CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

PART – A: GENERAL BACKGROUND

1.1 INTRODUCTION

‘People are the real wealth or riches of a nation. A nation that facilitates for

maximum number of happy people, is the richest nation ever’, quotes Mahathma

Gandhi.1 Development is a universal supremacy as a goal and its natural occurrence.

As a subject development is value–loaded concept. Every individual family,

community and nation desires to achieve this objective.2 India being the largest

democratic country of the world, the process of nation building with such parameters

of richness is indeed challenging. Decentralization of power is one of the ways that

India chose to face such a challenge efficiently and effectively since independence.

The essence of such decentralization of power in India is ‘Gramsabha’ which is the

most important tier or unit of ‘Local Self Government or the Panchayat Raj System

(PRS)’. In the history of Panchayat Raj System, April 24th 1993 can be considered as

a remarkable day. The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution was implemented on this

day, introducing three tier Panchayat Raj System which gave constitutional status to

Gramsabha and Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs).

The Gramsabha is a concept intending to represent common citizen’s needs

and wishes which appeals to the general mass of population irrespective of class,

caste, gender, distinction and political partisanship. It refers to supremacy of the

1
Krishnamurthy, H.R., & Veerappa Gowda, H.C. (2011). Development Economics. Bangalore: Sapna
Book House, p. 185.
2
Katar Singh. (1999). Rural Development Principles, Policies, and Management. New Delhi: Sage
Publications, p. 19.

1
people. The Gramsabha enables each and every voters of the village to participate in

decision making at the local level. It provides a political forum to people in the village

to meet and discuss their common problems and consequently understand the needs

and aspirations of the community, hence it is called as soul of local self government.

The Gramsabha is the first modern political institution which seeks to place direct

political power in the hands of people, without the mediation of elected

representatives. It represents a watershed movement from representative to political

democracy and political mobilization.3

1.2 KARNATAKA STATE PROFILE

Karnataka is one of the prosperous states of India. It has a rich heritage,

inspiring its people to create a bright future. Its special geographical location, its

valleys, rivers, hills, plains, forests and a variety of resources have made it famous.

Karnataka state located in South-West India, is the country’s eighth largest

State, situated on table land where the Western and Eastern Ghat ranges converge into

the Nilgiri hills complex, the State of Karnataka is confined roughly within

11.5° North and 18.5° North latitudes and 74° East and 78.8° East longitudes. The

state is bounded by Maharastra and Goa sates in the North and North-West, by the

Arabain sea in the West, by Kerala and Tamilnadu states in the South and by the state

of Andhra Pradesh in the East. The state extends to about 750 km from East to West

and covers an area of about 1,91,791 sq km.4 The population of the state was 528 lakh

as per the census of 2001. It was 4.85% of all-India population of 10,883 lakhs.

Among different states, Karnataka occupies 8th place with regard to population. The

density of population as per 2001 census was 275 persons per sq.km. Among the

3
Harsha Mander. (1999). The Legal Empowerment of Gramsabha. Kurukshetra, 48(1), p. 4.
4
Seshgiri. (2009). Encyclopaedia of Cities and Towns in India. New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House,
XVII, 17.

2
districts of the state Bijapur occupies the largest geographical area with 8.89% and

Bangalore (urban) district has the smallest area with only 1.94%. The sex ratio of

population as per the census of 2001 was 964 females for every 1000 males.

According to 2001 census, the male literacy is 76.1% and the female literacy is

56.9%.5 In this state temperatures are more or less uniform expect at the coastal

region and high elevated plateau. It generally decrease south west wards over the state

because of higher elevation and attain lower values at high-level stations. April and

May are the hottest months. In May maximum temperature shoots up to 40°C over the

North-Eastern corner of the state, decreasing south-West towards the Western Ghat

region and the costal belt. The highest temperature recorded at and individual station

in the state is 45.6°C6 at Raichur on 1928 May 23 which is 6°C higher than the

normal for the warmest months. December and January are the coldest months. The

lowest temperature at an individual station was 2.8°C in 1918 December 16 at Bidar.

Karnataka has all types of variation in topography, high mountains, residual

hills, coastal plains. The state is enclosed by chains of mountains to its east, west and

south. It consists mainly of plateau which has higher elevation of 600 to 900 meters

above mean seal level. The complete landscape undulation is broken up by mountains

and deep ravines. There are quite a few high peaks both in Western and Eastern Ghat.

The highest point in Karnataka is the Mullayanagiri hills in Chickmagalore district

which has altitude of 1,929 meters (6,329 ft).

In Karnataka the forests are classified as protected, reserved, unclosed, village

and private forests. Kannada is the official and most widely spoken language. Some

of the important rivers in Karnataka are the Kaveri, the Thungabhadra, Krishna and

5
Aras Kumar, M.R. (2007). Development of Tourism in Karnataka – A case study of Mysore Division.
Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Mysore, p. 38.
6
Aras Kumar, M.R. (2007). Development of Tourism in Karnataka – A case study of Mysore Division.
Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Mysore, p. 38.

3
Sharavati. Karnataka preserves its past glory by observing various fairs and festivals.

It is the birth place of the India’s classical music. The most unique feature of

Karnataka is that it is the only province where both the main styles of Indian Music

(Karnataka and Hindustani) are side by side. Above all, it is the people of Karnataka

who have made this land a charming destination to explore.7

Any discussion here on Karnataka is incomplete without knowing the

historical roots and the socio-cultural heritage on which as part of a development

drive a programme of improving the welfare, equity, and security of the people are

being framed. Karnataka has a long and rich history of over 2000 years of rulers that

on their own interest have played key roles to bring about a variety of socio-economic

transformation of the region originally known as Karnat.8

Karnataka is a state of great tradition and heritage. Since it is situated at the

centre of the Indian sub-continent, it has influenced the history and culture of India in

its own way. The Arab traveller Suleiman (851 AD) has considered Karnataka as one

among the four major kingdoms of the world. When the Indian culture in the south

was on the verge of destruction due to invasions from the north, the kingdom of

Vijayanagar emerged in Karnataka. The rulers of Vijayanagar renovated and extended

most of the temples of south India by constructing compounds and Raya Gopuras.

They tried to spread the traditional knowledge by getting commentaries on Veda

written (Vedartha Prakasha). Karnataka not only dominated and influenced the entire

south India, it also influenced the trade and culture of southeast Asia through its

commodities like pepper and silk. Karnataka’s greatness is not limited to ancient and

medieval periods alone, it also has significant achievements in the modern period as

well.
7
Kavya Shree, S. (2013). Dynamics of Administration in Karnataka with Special Reference to Kengal
Hanumanthaiah Regime. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Mysore, p. 3.
8
Karnataka Development Report. (2007). New Delhi: Academic Foundation, p. 317.

4
 Karnataka is made up of people speaking mainly Kannada language. Its

ancient history is little obscure. The historical research and excavations undertaken at

places like Chandravalli and Maski in recent times have brought to light new

information about the antiquity of Karnataka. It appears that Karnataka passed

through all the different stages of civilization. The term Karnataka for the first time

appears in Mahabharat. Even in Ramayan there is reference to the existence of

Karnataka. The term ‘Karunatar’ is found in the second century AD Tamil text

‘Shilappadigaram’.9

The study of the history of Karnataka got momentum with the discovery of a

pre-historic ‘stone axe’ at Lingasagur of Raichur district (1842 AD). The historical

period of written evidences in Karnataka is traced back to 500 BC. Some glimpses of

that history are given here.

There are literary accounts, which state that the Nandas of Magadha ruled

parts of Karnataka as early as 500 BC. A Kannada text ‘Singiraja Purana’, while

dealing with the history of ‘Pattadkal’ states that this place was ruled by the Nandas.

The Mauryas, who were the successors of the Nandas, had conquered the whole of the

Nanda empire, had established their authority over Karnataka. The Maurya emperor

Chandragupta during his last days, after abdicating his power had travelled down

South and spent his last days at Chandragiri of Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.10 In

addition the famous Mauryan emperor Ashoka had sent messengers to the farthest

ends of his empire to propagate the law of piety and service to humanity in the third

century BC. Three of his rock edicts are noticed at Brahmagiri, Jatingaramsvar and

Siddapura in the Molakalmuru taluk of Chitradurga district.11 But the Mauryan period

started loosing its political stability after the death of Ashoka. His passing away was
9
Thipperudrappa. (2003). Karnataka Samsruti Samikshe. Mysore: DVK Murthy, p. 23.
10
Suryanat Kamat. (2008). A Brief History of Karnataka. Bangalore: MCC Publication, p. 17.
11
Krishna Rao, M.V. (1960). Glimpses of Karnataka. Bangalore: Sama Book House, p. 8.

5
the signal for the disintegration of the empire. In the Deccan, the collapse of the

Mauryan power was followed by the rise into prominence of the Shatavahanas.

The Shatavahanas ruled for about four and half centuries starting from around

150 BC. They ruled from Paithan or Prathisthanapura area. The excavations

undertaken at Chandravalli of Chitradurga district have thrown fresh light on the

Shatavahana rule. Many coins of the Shatavahana period and other artifacts have been

found during these excavations. The Kadambas succeeded the Shatavahanas. Mayura

Varma is said to be the founder of this dynasty. The inscription of Shanti Varma

found at Talagunda gives the information about the history of the Kadambas. The

Gangas of Talakad (250-1024 AD) succeeded the Kadambas. The Gangas started their

rule from Kolar and later made Talakad their capital. Their royal emblem was

elephant. Until the rise of the Chalukyas of Badami the Gangas were the undisputed

monarchs of Karnataka. Durvineeta was their prominent ruler. After the Gangas the

entire Karnataka was brought under the rule of a single dynasty of the Chalukyas of

Badami.12

The Chalukyas of Badami raised the political prestige of Karnataka by their

brave deeds and wide dominions and gave it a national and international status.

Jayasimha was the first prince of the dynasty, who defeated the Rastrakutas and found

Chalukya kingdom. But the influence of Chalukyas came to be felt from the time of

Pulakesi I of 550 AD who routed the Pallavas and made Badami his stronghold and

capital.13 It was Pulakesi II of this dynasty (609-642 AD) the brightest luminary in the

Chalukyan sky, who subdued all the powers in the south as well as the Lata. The

power of Chalukyas gradually waned after Pulakesi II and the Rastrakutas reasserted

themselves.
12
Op.cit. 10, pp. 17,18.
13
Mugali, R.S. (1946). The Heritage of Karnataka (In Relation to India). Bangalore: Sathyasodhana
Publishing House, p. 52.

6
 The Rashtrakuta empire was truly a prime Indian dynasty ruling large parts of

southern, central and northern India between the sixth and tenth centuries.14 They

were looking for power since long being a very ancient family of Karnataka. They got

this opportunity when Chalukya power declined. Dantidurga was the first to give a

decisive blow to the Chalukyas in about the middle of the eighth century AD. He

assumed the imperial title of Rajaparameswara after his phenomenal conquest in the

south and the north. All the suppressed heroism of this line of kings surged up in high

tide and such stalwarts as Krishna I, Dhruva Govinda III, Amoghavarsa or

Nrupathunga and Krishna III held high in succession the banner of their dynasty in the

extensive Karnataka land from the river Kaveri to Godavari as defined in

Kavirajamarga.15

Later the Chalukyas of Kalyani, who claim to be descendent of the Chalukyas

of Badami, started their reign in 973 AD by pushing aside the Rastrakutas. The first

ruler of this dynasty Taila II (Trilokamalla) defeated the Chola rulers Uttama and

Rajaraja I. The Satyashraya (997-1008 AD) of this dynasty had patronized the famous

Kannada poet Ranna. These rulers made Kalyana (Basava Kalyana of Bidar district)

their capital. Vijnaneshwara, the author of Hindu law book ‘Mitakshara’ was

patronized by the Kalyana Chalukyas. Later the Kalachuris, who were the feudatories

of Chalukyas of Kalyani captured the kingdom in 1162 AD. Bijjala was the first ruler

of this dynasty. It was in 1184 AD the Chalukyas once again were able to establish

their authority over Kalyana. But their hold over Kalyana was short lived. They were

over powered by their feudatories the Hoysalas and Sevunas of Devagiri. These two

dynasties divided Karnataka into two parts and ruled it for some time.16 Subsequently

the Rastrakutas and Chalukyas remained as Mahamandaleshwaras. The Sevunas

14
Hermann Kulke. (1995). The State in India 1000-1700. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, p. 146.
15
Op.cit. 13, p. 52.
16
Neela Manjunath. (2012). Karnataka Hand Book 2012. Bangalore: Abhimani Publication, p. 88.

