Editorial Adviser Granville Austin Guide compiled by Daniel Lewis A microfiche project of UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA An Imprint of CIS 4520 East-West Highway • Bethesda, MD 20814-3389 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Indian political pamphlets [microform] microfiche Accompanied by printed guide. Includes bibliographical references. Content: pt. 1. Political Parties and Special Interest Groups—pt. 2. Indian Internal Politics—[etc.]—pt. 5. Political Parties, Special Interest Groups, and Indian Internal Politics ISBN 1-55655-829-5 (microfiche) 1. Political parties—India. I. UPA Academic Editions (Firm) JQ298.A1 I527 2000 <MicRR> 324.254—dc20 89-70560 CIP Copyright © 2000 by University Publications of America. All rights reserved. ISBN 1-55655-829-5. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................................................................................. vii Source Note ............................................................................................................................. xi Reference Bibliography Series 1. Political Parties and Special Interest Groups Organization Accession #
  • Grappling at the Grassroots: Access to Justice in India's Lower Tier

    Grappling at the Grassroots: Access to Justice in India's Lower Tier

    \\jciprod01\productn\H\HLH\27-1\HLH105.txt unknown Seq: 1 29-MAY-14 9:02 Grappling at the Grassroots: Access to Justice in India’s Lower Tier Jayanth K. Krishnan, Shirish N. Kavadi, Azima Girach, Dhanaji Khupkar, Kalindi Kokal, Satyajeet Mazumdar, Nupur, Gayatri Panday, Aatreyee Sen, Aqseer Sodhi, and Bharati Takale Shukla* From 2010 to 2012, a team of academic and civil society researchers conducted extensive ethnographies of litigants, judges, lawyers, and court- room personnel within multiple districts in three states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh. This Article provides an in-depth ac- count of the everyday struggles these actors face in the pursuit of their respective objectives. The findings illustrate a complex matrix of vari- ables—including infrastructure, staffing, judicial training and legal awareness, costs and continuances, gender and caste discrimination, power imbalances, intimidation and corruption, miscellaneous delays, and chal- lenges with specialized forums—impact access to justice in the lower tier. The results of this study offer competing yet complementary narratives. On one hand, there is immense despair, frustration, and anger among the various sets of respondents about the current state of the lower tier. At the same time, however, there is great hope and optimism among individuals who work in the judicial sphere, as well as litigants desperately seeking to gain relief from long-endured grievances, toward what the lower tier * Jayanth Krishnan, is Professor of Law at Indiana University Bloomington and can be reached at [email protected]. The three NGOs associated with this project are the Centre for Social Justice, Jagori Grameen, and the National Centre for Advocacy Studies.
  • Members of the Political Science Department

    Members of the Political Science Department

    MEMBERS OF THE POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT FACULTY PROFILES Vera Achvarina B.A. (Moscow), M.A., Ph.D. (Pittsburgh) Primary research interests: international relations, human security, mobilization of people for armed conflict, recruitment of children in wars. Secondary research interests: international norms (promotion, diffusion, effectiveness, commitment and compliance), and research methodology. In 2006 she was a visiting researcher at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, Norway. She has published several articles, including in the journal International Security. She is currently working on a book based on her dissertation. Emanuel Adler B.A., M.A. (Hebrew), Ph.D. (Berkeley) Andrea and Charles Bronfman Chair of Israeli Studies and editor of International Organization. Research interests: The international politics of identity and peace, rationality and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a constructivist reconsideration of strategic logic, including deterrence, in post-Cold War international security, the role of practice in international relations, European security institutions, and international relations theory, in particular, constructivism, epistemic communities, and security communities. Publications include: The Power of Ideology (1987); Progress in Postwar International Relations (with Beverly Crawford) (ed.) (1991); Security Communities (with Michael Barnett) (ed.) (1998); Communitarian International Relations (2005); Convergence of Civilizations (2006), ed. with Federica Bicchi, Beverly Crawford, and Raffaella Del Sarto, and articles in International Organization, the European Journal of International Relations, and the Review of International Studies. Current projects include a study of rationality and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a constructivist reconsideration of strategic logic, including deterrence, in post-Cold War international security, a project on a turn to practice in international relations, and a study of Europe as a civilizational state.
  • Lok Sabha Debates