7
(Yadavas) made Devagiri (Daulatabad/Aurangabad) in Maharastra and emerged as an

imperial power under Bhillama V (1173-1192 AD). ‘Sindhinera’ near Nasik was their

former centre. Their territories extended from the river Narmada in the north to the

river Krishna in the south.

After the Yadavas the Hoysala empire was a prominent south Indian

Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern day’s state of Karnataka between

10th and 14th centuries. It was an important period in the development of art,

architecture and religion in south India. About Hoysala history Kannada folklore tells

of a young man, Sala who saved his Jain guru Sudatta by striking dead a tiger he

encountered near the Goddess temple of Vasantika at Soseooru. The word ‘strike’

literally translates to ‘hoy’ in old Kannada hence the name ‘Hoy-Sala’. This legend

first appeared in the Beluru inscription of Vishnuvardhana (1117 AD).17

In the beginning they had to subdue the hill tribes of the Western Ghat region.

Early in the 11th century, the Cholas under Rajendra advanced against another

Kannadiga dynasty namely the Gangas of Talakad also called Gangavadi and the

latter were compelled to seek the protection of the Hoysalas.

The Cholas and the Hoysalas had to contend for the supremacy in the region

of Ganagavadi. The Hoysalas ultimately expelled the Cholas from Talakad at the

beginning of the 12th century AD. However, it is interesting to note that for more than

100 years after their origin, the Hoysala were feudatories or samantas of the western

Chalukyas of Kalyani. The Hoysala inscriptions from Vinayaditya to Viraballala II

acknowledge their allegiance to the Chalukya of Kalyani. Viraballala I (1100-1110

AD) was the first king to hold imperial title of Chakravarthi. They exhibited a

remarkable political insight and this was revealed in the gradual extension of political

17
Mahesh Vikram Singh, & Brij Bhushan Shrivastava. (2011). Encyclopedia History of India A Service
Post-Gupta Dynasty. Delhi: Centrum Publication, p. 213.

8
power. Vishnuvardhana (1110-1152 AD) and Ballala II (1172-1220 AD) were the

greatest rulers of the dynasty. In the course of the three centuries of their existence,

the Hoysalas left an imperishable imprint in the fields of polity, culture and arts.18

After the rule of the Hoysalas, Karnataka began to be the target of Muslim

invasions. The Khilji and Tughlaq armies of the Delhi Sultanate attacked the four

major powers of the south, i.e. the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Kakatiyas of Warrangal,

the Hoysalas of Dwara Samudra and the Pandyas of Madurai and destroyed them

completely. With these developments the peninsular India experienced the emergence

of a new political culture and the people who suffered under the invasions of sultans,

whole heartedly welcomed the newly established Vijayanagara kingdom by the five

brothers of the ‘Sangama’ dynasty. The Vijayanagara kingdom was founded in 1336

AD by Harihara I of the Sangama dynasty (1336-1485 AD). He brought under his

control the areas of Andhra and Karnataka surrounded by the seas in the east and

west. The Vijayanagara period is considered as the Golden Era in the history of

Karnataka. After the Sangam dynasty Vijayanagara was ruled by the Saluva and

Tuluva dynasties.

Vira Narasimha of the Tuluva dynasty who ruled between 1505 AD and

1509 AD was the first ruler of the dynasty. Krishnadevaraya was the king of this

dynasty who raised the empire to the pinnacle of its glory. The reign of

Krishnadevaraya who succeeded Narasimha was the most brilliant and glorious in the

history of Vijayanagara when its armies were everywhere victorious and the city was

most prosperous. Paes has given a graphic description of him “He is the most teared

and perfect king that could possibly be, cheerful of disposition and very merry; he is

one that seeks to honour foreigners and receives them kindly, asking about all their

18
Shivanna, K.S. (1998). A critique of Hoysala Polity. Mysore: Prakash Publishers, Mysore, pp. 3,4.

9
affairs whatever their condition may be. He is a great ruler and a man of much justice,

but subject to sudden fits of rage”.19

All the rulers of this empire contributed to the construction of holy shrines of

different faiths like Shaiva, Vaishnava, Srivaishnava and Jainism. The foreign visitors

like Niccolo Conti (1420 AD), Abdul Razak (1443 AD) Barbosa (1500-1511 AD),

Paes (1520 AD), Nuniz (1535 AD), Caesar Fredrick (1567 AD), etc. who came here

for trade and other purpose have given a glowing account of the prosperity of

Vijayanagara kingdom and its capital city. Along with the Vijayanagara the areas to

the north of the river Krishna were ruled by the Bahamani kingdom (1347-1520 AD).

The Bahamani sultans were remembered for introducing the Indo-Sarsenic style in

their architecture. This kingdom, established by Allauddin Bahaman Shah in 1347 AD

during the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq at Gulbaraga, throughout its history had

conflicts with Vijayanagara. During their reign, for the first time in Karnataka they

introduced architectural forms like arch, dome, minarette, etc. The decline of the

Bahamanis gave rise to five different Shahi kingdoms. Among them the Adilshashis

of Bijapur ruled vast areas of Karnataka (1489-1686 AD). Ali Adil Shah (1558-1580

AD) the sultan of Bijapur was friendly with Ramaraya the ruler of Vijayanagara. He

joined the grand alliance formed by the Deccani sultans against Vijayanagara and in

the infamous Battle of Talikota the combined armies of the sultans defeated

Vijayanagara in 1565 AD. After the decline of the Vijayanagara empire Karnataka

came under the rule of three major kingdoms. These were Bijapur, Keladi and

Mysore. With the rise of the Mughals and the Marathas the dominance of Bijapur

ended. Inspite of the power of the Mughals and the Marathas the kingdoms of Keladi

and Mysore were able to maintain their separate existence and carry on the traditions

19
Op.cit. 11, pp. 70,71.

10
of Vijayanagara in their areas. The kingdom of Keladi was founded by a Veerashaiva

leader Chaudappa (1499 AD). Sadashiva Nayaka who ascended the throne in 1530

AD was a famous ruler of this kingdom. Shivappa Nayaka (1645-1660 AD) is

considered as a prominent ruler of Karnataka because of his reforms in revenue

collection and the patronage extended to the literature. Keladi kingdom competed

with Portuguese and the British in the sea trade. It was weakened because of its

continued rivalry with Mysore and exploitation by the Marathas. Their internal

conflicts caused their destruction.20

Another major dynasty which played a significant role was that of Wodeyars

of Mysore. They claimed to belong to the Yadava dynasty of Dwaraka and their rule

is said to have commenced from 1399 AD. However, their independent rule started

only after the 17th century.21 The Wodeyar kingdom was a model state because of the

foresightedness of the rulers of this kingdom. Their rule from 1800-1868 is

considered as a period of renaissance and the role of the commissioners who governed

Mysore during this period, in this regard is praise worthy. The most significant

achievement of this period was the constitution of first ever People’s Representative

Assembly. The budget was presented and discussed in this Assembly and this

provided opportunity to the people to participate in the process of governance. This

shows the democratisation of the monarchy under the Wodeyar rule.22 The first ruler

of the Wodeyar dynasty, Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar (1638-1659 AD) brave and

courageous and Chikkadevaraya Wodeyar (1673-1704 AD) through his competent

revenue policies made the kingdom strong and prosperous. But the succession of

weak rulers enabled Hyder Ali to capture power in 1761. Hyder Ali who was an

20
Op.cit. 10, p. 20.
21
Adrain Sever. (2012). Rajwadas – The Indian Princely States 1707-1950. Delhi: B.R. Publishing
Corporation, 1, 113.
22
Shreedhara, C.A. (2010). Mysore Wodeyar Mathu Karnataka Samstruthi. Mysore: Harsha Affect
Printers, pp. 357, 358, 359.

11
ordinary soldier emerged as a leader of great ability through his hard work and

foresightedness. He showed his military skills while he was in Devanahalli in 1749

AD. His son Tipu Sultan has left imperishable imprint on the history of the country.

He was born in 1750 at Devanahalli. He participated in the first Anglo-Mysore war

itself. During the second Anglo-Mysore war, the English with the Marathas and the

Nizam of Hyderabad as their allies tried to defeat Hyder Ali, but the martial spirit and

the diplomatic ingenuity of Tipu Sultan rescued his father from facing the disaster.

The ‘Tiger of Mysore’ succeeded in breaking the said alliance by isolating the

English.23 Tipu was a courageous and intellectual commander and had thought of

expelling the English from India. But he died fighting the English at Srirangapatna

during the IV Anglo-Mysore war in 1799.

After the defeat of Tipu though the rule of the Wodeyars was restored the

English had full control over most areas of Karnataka. During the 1831-1881 period

the princely state of Mysore was taken over by the British and governed through

commissioners. The British Commissioners like Mark Cubbon (1834-1861 AD) and

Levin Bowring (1862-1870 AD) introduced European style of administration and

helped in making Mysore a model state. The credit for developing Mysore on par with

Presidency districts goes to these commissioners. Karnataka did not accept the British

overlordship so easily. During the period between 1800 and 1858 there were many

rebellions against the British. The first rebellion was led by Dondia Vagh, who was a

commander of Tipu in 1800. There was widespread popular support for this revolt. A

person called Narasappa Setkar in 1840-41 organised a revolt known as ‘Badami

revolt’. The Deshmukhs of Chandakvati along with Venkatappa Nayaka of Surapura

23
Kabir Kausar. (1998). Secret Correspondence of Tipu Sultan. Bangalore: The Karnataka State
Archives, p. 3.

12
too raised the banner of revolt against the British.24 These kinds of revolts along with

the national movement after 1920 contributed to the demand for the unification of

Karnataka.

Amidst all these developments, Mahatma Gandhi who visited different areas

of Karnataka, inspired the national movement in Karnataka as well. His first visit was

on 8th May 1915 for unveiling a photograph of Gopalakrishna Gokhale. Many leaders

from Karnataka joined the national movement and got actively involved in the Non-

Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements. As part of the Civil Disobedience

Movement in Karnataka, Salt Satyagraha was organised in Ankola in 1930. During

this history of ups and downs, there was not much difference in the conditions in the

areas of Karnataka under the British and which were ruled by the various princely

states. In this background, the concepts of ‘Nationalism’ and ‘Unification’ at national

and state levels were not different from one another. The idea of unification of

different Karnataka areas under a single administrative unit was the creation of the

then Kannadiga nationalists. According to them the unification was ‘by changing the

precarious conditions, to unify the fragmented areas with a common political vision

and subject it to a single administrative unit and transforming the divided Karnataka

into a united one. To put this view in a more comprehensive form it meant that to

bring the geographical areas and Kannada language speakers into a common

administrative unit and enable them to discover their identity and unity.25

In this way the Congress party recognised the demand by forming a separate

unit of the party in 1920. The Karnataka unification conference was held at Belgaum

in 1924. The demand of Kannadigas gathered momentum over the years. In 1938, the

Madras and Bombay legislatures even passed a resolution which said steps may be
24
Op.cit. 16, pp. 120-121.
25
Govinda Raju, C.R. (2005). Karnataka Ekikarana Haagu Namakarana. Bangalore: Government
Printing Press, p. 4.

13
taken for the creation of a new province to be called Karnataka by amalgamating all

the predominantly Kannada speaking areas under one autonomous administration. In

1946, speaking at Karnataka unification conference held at Bombay Sardar Vallabhai

Patel, assured creation of a united Karnataka. At that time it was considered as a

genuine and legitimate demand, for the Kannada speaking people were marginalised

and scattered in different administrations in the Princely State of Mysore, the Bombay

Presidency, Madras Presidency, the territory of Coorg and the cantonment of

Bangalore. In response to Akhanda Karnataka Rajya Nirmana Parishat’s aggressive

agitation and such similar protests in other parts of the country, the Government of

India set up the States Reorganisation Commission in 1953. The Committee strongly

recommended the division of the whole of the country into 14 major states

considering the linguistic and cultural homogeneity as one of the principles.26

Fazal Ali Commission recommended the founding of United Karnataka, which

came into existence on 1st November 1956. This amalgamation of different provinces

was not an easy task. To the whole of the old Princely State of Mysore were added

Kannada speaking districts from Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency, Hyderabad

state and the whole of Coorg. Bellary district was already merged with Mysore state

in 1953.

On the 1st November 1956, the New Mysore State was inaugurated by the then

President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The last Maharaja of the Wodeyar dynasty,

Sri. Jayachamaraja Wodeyar was appointed as the Governor and Sri S. Nijalingappa

became the Chief Minister of this unified state. Bangalore became its capital. With

this the centuries dream of Kannadigas became a reality.27 But many leaders were

unhappy with the name “Mysore State” given to the new state. They expressed their

26
Op.cit. 8, pp. 348, 349.
27
Lokappa Gowda, C.N. (2009). Adunika Karnataka (1761-2009). Mysore: Harsha Printers, p. 251.

14
dissatisfaction by opposing this name and demanding renaming it as Karnataka. After

a prolonged struggle of 17 years the state was constitutionally renamed as Karnataka

on 1st November 1973, under the Chief Ministership of Sri Devaraj Urs.

Karnataka with a long history of its own is now a constituent of the Indian

Union. The Governor is the constitutional head of this state. The administration of the

state is carried out by the Chief Minister with the Council of Ministers. These

ministers are members of the legislature. Karnataka has a bicameral legislature.

Vidhana Sabha and Vidhana Parishad are its two houses. At the district level the

administration is looked after by the Deputy Commissioners.

1.3 AREA OF THE RESEARCH

For the purpose of this research the Bellary district located in the North

Karnataka and Chickmagalore district located in the Southern Karnataka are selected

for a comparative study. This selection is based on the assumption that

Chickmagalore is a developed district and Bellary is a developing district on the basis

of 2001 census report and the 2002 Dr. Nanjudappa Committee report on regional

imbalances. As per the 2001 census data the development indicators for

Chickmagalore are comparatively higher than Bellary. Chickmagalore district had a

population of 1,140,905 where as Bellary’s population was 2,027,140. Bellary also

had a population growth rate higher than Chickmagalore. That means whatever

investment or development activities undertaken there become less effective because

of the population pressure. As a result the development had a negative impact.

As regards literacy rate is concerned it is 72.2% in Chickmagalore and 57.4%

in Bellary. The per capita income in Chickmagalore is ` 19,123 and it is ` 16,065 in

Bellary. This further strengthens the assumption that Bellary is behind Chickmagalore

in the development process. Further the Dr. Nanjudappa Committee report published

15
in 2002, on regional imbalances in North and South Karnataka, states ‘when the

enlarged state of Karnataka was formed on November 01, 1956 consequent to the

reorganisation of the states of the Indian Union on linguistic principles, Kannada

speaking people, for whom their Mother-tongue Kannada gave hopes of closer

integration for the development of its economy and its culture become euphoric and

cherished very high expectations. The new state of Karnataka comprised of the

erstwhile Mysore state which was under the princely rule, Bombay-Karnataka

covering Dharwad, Belgaum, Bijapur and Uttara Kannada, Hyderabad–Karnataka

comprising of Bidar, Gulbarga and Raichur. Madras-Karnataka covering the district

of Bellary and Dakshina Kannada apart from the erstwhile hilly region of Coorg. All

these areas were at different levels of development and undoubtedly with enormous

natural resources. Of these the erstwhile state of Mysore had the advantage of

modernization having had its own banking and railway system and vigorous growth

of industry of independent system of income tax and water resources development,

due to the enlightened Maharajas and their Dewans. The newly added areas had

suffered in socio-economic development, having been treated as peripheral regions of

the pre-independence presidency states.

Based on all the above factors, Chickmagalore district is selected as developed

district and Bellary district as a developing district for the purpose of this comparative

study.

In the context of the selection of two taluks each for comparative study from

the districts of Chickmagalore and Bellary, it is to be noted that these taluks are

selected such that they are quite in contrast in relation to their natural resources,

physical setting, economic well-being and regional aspects. The Tarikere and

Mudigere taluks of Chickmagalore have good irrigation facilities and the natural

16
conditions here are well suited for the cultivation of commercial crops like coffee,

pepper, arecanut and paddy. The economic condition of the people here is quite

satisfactorily developed. But the conditions of Kudligi and Hoovina Hadagali of

Bellary are totally different. The climate there is quite dry throughout and the

irrigation facilities are quite limited and the economic condition of the people here is

below expectation.

The regional, natural and economic factors play a crucial role in the process of

development. The objective of the study was to examine what different roles the

Gramsabhas play in the process of development in economically developed areas and

developing areas. It is for this purpose the Mudigere and Tarikere taluks of

Chickmagalore and Kudligi and Hoovina Hadagali taluks of Bellary were chosen as

samples for this comparative study.

1.4 PROFILE OF CHICKMAGALORE DISTRICT

Chickmagalore district (which was called as Kadur district till 1947) is one of

the most prosperous and beautiful district in Karnataka. It is situated roughly in the

south-western part of the state. A large area of this district is Malnadu, a largely

forested hilly region of heavy rainfall. The stupendous barrier of the Baba Budan

mountain range is at the center of the district. The slopes of the mountains and hills

here are replete with fascinating natural beauty.

1.4.1 Origin of Name

Like most of the districts in the state, this district also has derived its name

from its headquarters town, Chickmagalore. Chicka + Magala + Ooru literally means

‘younger daughter’s town’. It is said to have been so named, having been given as

dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada a legendry chief of Sakharayapatna.

The name of another locality of the town called Hiremagaluru (Hire + Magala +

17
Ooru) signifies ‘elder daughter’s town’. This place, according to the same tradition

was similarly bestowed upon his elder daughter. But several old inscriptions reveal

that these two places were previously known as Kiriya-Muguli and Piriya-Muguli

respectively. That means Kiriya and Piriya younger and elder, Muguli is the name of a

plant, later on these names were altered.28

1.4.2 Location and Population

The district is situated between 12°54’42” and 13°53’53” North latitude and

between 75°04’46” and 76°91’50” is about 138.4 km from north to south and 88.5 km

east to west. The population of the district is 1,140,905. Male population is 574,911

and female population is 565,994 according to 2001 census.

1.4.3 General Boundaries

It is surrounded on the south by Hassan district, on the east by the Tumkur

district, on the west by the Western Ghats which separate it from the Dakshina

Kannada (South Canara) and Udupi districts. On the north-east by the Chitradurga

district and on the north by the Shimoga district.

1.4.4 Climate

The climate of this district, a greater part of which has hilly terrain is, on

whole, very agreeable and cool. The cold season from December to February is one of

clear bright weather, is followed by the hot season from March to May. The period

from June to September constitutes the south-west monsoon season, October and

November may be termed the post-monsoon or retreating monsoon season. The hilly

areas of the district often get heavy rainfall during the monsoon season.

28
Karnataka State Gazetteer. Chickmagalore District. Bangalore: Government Press, p. 1.

18
1.4.5 People

Though this is an interior district, there has been considerable blending of

ethnic groups here during the past many centuries. There are renowned monasteries at

Sringeri and Balehonnuru, and a well known Hindu-Muslim shrine on the Baba

Budan mountain. Further, more than a hundred years back, the inhabitants of the tract

came into contact with Europeans and their way of life when many entrepreneurs

from abroad took up raising of coffee plantation on a large scale.29

1.4.6 Mineral Wealth

The rocky hills of Chickmagalore district are classified into three ranges. They

are: 1. Kuduremukh range, 2. Koppa range and 3. Bababudan range. Among these the

Kuduremukh range has widespread deposits of iron are called Magnetite Quartzite.

The Bababudan range too has iron ore deposits. There are mica and granite deposits

too. In addition at Balehonnuru more than 3 million year old rocks have been found.

These are considered to be the oldest rocks in Karnataka. As early as 1913 a

geologist, P. Sampat Iyengar discovered vast deposits of iron ore in the Kuduremukh

region of the district. It was spread over an area of 50 sq kms at a thickness of 120 to

200 mts. The quantity was estimated to be around 3000 million tons. Large scale

mining was undertaken in this region during the 1970s. Because of the environmental

destruction it caused, the mining has been stopped there now.

1.4.7 Chief Crop

Chickmagalore district stands first in Karnataka state and also in India in the

area under coffee cultivation as per the registration certificate. The district also

occupied the first place in respect of acreage from the group 25-50 acres and above.

29
Op.cit. 28, p. 58.

19
1.4.8 History of Chickmagalore District

It may be difficult to construct the history of a district keeping its present

geographical extent as the yardstick. But every area has its uniqueness and has

contributed in its own way to the heritage of the state. Civilization and state systems

had developed in this region earlier to the Ashokan period is testified by the Ashokan

inscriptions itself. After the Mauryas these areas passed under the rule of Satavahanas

and later that of the Kadambas. The ‘Santaras’ made Kalasa in Mudigere taluk as their

capital. They were able to bring synergy between religion and culture. The Hoysalas

too trace their origin to this district. They hailed from ‘Angadi’ in Mudigere taluk.

The Vijayanagara king Harihara, who visited Shringeri, had incorporated this region

into his territories. In addition the Keladi Nayakas and the Palegaras of Tarikere too

had their sway over this district. The district was also a part of the Mysore kingdom.

Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan patronized the holy shrine of Shringeri, so were the

Wodeyars of Mysore.

In 1799, when Mysore was restored to the Wodeyar family, Chickmagalore

became a part of their kingdom. Chickmagalore was a part of the ‘Nagara’ division

under the administration of the commissioners. In 1863, the Kadur district was formed

with Kadur as its headquarters. In 1865, the headquarters was shifted to

Chickmagalore. When the Hassan district came into existence in 1886,

Chickmagalore got its present form. Until 1947 this district was called Kadur district

and only after that it came to be called Chickmagalore.30 As regards the political

history, Gandhiji visited Kadur and Chickmagalore in 1927. As a result of this visit a

large hoard of youngsters here plunged into the national movement. During the 1970s

the district gave a political rebirth to a Prime Minister who was defeated in the polls.

30
Parthasarathi. (1986). Chickmagalore Jilla Darshana. Bangalore: Government of Karnataka, p. 34.

20
In 1978, India’s first woman Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, contested the

election to the Lok Sabha from here and won with a margin of 77,333 votes and

enabled her to have a political rebirth. With this the district drew the attention of the

whole world.31

Table 1.1: Statistical data of Chickmagalore district, 201132

Sl.
Items Details
No.
1 Total population 11,40,905 (Male: 5,74,911; Female: 5,65,994)
2 Density of population 158 per sq km
3 Literacy rate 72.2%
4 Percapita income 19,123
5 Human Development Report 9th rank
Gender Human Development
6 8th rank
Index
7 Rural population 9,18,181
8 Total area 7201 sq km
9 Total forest area 3681 sq km
10 SC/ST population 2,33,134 (SC); 41,019 (ST)
Source: Census of India -2001, District Population Booklet, Chickmagalore.