    Lok Sabha Debates

    Foartb Series Vol. XLII-No. 3 Wednesday, Jaly 29, 1970 Sravana 7, 1892 {Saka) LOK SABHA DEBATES ( Eleventh Session) --- (Vol. XLII contains Nos. 1-10) LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI Price: .Re. 1.00 CONTENTS No. 3, Wednesday July 29, 1970/Sravana 7, 1892 (Saka). CoLUMNS Obituary Reference 1-7 Oral Answers to Questions- ·Starred Questions Nos. 61 7-27 Short Notice Question No. 1 28~33 Written Answers to Questions- Starred Questions Nos. 62 to 90 33-57 Unstarred Questions Nus. 401 to 40 ,407,408,410, 411, 413 to 460, 462 to 496 499 to 520, 5'<2 to 531 and 533 to 600. 57-216 Statement correcting answer to USQ No. 8777 dated the 6th May, 1970. 216--17 Calling Attention to Matter of Urgent Public Importance- Anti-Indian Demonstrations in Saigon 217-240 Papers Laid on the Table 240--45 Direction by Speaker Under Rules of Procedure 245 Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions- Sixty-fourth Report 245 Statement reo Strike 011 tile South Eastern and North Eastern Railways Shri Nanda 246 Business Advisory Committee- Fifty-first Report 246 Motion of No-Confidence in the Council of Ministers 246-380 Shri M. Muhammad Ismail 248-53 Dr. Govind Vas 233-58 Shri Sezhiyan 258-64 Shri S.A. Dange 265-76 Shri M.V. Krishnappa 276-81 Shri A.K. Gopalan ... 281-89 ·The sign +marked above the name of a Member indicates that the question was actually asked on the floor of the House by that Member. (ii) COLUMNS Shri K. Hanumanthaiya 289-97 Shri Surendranath Dwivedy 297-306 Dr.
  • The Good Governance Agenda for Decentralization in Uttarakhand, India: Implications for Social Justice

    The Good Governance Agenda for Decentralization in Uttarakhand, India: Implications for Social Justice

    The good governance agenda for decentralization in Uttarakhand, India: implications for social justice By NICOLA GIORDANO A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree in International Development Studies Saint Mary’s University April, 2010, Halifax, Nova Scotia Copyright © Nicola Giordano, 2010 Thesis approved by Supervisor Dr. Ryan Isakson First Reader Dr. Joe Tharamangalam Second Reader Dr. Jun Borras Date: April 22nd, 2010 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................9 Tables and Figures...................................................................................................................10 Abstract....................................................................................................................................13 CHAPTER I............................................................................................................................15 1.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER II ..........................................................................................................................15 2.1 Decentralization, the state and social justice: outcome for development .....................22 2.2 Good Governance: the Neoliberal Perspective ............................................................29 2.3 The good governance approach to
  • Genopolitics and the Science of Genetics

    Genopolitics and the Science of Genetics

    American Political Science Review Page 1 of 14 May 2013 doi:10.1017/S0003055413000099 Genopolitics and the Science of Genetics EVAN CHARNEY Duke University WILLIAM ENGLISH Harvard University nanearlierarticlewechallengedthefindingsofFowlerandDawes(FD)thattwogenespredictvoter turnout as part of a more general critique of “genopolitics.” FD now acknowledge that their finding I of a “significant” direct association between MAOA and voting was incorrect, but claim to have replicated their finding of an “indirect” association between 5HTT, self-reported church attendance, and self-reported voting. We show that this finding is likely driven by population stratification and omitted variable bias. We then explain why, from the standpoints of genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, genopolitics is a fundamentally misguided undertaking; we also respond to FD’s charge that some of our previous statements concerning genetics are “highly misleading,” “extremely disingenuous,” and “even incorrect.” We show that their criticisms demonstrate a lack of awareness of some basic principles in genetics and of discoveries in molecular genetics over the past 50 years. ewouldliketothanktheeditorsofThe Amer- STATISTICS ican Political Science Review for inviting us Wto participate in this Forum by writing a re- Population Stratification sponse (or “rejoinder”) to the articles of Fowler and Dawes and of Deppe, Stoltenberg, Smith, and Hibbing. Fowler and Dawes (FD) acknowledge that their previ- We view this as a welcome and important opportu- ous, highly publicized finding that a polymorphism of nity. Although we address both articles, our emphasis the MAOA gene showed a “significant” direct associ- throughout is on the contribution of Fowler and Dawes, ation with (self-reported) voter turnout was incorrect, which itself is intended, in part, as a rejoinder to our inasmuch as they failed to replicate it using new data earlier article in this journal, “Candidate Genes and from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Political Behavior” (Charney and English 2012).
  • A Study on Effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Health Care System in the State of Kerala