1.4.9 Tarikere Taluk

Tarikere is one of the seven taluks of the Chickmagalore district. It is

surrounded by Chitradurga district in the east, Shivamogga district in the north, Kadur

taluk in the south and Narasimharaja taluk in the west. It has six ‘hobalis’ or revenue

divisions and 245 villages. Its total area is 1224 sq kms and has a population of

2,24,170. Male population 113,537, female population 110,633 as per 2001 census. It

has both hilly regions and plains. Its soil and climate vary from place to place.33 Since

there are hilly regions the climate in those areas is generally cool. It gets an annual

average rainfall of 897 mm. This is the lowest rainfall in the Chickmagalore district.

31
Ibid., p. 83.
32
Census of India. (2001). District Population Booklet, Chickmagalore. Directorate of Census
Operations, Karnataka.
33
Krishna Tanti. (1986). Tarikere Taluk Darshana. p. 7.

21
 Tarikere taluk has red, clay and sandy fertile soil. In some areas black soil is

also found. Main economic activity of the taluk is agriculture.34 The main crops

grown are arecanut, ragi, paddy, beetle leaves, coffee and coconut. About 52,399

hectares of land is available for cultivation. Bhadra and Jambadahalla reservoirs and a

host of other tanks provide irrigation facilities. The main river flowing in this taluk is

the Bhadra river. It originates at ‘Gangamoola’ in Varada peak of the Sahyadri range.

This river flows through Lakkavalli and enters into Shivamogga district. A reservoir

is built across this river at Lakkavalli. There are many water falls in this region and is

a tourist centre too. Tarikere has a forest area of 43,488 hectares. The western part of

the taluk is ‘malnad’ region and cinchona trees are grown here.

1.4.9.1 Local History

This area was ruled by the Gangas of Gangavadi during the early phase of

history. According to a Hoysala inscription found at Haliyuru, 2 kms away from

Tarikere, this place was known as Amaravati under the Hoysalas. According to a

1158 AD inscription Tarikere was said to be an ‘agrahara’. The Vijayanagara ruler

Bukkaraya who conquered this region assigned it to his commander Saluva

Narasimha who later ruled Vijayanagara belonged to the family of this commander. It

is also learnt that a Vijayanagara Palegar of Basavapattana, Channagiri taluk of

Dhavangere district, Sarja Hanumappa Nayaka came and settled here. A local legend

claims that when Hanumappa Nayaka’s descendants came here for hunting, their dogs

were chased by rabbits. It is also said that they heard the screams of a woman who

was assaulted by a man. They saved the woman by severing off the head of the

34
Ibid., p. 6.

22
offender. Since the head was thrown into the tank near by the name ‘Tari-kere’ is said

to have come into use.35 Presently there are 49 Grama Panchayats in Tarikere taluk.

1.4.10 Mudigere Taluk of Chickmagalore District

Mudigere, a taluk headquarters town, is 32 km South of Chickmagalore town,

73 km South-West of Kadur town and 275 km North-West of Bangalore city. It was

designated as headquarters of a taluk in 1876 which was formed with parts of

Manjurbad (Sakleshpur) and Belur taluks of Hassan district and Vastara taluk of

Chickmagalore district. The geographical area of Mudigere geographical area is

1162.43 sq kms and it is 35 km from the district headquarters. The Population of the

taluk according 2001 census is 141,415. Male population 70,838, female population

70,577. Literacy rate of the taluk is 68.8. The river Hemavathi has its source in this

taluk and flows out to the South-East. This malnad taluk is well known for its

attractive land scope, pleasant natural scenery and coffee plantations. The town has a

temple of Gopalswamy, Jamia Masque out of which the first mosque is an old one,

which has also an Arabic school and a Catholic place of worship called St. Antony’s

Church. The district has 216 Gram Panchayats out of which 29 Grampanchayats are

part of Mudigere Taluk.

1.5 PROFILE OF BELLARY DISTRICT

Bellary district extends over a length of 161 kms east-west and 84 kms

north-south. Its total area is 9868 sq kms. It is located between 70°11” and 75°40”

East longitudes and 14°30” and 15°50” latitudes. Its total population is 2,027,140.

Male population is 1,029,714 and female population is 997,426 according to 2001

census. It is divided into seven taluks. They are Shiraguppa, Sandur, Koodligi,

35
Manjunath. (2011). Tarikere Paalegarara Daanadattigalu. Unpublished M.Phil Dissertation.

23
Hospet, Hagaribommanahallil, Hadagali and Bellary.36 The Sandur hills spread over a

distance of about 50 kms lie at the centre of the district, divide it into east and west

divisions. Except for the forested Kudligi and Sandur taluks most of the others have

black soil. Some of the areas like Bellary, Hospet and Sandur have high quality iron

ore deposits. In addition manganese, copper and lead minerals too are found in this

district. Near Hospet at Munierabad a huge dam is built across the river Tungabhadra.

Its reservoir covers an area of 146 sq kms. This is a multipurpose project with

emphasis on irrigation and electricity generation. Cotton, paddy, sugarcane, jowar,

groundnuts and sunflower are the major corps of this district.

Bellary district has about 200 kms long railway line. The first Kannada

printing press was established in this district. The Government Medical College and

Hampi Kannada University are the pride of Bellary. The Jindal Iron and Steel Factory

at Toranagal provided commercial and industrial prominence to Bellary.

1.5.1 Historical Background

Historically Bellary is well known. It is said that the present Hampi was the

Kishkinda of the Ramayana period. In the historical past this area was ruled by

various kingdoms like Mauryas, Satavarahanas, Kadambas, Chalukyas of Badami,

Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas of Kalyan, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara. It was under the

Madras Presidency before independence and was merged with Mysore state in 1953

when the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed.37 There is a legend about the origin of

the term Bellary. According to this legend there was a staunch devotee of Shiva, who

would have food only after worshipping Shivalinga. If he could not worship due to

any reason he would fast. Once this old man came to Bellary where there was no

Shivalinga. So he could not eat food. Seeing his plight his nephew took a measuring

36
Thippeswamy. (2001). Davanagere Jilleya Devalayagalu. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, p. 101.
37
Mysore State Gazetteer. (1972). Bangalore: Government Press, p. 103.

24
vessel called ‘Balla’ turned it upside down and decorated like a Shivalinga and made

the old man to worship it and have food too. In the process the ‘Balla’ was actually

transformed into a Shivalinga. It is believed that from this ‘Balla’ the name Ballari

has originated.38

The Tungabhadra river which flows in the north and north-east regions is the

lifeline of the district. Hagari, Vedavati and Chikkahagari rivers, which are the

tributaries of Tungabhadra too flow through this district. There are 22 large lakes and

170 smaller lakes in addition to the Tungabhadra reservoir. Bellary has a very hot

climate and gets rather scanty rainfall except for the Sandur forest region. 1618.25 sq

km area of the district is under forest cover. These are mostly deciduous forests with

sandal wood and rose wood trees.39

1.5.2 Social Conditions

The Bellary district is mostly rural and has many villages. Socially it has

certain unique features. In the rural areas the joint families are still very common and

follow the old traditions like child marriage, polygamy and Devadasi system. The

main occupation of the people in rural areas is agriculture and they wear a simple

dress. As per the census data Bellary has a high population growth rate and that is

responsible for the backwardness of the district. Though the Bellary district has

remained a backward area it is endowed with rich natural resources. For the

development of the district there is a need to utilise these resources through

appropriate capital investment and prudent use of its human resource. For the healthy

rural development there is a need to achieve economic development and raise the

percapita income. For the purpose of rural development many community

development programmes have been initiated from 1954 itself. Generally the Zilla
38
Hanumantha Reddy. (2008). Bellary Ithihasa Mathu Samsruthika Adyayana. Dharwad: Honorable
Secretary, pp. 1,2.
39
Kotresh, M. (2011). Bellary Jilleya Kootegalu. Bangalore: Shreeram Printers, p. 8.

25
Panchayat and Gram Panchayats are sensitive to the development needs and respond

positively.40

Table 1.2: Statistical data of Bellary district, 201141

Sl.
Details No.
No.
1 Total population 2,027,140 (Male: 10,29,714; Female: 9,97,426)
2 Density of population 969 per sq km
3 Literacy rate 57.4%
4 Percapita income 16,065
5 Human Development Report 18th rank
Gender Human Development
6 17th rank
Rank
7 Rural population 13,20,290
8 Total area 8450 sq km
9 Total forest area 773 sq km
10 SC/ST population 3,74,218 (SC); 3,64,638 (ST)
Source: Census of India -2001, District Population Booklet, Bellary

1.5.3 Hoovina Hadadagali Taluk of Bellary District

Hadagali is a taluk of Bellary district and takes its name from its headquarters

town. There are many stories in circulation regarding the origin of its name. The full

name of the village is Huvina Hadagali, Huvu means flowers, Hadaga means boat and

Halli means village. Therefore it has become “village of flower boat”. It is believed

that when the city of Vijayanagara flourished flowers needed for the temples and

palace were floated down from Tunabadhra from Huvina Hadagali.

As it can be confirmed because one can see a number of old wells and gardens

in this place. Hoovina Hadagali taluk is bounded in the south by the Harapanalli taluk

of Dvanagere district, on the North by Mudargin and Sirahatti of Gadag district on the

East, Hagaribommanahalli takuk and on the west by Haveri and Ranebennur taluk of

40
Anand. (2006). Bellary Jilleyallina Veshyavatike: Samajashastriya Adyayana. Unpublished Ph.D.
Thesis.
41
Census of India. (2001). District Population Booklet, Bellary. Karnataka: Directorate of Census
Operations.

26
Haveri district. The Geographical area of the taluk is 948 sq.km and population is

1,68,118, male population is 85,051 and female population is 83,067 as per 2001

census. This accounts for 8.29% of district’s population. It accounts for 11% of the

district and the taluk occupies sixth place both in area and population in the district of

Bellary. The literacy rate of the taluk is 60.3%. It comes under the administrative

jurisdiction of Hospet revenue sub-division with three Revenue Intelligence Circles

(RIC). However Hoovina Hadagali is one of the two Zilla Panchayat Engineering sub-

divisional headquarters in the district. Bellary district has 189 Gram Panchayats out of

which 24 Gram Panchayats are part of Hadagali.42

1.5.4 Kudligi Taluk of Bellary District

Kudligi taluk takes its name from its headquarters town which is at distance of

80 kms, form Bellary district. The taluk is bounded on the north by the

Hagaribommanahalli and Sandur taluk. The South by Jagalur taluk of Davanagere

district and Molakaumuru taluk of Chitradurga district, East by the Anantapur district

of Andhra Pradesh and on the West by Harapanahalli taluk of Davanagere district.

This is the second largest in geographical area and third largest in population among

seven taluks. The geographical area of this taluk is 1602 sq.km and population is

2,72,183, male population is 1,39,202 female 132,981 as per 2001 census. This

accounts of 13% of district population and its area accounts for 19%. Literacy rate of

the taluk is 59.5. Kudligi taluk comes under the jurisdiction of Hospet revenue sub-

division with four Revenue Intelligence Circle. This taluk has 33 Gram Panchyaths.43

1.6 THE IMPORTANCE OF PANCHAYAT RAJ INSTITUTIONS

Democratic India strongly believes in Panchayat Raj System which brought

distinction to the nation and has created indelible impression in the minds of people.

42
www.bellary.nic.in/Hadprof.htm
43
www.bellary.nic/kudprof.htm

27
For this reason the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1993 brought into force a new

form of Local Self-Government in India popularly known as Panchayat Raj

Institution. It literally means governance by a ‘council of five’.44 This institution

denotes the right and the ability of local authorities, within the limits of the law, to

regulate and manage a substantial share of public affairs under their own

responsibility and in the interests of local population.45 Panchayat Raj Institution

continuously advancing and spreading over gradually to every part of the country

covering a substantial portion of humanity.46 Panchayat Raj system is seen primarily

as an embodiment of democracy at the village level. The first approach looks at

Panchayat Raj as instrumental value, the second makes towards welfare state. Thus,

Panchayat Raj found itself subject to a variety of interpretation, perceptions, and

pressures with all shades of thought. There are several reasons behind PRIs which

began great fanfare, was not to fulfill all the expectations aroused by the planners. In

the first place Panchayat Raj System instituted to be dominated by the socially or

economically privileged section in the local community with consequence that the

weaker sections such as depressed classes are deprived of their benefits, secondly for

administrative transparency.47 For this reason attention to villages became more

marked in the fifties when India launched its First Five Year Plan. The plan document

itself emphasized, “We believe that the Panchayat will be able to perform its civic

functions satisfactorily only if these are associated with an active process of

development in which the village Panchayat is itself given an effective part. Unless a

village agency can assume responsibility and initiative for developing the resources of

44
Ramendar K. Raina. (2010). Panchayat Raj System in India. New Delhi: Mohit Publication, p. 31.
45
Decentralization and Local Democracy in the World. (2008). First Global Report, A Co-Publication
of the World Bank and United Cities and Local Governments, p. 19.
46
Krishna Kumar, & Jai Narain Sharma. (2007). Direct Democracy and Village Governance.
New Delhi: Regal Publications, p. 16.
47
Maheshwari, S.R. (1985). Rural Development in India, A Public Policy Approach. New Delhi: Sage
Publications, pp. 58,59.

28
the village, it will be difficult to make a marked impression on rural life, for only a

village organization representing the community as a whole can provide the necessary

leadership.48 In pursuance of the development ideology government of India started

giving much importance to Panchayat Raj System.

1.6.1 Importance of Panchayat Raj Institution in Checking Imbalances of

Development

The imbalances in the development are common in a developing country like

India. As stated above, development indicates “to increase the opportunities of

choices for people. It is not practically possible to remove all the existing imbalances

in the matters of basic infrastructural facilities and investments for development

amenities. Moreover, it is essential to have a corruption free plan, to remove the

disparities in irregular usage and distribution of wealth. Development is a continuous

process and it never ends. Very balanced development is still a mirage in the rural

areas. It is important to note that even with the achievement of balance with regard to

services and facilities, the backwardness in development might still persist based on

those parameters of development, from which the achievement is considered. Thus,

the constructive and systematic operation strengthens local Government. Hence, more

the imbalances in development, the backwardness will be more.49 It signifies that the

government should involve in obtaining maximum achievement to eradicate poverty

coefficients, diseases, malnutrition, child labor, infant mortality and other such

elements in the lives of people particularly, below the poverty line.

Mehboob-ul-Haq opines ‘the problem of development should be termed as the

selective assault on poverty’. For this, the local governments are trying to achieve

balanced development through agricultural modernization, employment opportunities,

48
The First Year Plan. (1952). New Delhi: Manager of Publications, Government of India, p. 133.
49
Najudappar go to web site.

29
health, education, hygiene and level of livelihood along with the improvements in

choices for the people. This concept involves redistribution of administrative

responsibility within the government. Panchayats implies sharing of a part of

the governmental power by a central ruling group with other groups, each

having authority within a specific area of the state. Through PRIs local communities

can be an effective means of achieving critical objectives of sustainable human

development.50

1.6.2 Rural Development through Panchayat Raj Institution

Soon after India achieved its independence a rapid search started for

alternative model to the development of administration to cope up with the growing

needs of rural development on gigantic task. The central administration was not be

able to provide essential service towards rural community. Hence, Panchayat Raj

institution plays a crucial role for rural economy at grassroots level and tries to bring

uniformity in all states by various plans and policies. It can act as catalytic agent for

transforming the society of its traditional values.51

1.6.3 Social Justice Through Panchayat Raj Institution

Lawful share is not yet provided in solving the problem of every citizen of

India. The process of wealth distribution is partial and headed by corruption which

hale dissatisfactory cries among people. Though development is a process undertaken

by a nation to improve the lifestyle of its people, the primary objective of

development is to increase the opportunities of choices among people.

The Expert Committee of the United Nations Organization, clarifying its stand

on the process of development, states that the process of development improves the

50
Venkata P. Subbarao. (2009). Democratic Decentralisation at Grassroot Level, Local Government
Quarterly. January-March, Mumbai: All India Institute of Local Self-Government, p. 11.
51
Rajib Lochan Panigrahy. (2007). Panchayati Raj Institution, Issues and Challenges. New Delhi:
Discovery Publication, p. 9.

30
social status of people’s life. It has clarified that, development is not just financial

development; rather development includes the changes in the social, cultural,

statistical and financial areas. Overall, it is the progress of the social system. If any

nation or area is to be developed, it is essential to understand how the area or the

government has involved itself in this process. Therefore, sub administrative unit of

the government is primarily responsible for development.

Even though rural development has gained the top spot in this view, the real

fact is that, it is not able to respond to all the stimulations rising out of various

projects. Moreover, without the aid of any statistical data it is hard to comprehend the

level of poverty in the rural areas. Thus, local government’s role is most essential to

involve distributing local resources to give social justice to every person of every

village.

1.6.4 Democratic Decentralization Through Panchayat Raj Institution

Democracy is introduced at the grass root level of the country through

Panchayat Raj System. It is identified as the prime equipment of decentralization by

which democracy becomes truly representative and responsive. Panchayat Raj System

is the process where authority is distributed between institutions of governance at the

central, regional and local levels with power and function transferred to the local

level.52 Decentralization of power is an effective way to empower people in all

development aspects. It moves forward at full potential at grass roots level. This

concept not only determines policies but they also guide and control the

administration for the execution of the policies. The significance of Panchayat Raj

Institution lies in the fact that it causes the expansion of democracy at the rural level.

52
Rajesh K. Jha. (Ed.). (2014). Panchayati Raj – Inside. Kurukshetra, 62(3), 2.

31
1.7 THE CONCEPT OF GRAMSABHA

“Gramsabha” means a village assembly consisting of all persons registered in

the electoral rolls. All people included in the electoral rolls of a village shall be the

members of the Gramsabha of that village.53 Gramsabha is the only stage where each

and every voter can raise their voice. The ever faith in the Gramsabha is based on the

belief that the objective conditions of the poor can improve only if the poor are

directly involved in the process of formulation and implementation of decisions

affecting their lives. Gramsabha is the only reliable concept of good governance than

a relatively unencumbered bureaucracy or local elected representatives.54 The very

spirit behind the introduction of this institution has been to associate people at grass

root level, thereby involving them in decision making process. Thus, Gramsabha have

been natural choice for building up an institutional structure to bring governance

closer to the people. Gramsabha occupies important role in Panchayat Raj System.

The Gramsabha has key role in bringing about transparency in the effective

functioning of the Gram Panchayat, in ensuring equitable distribution of benefits in

bringing of community assets where these are necessary and in creation of social

cohesion. It can be envisaged that Gramsabhas shall plan and priorities development

works to be taken up in the villages. The approved annual plan for the Gram

Panchayat brings active participation of women, scheduled castes and scheduled

tribes. This ensures transparency in the working of Gram Panchayat while selecting

beneficiaries under various schemes undertaken by the Central Government for rural

development and towards full control over natural resources management.

The concept has also received approval from political thinkers. Jawaharlal

Nehru visualized “Local self-government was and must be the basis of any true
53
Amrit Patel, & Mahendra Patel. (2014). Gramsabha – The Pillar of Development. Kurukshetra, 62(3),
16.
54
Op.cit. 3, pp. 4, 48.

32
system of democracy. People had got into the habit of thinking of democracy at the

top and not so much below. Democracy at the top could not be a success unless it was

built on this foundation from below”. The architect of community development and

Panchayat Raj S.K. Dey conceived, “Panchayat Raj means progressive increase in

competence from the ground upwards and corresponding transfer of responsibilities

from the centre to ground”.55 In the opinion of Jayaprakash Narayan, “Gramsabha

signifies village Democracy with direct government and direct democracy. The

relationship between Panchayat and Gramsabha should be that of Cabinet and

Assembly”.56 Rajani Kothari remarks that, “represent bodies have their inherent

dynamics of power politics and willy-nilly end up vesting effective authority in the

politician-bureaucrat nexus. The only way of making this nexus responsible and

accountable is to provide larger citizen involvement in new variants of old institutions

like Gramsabha which can combine older forms of informal consensus making

mechanisms with the more formal, institutionalized and legal forms decreed by

legislation. With the new awakening in the rural areas, these bodies have the potential

of overseeing the working of elected bodies and over time with growing confidence

that they cannot be brow-beaten by dominant individuals or caste, become a force to

reckon with”.57

According to the report of the Working Group on Decentralization 2002,

Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Government of Karnataka,

‘every Panchayat Raj law gives a prominent legal position to the institution of the

Gramsabha, but in practice, this is only a formal obeisance. Often, one is told, the

utopian concept of people getting together to solve their problems does not work in

55
Jain, S.P. (1999). Gramsabha – Task Before the Nation. Kurukshetra, 48, 22,23.
56
Bhargava, B.S., & Raphael C. Jos. (1994). Working of Gramsabha in Karnataka: A Study at Micro
Level. Journal of Rural Development, 13(2).
57
Sundar Ram, D. (2007). Panchayati Raj and Empowering People, New Agenda for Rural India. New
Delhi: Kanishka Publication, p. 125.

33
the cold reality of local politics and power structures. We believe that if the concept

does not work, it signifies an essential failure of democracy and renders weak the

entire edifice of decentralized democratic governance through PRIs that is built to this

principle. To neglect the Gramsabha is a sub-optimal development strategy. A well

functioning institution of Gramsabha could work wonders as an instrument of

people’s empowerment, in more ways that we may well imagine. The working group

is convinced that all effort towards effective democratic decentralization would be

almost futile without making the Gramsabha truly representative of the people,

their aspirations and their management skill’.58 The inclusion of Gramsabha in the

73rd Constitution Amendment (1993) provide constitutional guarantees to safeguard

the interests of local self government to empower them as effective democratic and

self-governing institution at grass root level. The Act provides a constitutional form to

structure mandate to these institutions. The objective of the Act includes

decentralization of power and ensuring popular participation in planning, management

and delivery of civic services.59

In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment all states have made

provisions in their respective Panchayat Acts for establishing the institution of

Gramsabha at the village level. Although the scope and functions of the Gramsabha

have been outlined differently in different Acts it has generally been conceived as a

primary body in the Panchayat Raj system intended to facilitate direct participation of

local people in activities which are concerned with the planning and development of

their area. A variety of functions have been accorded to the institution of Gramsabha

in different states. While some of the states have perceived its role in terms of

58
Goel, S.L., & Shalini Rajneesh. (2003). Panchayat Raj in India, Theory and Practice. New Delhi:
Deep & Deep Publications, p. 70.
59
Baskar V. Rao. (2006). Panchayati Raj in India: Local Governance in Action for Social Development.
The Grass Root Governance Journal, IV(1), 3.

34
activating participatory process for preparation of local development plan others have

assigned more specific responsibilities. The institution of Gramsabha has thus become

vibrant with the passage of time to set the process of decentralized democracy in

motion with human development as the core objective of planning.

1.8 GENESIS OF THE GRAMSABHA

The phenomenon of Gramsabha is not a new concept to Indian political

thought; it can be identified as local village councils or Kulams, Sabha, Samithi and

Gana since ancient period. The genesis of the Gramsabha which reflects a framework

of direct democracy at the village level is essentially the product of Indian

Renaissance and the movement for national independence. The first major step

towards local self-government was taken with Resolution of Lord Rippon on

18th May 1982. According to the Resolution, “If local knowledge and local interests

were brought to bear more freely open local administration, improved efficiency will

follow”. In 1907-08 the Royal Commission on Decentralization recommended the

Constitution of Village Panchayats “for the administration of local village affairs”. At

the Allahabad Session, the Congress suggested that an important feature of

Government policy ought to be “the revival of village panchayats which are to be

endowed with real powers”.60

In 1957, the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee recommended a three tier system

of local government, village Panchayats at the grass root level, Panchayat Samitis at

the middle or block level, Zilla Parishads (ZP) at the district level. The new system

was first adopted in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in 1959.61 With a view to grant a

constitutional status to Panchayat Raj Institutions in the country and to bring about

uniformity, the Indian Parliament passed the Constitution 73rd Amendment Act, in
60
Op.cit. 55, p. 21.
61
Bose, B.P.C., & Koteswara Rao, M.V.S. (2004). Democratic Decentralization Through Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRIs): Trends in Devolution of Power and Function. ISDA Journal, 14(2), 141.