    A Study on Effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Health Care System in the State of Kerala

    A Study on Effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Health Care System in the State of Kerala Dr. Jacob John Kerala Development Society (KDS-Delhi) 811-A, Jaina Tower I, District Centre, Janakpuri, New Delhi -110058 Ph :+91-11-41815051/+91-11-9811204487 Email : [email protected], [email protected] Website : www.kdsonline.org, www.nrlg.org Sponsored by Planning Commission Government of India November 2012 Preface The imperative role of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the context of dual responsibilities and controls in public health care system has made a positive impact on rural health scenario of Kerala. The present study has brought out successful experiences of PRIs in Kerala for the consideration of other Indian states in the formulation of action plan for strengthening public health delivery system. For instance, Hospital Management Committee (HMC) under the leadership of the elected head of the concerned local government plays a vital role in the management of a public health institution in Kerala. While the chairperson of HMC is elected head of the local government, Medical Officer of the respective Public Health Institution is its convener. HMC is a democratically constituted body that provides a platform for elected representatives and officials of PRIs/ Municipalities and health officials to work jointly for the efficient functioning of PHIs. This experience can be shared with some of the Indian States where Rogi Kalyan Samities are not functioning as democratically run system. Similarly, there is a good scope for mobilizing local resources for the implementation of public health projects under the initiatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Indian States.
  • Overview of Rural Decentralization in India, the First Formal Bank Study on This Topic

    Overview of Rural Decentralization in India, the First Formal Bank Study on This Topic

    OVERVIEW OF RURAL DECENTRALIZATION IN INDIA Volume 1 September 27, 2000 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACR Annual Confidential Report AP Andhra Pradesh BP Block Panchayat CEO Chief Executive Officer CFC Center Finance Commission CSS Centrally Sponsored Schemes DDP Desert Development Program DEA Department of Economic Affairs DPAP Drought Prone Area Program DPC District Planing Committee DRDA District Rural Development Agency EAS Employment Assurance System EGS Education Guarantee Scheme EO Executive Officer GOI Government of India GOMP Government of Madhya Pradesh GP Gram Panchayat IAS Indian Administrative Service IFS Indian Forestry Services IRDP Integrated Rural Development Program JRY Jawahar Rozgar Yojana JSGY Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana MLA Member of Legislative Assembly MLC Member of Legislative Council MP Member of Parliament; Madhya Pradesh NGO Non Governmental Organization OBC Other Backward Caste PRI Panchayat Raj Institution PS Panchayat Samitis Rs. Rupees SAS State Administrative Service SC Scheduled Castes SFC State Finance Commission SGSY Swarnjanyanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana ST Scheduled Tribes TAD Tribal Area Development UNDP United Nations Development Program UP Uttar Pradesh VEC Village Education Committee VTC Voluntary Technical Experts and Core ZP Zilla Parishad ii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY .........................................................1 2. DESIGN AT THE CENTER ...............................................................3 A. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ..........................................................................
  • ALAGAPPA UNIVERSITY 32141-Contemporary India Since

    ALAGAPPA UNIVERSITY 32141-Contemporary India Since

    ALAGAPPA UNIVERSITY [ACCREDITED WITH ‘A+’ Grade by NAAC (CGPA:3.64) in the Third Cycle and Graded as Catego-rIy University by MHRD-UGC] (A State University Established by the Government of Tamiln adu) KARAIKUDI – 630 003 DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION M.A HISTORY IV SEMESTER 32141-Contemporary India Since 1947 A.D Copy Right Reserved For Private use only INTRODUCTION India‘s independence represented for its people the start of an epoch that was imbued with a new vision. In 1947, the country commenced its long march to overcome the colonial legacy of economic underdevelopment, gross poverty, near-total illiteracy, wide prevalence of diseases, and stark social inequality and injustice. Achieving independence was only the first stop, the first break—the end of colonial political control: centuries of backwardness was now to be overcome, the promises of the freedom struggle to be fulfilled, and people‘s hopes to be met. The task of nation-building was taken up by the people and leaders with a certain elan and determination and with confidence in their capacity to succeed. When Nehru assumed office as the first Prime Minister of India, there were a myriad of issues lying in front of him, vying for his attention. Nehru knew that it was highly important that he prioritized things. For him, ―First things must come first and the first thing is the security and stability of India.‖ In the words of eminent political scientist W.H Morris- Jones, the imminent task was to ―hold things together, to ensure survival, to get accustomed to the feel of being in the water, to see to it that the vessels keep afloat‖.