35
December 1992. This Act came into force from 24th April 1993.62 The Act envisages

the establishment of Panchayats as units of local self-Government in all States and

Union territories except the tribal areas in the States of Nagaland, Meghalaya,

Mizoram and other scheduled areas. Subsequently in December 1996, the provisions

of the 73rd Amendment were extended to the tribal and other scheduled areas also

through an Act of Parliament. The 73rd Amendment does not have a provision for

constitution of Gramsabha but stipulates that their powers and functions are to be

specified by the State Legislatures. However in the extended Act, constitution of

Gramsabha is mandatory and it is intended to be the nucleus of all activities. It is to be

endowed with specific powers and functions. At present the Gramsabha has become a

constitutional body and is envisaged as the foundation of the Panchayat Raj System. It

is intended to perform such functions and exercise such powers as may be extended to

it by the State Legislatures.

1.9 THE CONCEPT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Rural development is a process of growth in the vision of modernity,

especially towards political, social, economic sustainable development with the

maintaining of rich heritage of the nation. It has many dimensions at nation building.

The basic purpose of development is to enlarge people’s choices. Rural development

intends to form a noble society, which has the quality of collection as its primary goal.

Rural development is the focal point of the government, which holds the

responsibility of creating such atmosphere. However, in this context it is essential to

understand the concept of rural development.

The concept of rural development has emerged with new force and almost at

the top of agenda in national policies. Rural development is a process of studying the

62
Palanithuri, G., Sundar Ram, & Baskar V. Rao. (2006). Panchayathi Raj in India: Local Governance
in Action for Social Development. The Grass Root Governance Journal, IV(1), 3, 4.

36
social, economic, cultural and political dimensions of grassroots people in a scientific

way. It comprehends the co-relative reasons for the problems therein and finding

suitable solutions for the same. In this context, Uma Lele defines, ‘Rural development

as improving the living standards of the mass of low income population residing in

rural areas and making the process of their development self-sustaining’. Rural

development involves raising the political, social, economical status of the rural

population both natural and human. The essence of development is not in ‘providing’

but in ‘promoting’ the rural sector.63 This concept can be conceptualized as process,

phenomenon, a strategy and a discipline. As a process, it implies the engagement of

individuals, communities and nations in pursuits of their cherished goals over time.

As phenomenon, rural development is the end result of interaction between various

physical, technological, economic, socio-cultural and institutional factors. As a

strategy it is designed to improve the economic and social well-being of a specific

group of people, that is, the rural poor. As a discipline, it is multidisciplinary in

nature, representing and intersection of agricultural, social, behavioral, engineering

and management sciences.

Rural development can also be summarized as follows;

¾ To bring about a greater socio-economic equity

¾ To bring about improvement in the ecological environment so that it can be

conducive to growth and happiness.

¾ To develop broad community participation in the process of development.

¾ To achieve enhanced production and productivity in rural areas.

¾ To bring a special balance in social economic development.

63
Vasanth Desai. (1988). Rural Development. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House, 1, 18.

37
 At top most view of rural development can be defined as in the Vedic prayer

‘sarve bhavanthu sukhinaha , sarve santu niramayaha’, that is, May everybody (in the

universe) be happy and healthy; highlight the global and multi dimensional view of

development.64

1.10 BASIC ELEMENTS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

1. Basic Necessities of Life

People will be having certain basic needs, without which it would be

impossible or very difficult to survive. The basic need includes food, clothes, shelter,

primary health care, literacy, security of life and minimum property to lead a peaceful

life. When any one or all of them are absent or in critically short supply that may state

as ‘absolute underdevelopment.’ The provision of basic necessities of life to

everybody is the primary responsibility of all the government systems.

2. Self-respect

Every nation and every person seeks some sort of self-respect, dignity or

honor which can help to bring community development.

3. Freedom

Freedom refers to political freedom, ideological freedom, economic or social

freedom from servitude. As long as a society is bound by the servitude it cannot claim

to have achieved the goal of development. Servitude in any form reflects a state of

under development.65

1.11 DIMENSIONS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The primary structure of rural development has three dimensions.

1. Rural development in a way, tries to involve everyone in the process of

development.
64
Katar Singh. (2009). Rural Development Principles, Policies, and Management. New Delhi: Sage
Publications, pp. 3,5.
65
Op.cit. 2, p. 4.

38
2. It is a process involving in rural development, by the utilization of better and

scientific and technological tools.

3. Its aim is to implement high standard of living among the rural people.

Apart from the above dimensions, United Nations Economic and Social

Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) defines rural development is-

1. To attract the labour class people to the national main stream activities through

economic opportunities

2. To generate awareness about the creative power in the rural people

3. To check the rural and urban migration

4. To promote the participation of rural women and children in all the activities

related to rural development

5. Improving the living conditions of rural life by creating harmony between

environment and development.

6. Overall development of all the dimensions of creative power.66

1.12 RURAL DEVELOPMENT RELATED TERMS

The concept of rural development has relationship with various terms, viz.,

community development, rural reconstruction, rural welfare etc, which are used as

synonymous or interchangeable to it, have been offered here.

1.12.1 Community Development

Community development emphasizes the building up of a sense of the

community and allows the community a dynamic force in solving its own problems.

Development of local leadership and participation of the people are very important

aspects in the developing facilities in the community. But Cambridge Conference

(1948) never refereed community development to village or rural areas specifically.

66
Ravi Kumar. (2011). KAS Pariksh Margadashi. Bangalore: Gangotri Publications, p. 189.

39
Their view clearly explains that community development, as a concept, can be applied

to both urban as well as rural. The concept of community development looks broader

than rural development and rural community development certainly does not cover

complete rural development.

1.12.2 Rural Reconstruction

The purpose of rural reconstruction is to bring out complete uprooted

development towards a more abundant life for people-spiritual, mental, physical,

political, social and economic. The object of rural reconstruction is the villager and

the primary aim of the movement is not make them self-reliant, self-sufficient but also

self-respecting citizens.

1.12.3 Rural Welfare

Rural welfare as a concept takes into account of the tangible and intangible

factors in attempt to create a state of well-being in rural areas. In the welfare

programme the primary element is on the provision of amenities so as to help the

individuals, the family and the community to attain a state of well-being. While

providing the most basic amenities self-help and people participation are encouraged

but they do not become a necessary pre-condition. These basic amenities do not fulfill

the requirement of rural development. Hence, rural welfare, even in its broadest from,

can at the most be treated as part of the rural development.

Thus, none of the terms-community development-rural reconstruction-rural

welfare can be used to be synonymous with rural development.67

1.12.4 The Progress of Rural Development

Generally the present scenario of rural development can be identified as

narrow as mere extension of irrigation facilities or as broad as responsible for

67
Thomas A. William, & Christopher, A.J. (2011). Rural Development Concept and Recent
Approaches. New Delhi: Rawath Publications, pp. 35,36.

40
introducing basic structural changes in rural society with a view to remove inequality

between different classes of people. Between these two extreme poles, rural

development has different shades of meaning – the course of which the meaning of

rural development takes along the narrow-broad continues somewhat like mere

agriculture to economic to social to political to total development to development with

participation to very change in the basic structure of society.

Figure 1.1: Concept of Rural Development – Narrow to Broad

Extension of Irrigation Facilities

Strategy to Increase Economic and Social life

Improving Living Standards – Process for Better Life

Development of Rural Communities with the Existing Resources

Total Development with Participation for Self-Help, Self-Reliance

Structural Change to Bridge the Gulf of Inequality

The figure is explaining the major priority of agricultural development which

was given for rural development because it was felt that increase in food production

would lead to a change in the way of life. It did not happen. The next attention was

given to economic and social life. Hence, there was a shift towards economic growth

linked to development of social life.

Further, the emphasis was on increasing the standard of living by providing

basic facilities and improving infrastructural facilities of those who were

economically deprived and socially backward. But this also failed to bring desired

development in the rural people. Therefore, importance was given to total

41
development by taking into account the manpower and the existing resources. The

vital but very missing element, namely, participation of people included in the

concept of total development later on with a vision to motivate the rural people to

create burning desire for change in them and educate them rather than merely

providing service to them in the stream of rural development. Though the inclusion of

the people participation was going to make the package of rural development

attractive to the people, it was not going in any manner, enhance the

comprehensiveness of the concept of rural development which was needed to treat it

as multidimensional and provide for the participation of rural people simultaneously.

Hence, an attempt was done to know rural development process to increase the quality

of life by bringing about political, economic, social and cultural change, providing

and improving basic and infrastructural facilities and increasing employment

opportunities and agricultural output in rural development with the active people

participation. Ultimate goal was to achieve sustainable development where there is no

dependency, inequality and exploitation.68

In the above discussion the concept of rural development denotes that it is

time bound. It demands for new aspects, new structures and for new vision. Example,

present demands for rural development may be changed in future; present needs may

not be a need of future. That means future may welcome rural development concept

with a different spectrum.

With this background, rural development is exploring the idea that

involvement of community in a systematic way towards overall development of the

society. However, it is desirable to understand the opinions of Nobel laureate Indian

68
Op.cit. 67, pp. 37,38.

42
Economist, Amarthya Sen, on human development ideologies, since the focal point of

development is the human being.

Sen’s theories enrich the ideology of development. During the process of

economic development, because of an increase in unemployment and poverty, the

process of human development once again became significant and it was propagated

that human development and human welfare was the final goal of development. At

this juncture, Sen contributed significance to the aim of increasing the human

potential. According to him, the primary aim of human welfare was to increase the

independent choices with regard to high living conditions, health, awareness,

attainment of self-respect and increase the potentialities of the people for the effective

participation in the community life. Further, he expressed, the overall social living

standards should rather be measured by the net measures of the potentialities of its

people, than gross national product and the availability of specific goods. The United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP) included this rationale of Sen in its very

first, ‘Human Development Report’ (HDR-1990), has defined development as ‘a

process of expanding the people’s choices’ and called for the process of human

development to focus on people. That means, it was said that, development should

aim for the increase in the potentialities of the people in such a way that they are

capable of leading a long and healthy life. Moreover, the propagators of

developmental attitudes stated that the human development process should be

supported by giving more importance to the quality of development.69

1.13 MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The meaning of rural development deals with all aspects of complete

development in rural sector which influence the overall quality of life. This concept

69
Op.cit. 1, p. 7

43
emphasized with equity, efficiency, growth and stability in rural people

development.70 Rural development constitutes a major part of development strategy

where a large segment of rural people should be benefited. The ultimate goal of rural

development is human development at the grassroots to create a welfare state.

1.13.1 Definitions

Rural development is a complex phenomenon covering a wide spectrum of

activities. This concept has been defined by different authorities in different ways.

Robert Chambers defines, “rural development as a strategy to enable a specific

group of people, poor rural women and men, to gain for themselves and their children

more of what they want and need. It involves helping the poorest among those who

seek a livelihood in the rural areas to demand and control more of the benefits of rural

development. The group includes small scale farmers, tenants, and the landless”.

Copp has defined, “rural development as a process aimed at improving the

well being and self realization of people living outside the urbanized areas through

collective efforts”.71

Ensminger defines, “Rural development seeks to involve a progress of

transformation from traditionally oriented rural cultural towards an acceptance and

reliance on science and technology”.

The world Bank defines rural development, “rural development is a strategy to

improve the economic and social life of specific group of people, the rural poor,

including small and marginal fanners, tenants and the landless,”

1.13.2 Significance of Rural Development

Azmat Nayeem defines rural development as “Rural development is both

problem and solution”. During the past few years, rural development has received a
70
Johl, S.S, & Mohinder S. Mudahar. (1974). The Dynamics of Institutional Change and Rural
Development in Punjab, India. New York: Rural Development Committee Publication, p. 4.
71
Op.cit. 44, p. 240.

44
great deal of attention in development political platforms. Rural development has

considerable significance in India because of the following economic, social and

political reasons as mentioned below.

1.13.3 Social Significance

1. Innumerable Rural Problems

In India agriculture and allied activities are the primary and all pervasive

economic activities and are suffering from variety of problems. The large number of

small and marginal farmers have lot of problems like agricultural inputs, production

and marketing, unemployment and low income. The rural development programmes

provide a composite package to solve all these problems.

2. Social Change

People residing in rural area are too much traditional they are not ready to

adjust with the new phenomenon or concepts. They oppose the changes because they

remain grossly ignorant about various schemes and programmes for their welfare.

Rural development programme educate rural people and direct their attention towards

positive attitude.

3. Best Utilization of Resources

Poverty and unemployment has spread everywhere in rural areas. Hardly 30%

of the people in rural areas are literate. Consequently vast amount of human and

natural resources could not be used for their benefit. Rural development schemes can

develop human and natural resources for the best utilization.

4. Infrastructure facilities

In India absence of basic amenities like all weather roads, schools, health

centres drinking water, sanitation, are the major problems of rural areas which require

45
immediate solution. Rural development programme can fulfill these demands of

village people.

1.13.4 Political Significance

The concept democracy will not be complete without political involvement of

rural people. Rural development programs can give identity for everyone by giving

them political education.

1.13.5 Agricultural and Economic Significance

According to one estimate agricultural commodities comprise almost 80% of

the total consumer expenditure. In this situation it is of crucial importance that

agriculture meets almost the entire food needs of the people. This sector is eligible to

provide employment to 70% of the total population and provides a large part of the

market for industrial goods. Today a major part of the productive assets of the country

are in the form of agricultural assets like irrigation, facilities, plough, storage capacity,

etc. Every year additions to this stock are being made on a large scale both on

government and private accounts. At international level, also Indian agriculture has a

fairly high ranking in certain respects. In case of groundnut production, India stands

first in the world, for rice production India stands number two. This contribution to

our nation is from rural development plans.72

1.14 RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN POLITICAL, SOCIAL THINKERS

PERSPECTIVE

India has identified itself as a greatest democratic country all over the world

by instituting the concept of decentralization of power or Panchayat Raj system. The

idea of this concept was given by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known

as Mahatma Gandhiji, who played the leading role in securing for India political

72
Tanuria, B.G. (2012). Rural Development. Jaipur: Ritu Publications, pp. 21,23.

46
independence from the British rule, through organizing and mobilizing Indian people

from all walks of life in a peaceful and non-violent manner. Gandhiji approach to

India’s rural development is holistic and is an integral part of his philosophy of

non-violence respect for human nature, dislikes of exploitation and injustice.

Influenced as he was by Tolstoy, Rauskin and the teachings of The Gita. Gandhiji

placed more emphasis on moral and spiritual values than economic motives as a

means of overall development.73 Gandhiji did express his views on rural development

by saying “independence must be at the bottom. Thus, every village will be a republic

or Panchayat having full powers. It follows, therefore, that every village has to be

self-sustained and capable of managing its affairs. This do not exclude dependence

on, and willing help form neighbors or from the world. It will be free and voluntary

play of mutual forces… In this structure, composed of innumerable villages, there will

be ever-widening, never ascending circles. Life will not have a pyramid with the apex

sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the

individual always ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the

circle of villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals,

never aggressive in their arrogances but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the

economic circle of which they are internal unities. Therefore, the outermost

circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to

all within and derive its own strength from it.74 As discussed above the Gandhian

perspective of ‘rural development’ is based on his programme of ‘village swaraj’ and

‘swadeshi’ movement to utilization of local resources for development purpose. He

opines most of the decision making powers will vest in the village Panchayat rather

than in the regional or national government. Gandhiji believes the rural prosperity can
73
Op.cit. 2, p. 69.
74
Choudhury, R.C., & Jain, S.P. (1999). Strengthening Village Democracy. Proceedings of National
Conference on Gramsabha, July 28-29. National Institute of Rural Development.

47
be ensured by revival of Gram Panchayat, self governing village republic, natural skill

talent, aptitude and capabilities of its inhabitance. When Gandhiji talked of self-

sufficient village units, that village community should not depend on the higher

government for those needs which it could satisfy with local resource and local

efforts. He visualized decentralized planning with local participation which would

bring pressure on local representatives to respond to local body.75 finally Gandhiji

believed that human happiness with mental and moral development should be the

supreme goal of society, and this goal should be achieved through decentralization of

political and economic power for entire rural development to build up the strongest

democratic country.

Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel prize winner, played a unique role in

Swadeshi movement. He had himself been allured by rural India. It was his natural

fascination and poetic mind coupled with practical experience with village farmers

that helped Tagore to enunciate a new philosophy for rural development.76

Rabindranath started the Sriniketan scheme of rural development in 1921. In his view

rural development “sought to make villagers self-reliant and self-respectful

acquainted with the cultural tradition of their own country competent to make

efficient use of modern resources for the fullest development of their physical, social,

economic, and intellectual conditions”. Rabindranath Tagore’s idea was included in

both social and economic components for rural development.77 At the Sarvodaya

movement Jaya Prakash Narayan also cherished to strengthen the rural villages. He

was of the view that: A proper balance must be struck between a state government on

the one hand and organs of local self government, or Panchayat Raj institutions on the

75
Sathya Sundaram. (2002). Rural Development. Delhi: Himalaya Publishing House, p. 23.
76
Vivek Ranjan Bhattacharya. (1982). New Face of Rural India. New Delhi: Metropolitan Book Ltd,
p. 503.
77
Venkatesan, V. (2002). Institutionalizing Panchayati Raj in India. New Delhi: Concept Publishing
Company, p. 39.

48
other. For this purpose, it may be necessary to provide for these Panchayat Raj

institutions in the constitution itself and clearly short list their powers, so that they

may exercise legitimate powers and remain answerable to their constituents.78 Bharata

Ratna Shri Rajiv Gandhi has chartered a new phenomenon of leading the nation to the

21st century. Rajiv Gandhi was trying to create a new India, which was on the

threshold of becoming a great global power. His dream of Panchayat Raj System

guides the country for all time to come. If India, today, has rated more like a modern

nation after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, much of the credit for that belongs to the

assassinated leader who played a crucial role in imparting a modern outlook to the

nation during his only term as Prime Minister of India. The Panchayat Raj System for

rural development is very close and had emotional attachment to the heart of

Shri Rajiv Gandhi. In order to achieve the Gandhian dream of ‘Gram Swaraj’ Rajiv

Gandhi had taken initiative for genuine democratic decentralization and

empowerment of the villages, as self-sufficient village Republics. In Rajiv Gandhi’s

view rural development meant, “development has to mean the development of our

villages. It is the villages that must be transformed. Indeed, once the villages are

developed the cities will be automatically benefited, for the pressure on the cities will

be lifted, the unending migration from villages to cities will be checked. People,

instead of fleeing from villages, will stay back and work in the villages, and as a result

the villages will progress. We must, therefore, shed the mentality of depending on the

Government for everything. This can best be achieved through Panchayat Raj”.79 This

statement can explain the concept of Rajiv Gandhi about rural development.

78
Shakuntala Sharma. (1994). Grass Root Politics and Panchayat Raj. New Delhi: Deep and Deep
Publications, pp. 3,4.
79
The Grassroots Governance Journal. (2004). A window to Understanding village Republics of India,
Special Issue on Bharat Ratna Shri Rajiv Gandhi- A Visionary of Self-Reliant India. Tirupathi:
Academic of Grassroots Studies and Research of India, II(2).

49
 Most of the above discussed social and political thinkers have opined in favour

of local governments for achieving rural development, quite in contrast to them well

known social reformer and legal luminary. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has expressed his

opposition. Dr. Ambedkar who was the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting

Committee refused to recognise the local governments, as of any use in development

of rural India. He felt that the practise of caste system and its exploitative nature is

more prevalent in villages. Any importance to local governments would mean support

to this unhealthy, exploitative social system. For him the social freedom to the

exploited millions of Indians from their own countrymen was more important than the

political freedom secured from the British rule.

Regarding this Ambedkar says “is the village but a sink of localism, a den of

ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism? I am glad that the Draft

Constitution has discarded the village and adopted the individuals as its unit”.80 In this

manner, in the opinion of Ambedkar, the assumption was that the rural development

is impossible through the local governments.

1.15 RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN DEMOCRATIC PERSPECTIVE

Every constitution is a living instrument. As such, it grows with the passage of

time. Constitution of India is purely based on democratic perception and it has given

space to rural development by constituting local self government which is a concept

that associates people with local administration through popularly elected bodies. The

concept of development applied in the specific context of rural India acquires a new

meaning as rural development. Fundamentally, development of a rural area means not

only the aggregate development of the area but also development of the people living

in rural areas. The objective of rural development is multi-directional as well as multi-

80
Brijesh Patel. (2012). Rural Governance and Fiscal Decentralisation. Delhi: Swastik Publications,
p.13.

50
dimensional.81 It is a political ideal and local self government is the applied form of

rural development. The founding father of the Indian local self government Lord

Ripon felt that the system of local self government was necessary to train the people

in the art of government to enable them to learn from experience and to open up

avenues for political participation of the elected people. His concern was for

development of local self government as an institution of democracy. In fact in spite

of his ambivalence he appeared to have been influenced by the intuitionist and

instrumentalist perspective of rural development.82 The concept of rural development

in democratic system has basic and the most glaring deficiency in our planned

development process is the lack of people’s participation and enthusiasm for

involvement in the successful implementation of the plans for development at the

grass-root level. This issue attracted the attention of first prime minister of India

Jawaharlal Nehru who was the father of plans that PRIs are going to be a bedrock for

grass roots democracy. Unless this kind of grass roots democracy could be developed

there would be a lack of participation in the democratic process would also be

reflected in an equal lack of participation in the rural development process. In his

view PRIs are as integral to democratic development at the grass roots and this is how

it is conceived. He says that India will progress only, when the people living in

villages become politically conscious. The progress of India is bound up with the

progress in our rural village.83 Therefore the relevance of PRS is greater for creating

representative institutions capable of evoking local participation and initiative in the

rural development.

81
Subhash Kansal. (2008). Village Democracy and Rural Development. New Delhi: Cyber Tech
Publications, p. 95.
82
Ibid., p. 96.
83
Op.cit. 78, p. 3.

51
1.16 RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

PERSPECTIVE

In the context of widening gulf between rich and poor nations in the world

today, Mayer and Baldwin’s statement “Instead of studying the wealth of nations, the

study of the poverty of nations is of paramount importance today” has become very

relevant. In a rural and developing country like India, there are continuous efforts to

develop the rural parts. Inspite of these efforts the conditions of Indian villages have

failed to match with the developed nations. In this context Indian Nobel Laureate,

Prof. Amartya Sen has stated ‘by providing prominence to the goal of enhancing

human competency, improved standard of living, health, knowledge, self-respect and

effective involvement in community life and thereby promoting the ability to choose

is the objective human welfare’. This idea is perfectly applicable to the Indian villages

because India largely being a rural country, unless its villages are developed the

country cannot develop. With regard to rural development, it is said “the poverty

prevailing anywhere is a challenge to prosperity prevailing everywhere”. The biggest

challenge today is, how to make the development stable. One factor affecting the

development in India is its growing population. There is close link between economic

development and population growth. Reaping the fruits of economic development or

otherwise depends on the size of the population. For effective rural development a

pro-development population policy requires to be implemented.

Since rural development is one aspect of economic development a discussion

about its various dimensions is relevant here. Economic development creates a new

savings oriented society. During the 1970s, the priority of economic development was

shifted from the growth of Gross Domestic Product to growth with social justice.

During this decade attention was given towards the positive indicators of the

52
development process like removal of poverty, unemployment and unequal distribution

of incomes. Regarding economic development Gunnar Mirdal has said “it is the

whole social system moving upwards”. In this direction economic development has

not limited itself to improvement of economic conditions of people alone but also

aims to provide political stability. The principle of decentralisation of power adopted

by India intends to bring every citizen into the orbit of development. The economic

stability and political stability are inter-related and complement one another, in this

process the economic development gets momentum and the developing society gains

political stability as well.

India’s local government policies and their implementation have the ability to

speed up the pace of economic development and through economic stability improve

the rural standard of living and thereby promote savings, investment and productivity.

It has ample opportunities for the rural development and political stability as we can

find in most of the developed countries stable and strong political systems. We can

see the weak administration and political instability found in many developing

countries hampering the economic development of those countries. If the local

governments can be free from corruption, work efficiently, take progressive decisions

and respond to the aspirations of the people the rural development can become a

reality. The local governments have responsibility to see that in the name of

development the local resources are not depleted and the environment is not polluted

because development is not always positive and can have negative impact too. The

local governments face the challenge of achieving rural development through

economic development by managing effectively these various issues.84

84
Op.cit. 1, pp. 8,9,10.

53
1.17 RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

Human beings are not just social beings they are community beings as well.

Community life is an essential element of human life. Human civilization has attained

highest level today. But all communities cannot be said to have attained this stage.

There are a large number of rural communities which are agriculture based and are the

backbone of the civilised life. In this connection Swami Vivekananda had said “The

real India lives in the villages, unless we are able to uplift the tribal and backward

classes, India faces a dark future”. Rural development doesn’t mean development of

any particular village, class, section, caste or religious community. It means how the

entire rural area is developed and how the fruits of development have reached the

different sections of the rural populations. More importantly, how weak, suppressed

and marginalised communities people have become the beneficiaries of this process

of development. In another sense it means creating awareness about rural

development, its benefits and awakening their social consciousness. It also means

rural reconstruction by changing and reforming the mindset, removing the blind

beliefs and ignorance, putting an end to meaningless and faulty rituals and practices,

educational reforms, promoting literacy, developing healthy habits and

encouragement to positive thoughts through publicity and media. All these

components get prominence in the idea of rural development. Though our rural

development programme has all these ideals its implementation has many roadblocks.

For the effective implementation of these programmes equal participation of men and

women is very essential. But in our villages, women who form half of the population

have no role in the local affairs and therefore the very concept of rural development

has become incomplete. Exploitation of women continues in our villages and they are

out of the main stream of society. Gender discrimination, patriarchal value system and

54
social practices have come in the way of gender equality. On another level practices

like child marriage, child labour, oppression of children, etc. are continuing. Villagers

are required to be weaned out these evil practices and made to adopt positive, ideal

values in their lives. When such a change is brought there can be a positive

transformation of our rural society. It is a fact that due to a variety of reasons rural

population has lost faith in the rural development programmes. To overcome the

cynicism of the people a new vigour and enthusiasm has to be injected to the rural

life. The entire responsibility of this huge task is on the local governments. If at all

there can be any development in rural areas, that development can happen only

through these local governments. For the rural development the local governments

should convince the villagers, who are the pivot of development, that the agents of

change are they themselves and no one else.85

1.18 RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

India has chosen the decentralization system to attain the goal of rural

development by having the concept of globalization in recent days. These two

concepts – globalization and decentralization promote development. Decentralization

is about local level plans, and rural development administration. Globalization is

about social development through economic growth. In a global view rural

developments are multi-faceted. It is urgent, important and long term; the urgent

among them is poverty reduction; important among them is economic growth and the

long term among them is sustainability of this model of development. A rural country

like India needs international trade relations and economic growth, business need

profits and the poor need their basic necessities such as employment and fair wages,

food security, health care and dignity in the way to steer development. The civil

85
Shankar Rao. (2014). Bharatada Grama Samaja Mathu Graminabhivruddi. Mangalore: Jai Bharat
Publication, p. 116.

55
society institution looks for integrity in democratic practice for sustainable rural

development in global view. The idea of sustainable development has been defined by

Brundtland Commission report, ‘development which meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.

Sustainable development strategies aim at ensuring a better quality of life for

everyone, now and for the generations to come.86 This definition is saying the main

purpose of globalization and decentralization is to enable people lead a happy life in a

global view.

1.19 RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

In every nation development creates a new society whose main objective is to

create a charter of acquisition. The developing countries are trying to achieve this.

Non-development does not imply the countries are poor in their abilities, rather it

connotes that a particular country has not utilized it capabilities well. Therefore the

practice of terming a backward country as ‘developing country’ has come into

vogue. ‘Developing Country’ means a country which is concerned with achieving

development and is endeavouring in that direction. The last two decades of the

twentieth century witnessed a significant rise in the scope of local democracy in

developing countries, with increasing devolution of political, economical, and

administrative authority to local governments to bring up the complete concept of

rural development87 because the large majority of the poor lives in rural areas, most of

them are employed in agriculture or in related occupations. The picture of developing

country’s poor tends to have large families and have a high dependency ratio. The

poverty amongst women, children are of particular concern. It is difficult to find clear

86
Palaniyhurai R. Ramesh. (2011). Globalization and Rural Development. New Delhi: Concept
Publishing Company, p. 5.
87
Pranab Bardhan, & Dilip Mookherjee. (2007). Decentralization and Local Governance in Developing
Countries – A Comparative Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 1.

56
evidence that women are universally poorer than men but in terms of access to social

services.88 The condition is worse regarding health in developing countries and it is

noted by the National Family Health Survey-2 that 51.8% of married women between

that ages of 15 and 49 have anemia, and nutritional anemia caused by iron deficiency

which contributes to 19% of maternal deaths. Women’s status is comparatively lower

than men’s while women constitute half of the population of the country. Developing

countries women are often portrayed as generally poor, illiterate and ignorant. Their

unequal political, social, economic status, low literacy, poor health, lack of

participation can be seen in a developing country.89 Apart of this many things can be

identified in developing country where minimum nutrition is not provided when rural

people do not have assets to productivity, where productivity will be there but there

will be no income. This made poor to heavily dependent on non-farm income. Some

times without any assets or stocks the agricultural output declines due to natural

disaster like floods, droughts or policy induced failures. Rural people are unable to

provide for unexpected costs of death, sickness, and other social obligations.

In the matter of sanitation in under developing countries it is not just poor but

worst because two sides of villages roads are used as public toilets. In some of the

villages there are public toilets funded by government and non-governmental agencies

without public use as a result of dearth of water sources. Toilets use and maintenance

is a grand failures because of lack creativity and credibility of bureaucrats. Obviously

this problem creates many rural health problems and most of the rural areas lacking in

medical facility. In some of the cases facilities are available but they are not using it

properly because of the irresponsible and erratic attitude of the rural health centers.

88
Singh, K.K., & Ali, S. (2011). Rural Development Strategies in Developing Countries. New Delhi:
Sarup & Sons Publication, p. 65.
89
Vanishree Joseph. (2011). Capability of Elected Women Representatives on Gender Issues in
Grassroots Governance. New Delhi: Concept Publication, pp. 1,2.

57
Yet, the attention paid by the governments in creating infrastructural facilities for

primary education in the rural areas is very critical. Schools running in the villages are

almost comparable to cattle shed without basic facilities and amenities. The gloomy

atmosphere in the school buildings of the villages has made the school going boys and

girls dull and it ultimately forced the parents to ward to cities for which made them to

pay heavily. In other dimension rural poverty, lack of land and rural malnutrition are

highly correlated. In Bangladesh, in farming households with less than one acre, four

times as many households are found to be malnourished that in the group with more

than one acre. In South Asia, rates of malnutrition are observed in the group with

particular low shares of off-farm income. Whereas in Sri Lanka one-third of the farm

households are calorie deficient amongst the landless calorie deficient households

constitute 56%. In Pakistan energy defiant households are large in size and more

depend on off-farm earnings.

The health of poor people in villages is affected by roads and link roads to

towns as well as vehicles of the villagers. As such there is no maintenance of roads.

According to one survey 10% of wheat production in Turkey was lost through

wastage because of the absence of good road and transport facilities. The well

established transport system helps the rural development for the mobility to towns and

cities.

The environment issues and technical issues are in developing country are just

like exploiting the nature mercilessly. Over growth of the population is misusing the

natural resources dangerously by making soil saline, uses of heavy chemicals for the

crops, changes is land use patterns and implementations of advance technologies, over

usage of underground water, etc. India is the largest user of groundwater in the world,

presently it is using an estimated 230 cubic kilometers of ground water per year. That

58
means 25% of the total global use of groundwater. India has more than 20 million

bore wells in comparison to 0.2 million in USA.90 It is all happening just to achieve

rapid development. An excellent example can be given by India about the negative

impact on environment through the political policy and the technology. The Green

Revolution in India can be considered a success if one examines only the economic

statistics. It clearly produced substantial increases in agricultural productivity and

production; there by moving the nation in a substantial way, form periodic famines to

self-sufficiency in food. But the damaging side effects that resulted because of the

Green Revelation in India cannot be overlooked either. Not only was there

considerable environmental damage, the condition of the rural poor also deteriorated

as a direct consequence of the economic and social changes set in motion by the

introduction of new technology.91 The Green Revolution created environmental

degradation in many ways in India. The heavy use of chemical fertilizers and

pesticides eroded soil fertility and polluted the natural resources; heavy irrigation

stimulated the processes of natural erosion and loss of fertility and expanded use of

marginal lands led to destruction of forests. Overall it is estimated that between

100 and 150 million hectares of India’s land area rapidly became barren and 1 million

hectares of crops land and grazing land were badly affected. On an average, every

hectare uses 20 tons of top soil a year. Four million hectares were swallowed up by

ravines, and in the famous Chambal Valley more than 10% of villages were

completely polluted. The tribal people in India were affected by this environmental

crisis. These developments have created alarming situations to developing countries.92

90
Harender Raj Goutam, & Er. Rohitashav Kumar. (2010). Better groundwater management can usher
India into second green revolution. Kurukshetra, 58(7), 3.
91
Kartic, C.R., & Cal Clark. (1994). Technological Change and Rural Development Poor Countries –
Neglected Issues. Delhi: Oxford University Press, p. 5.
92
Op.cit. 91, p. 6.

59
These issues can be considered as neglected issues in technology aspect in the

developing country.

The above descriptions of rural sector lifestyles are against rural development

in developing nations. But in developed nations the rural sectors have established and

sustained in their overall quality. In developed countries local self-government has

established as an administrative technique and it is well structured and systematic.

The quality assurance is preserved with the support of higher education, science and

technological, innovations, economic growth and human resource development. The

education system has provided knowledge to access computers and internet facilities

in rural sectors. Agriculture, cattle breeding, horticulture and many more sectors have

adopted formidable plans which have made the developmental stages stable to

succeed. This has made to sustain the consistency in rural development. The human

resources and local resources are utilized in an organized way. This has paved the

way to develop economic growth along with health, sanitation, and standard of living

which is leading the goals to accomplish at maximum rural development.

The prime challenge of developing nations is to sustain the consistency in

overall growth. In developing nations the main draw back in rural sectors are the local

administrations which have failed to execute plans, corruption, poor project

executions, delay policies and social evils found at peak level. The developing nations

lack potential in providing the fundamental needs. The usage of science and

technology also lags behind in rural sectors which has made the problems severe. In a

country like India, the primary disadvantage is that the researches which are made

in agriculture are not reaching the grassroots sectors through regional languages.

Above mentioned and many more reasons are hindering the developing nations and

exploiting the development of rural sector.

60
1.20 THE ROLE OF GRAMSABHA IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The three-tier Panchayat Raj system constitutes the foundation on which

stands the entire edifice of rural development in India. The basic philosophy of

Panchayat Raj system is that the villagers should think, decide and act for their own

collective socio-economic interests. On 2nd October, 1959, Pandith Jawahar Lal

Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India laid the foundations of Panchayat Raj at

Nagpur in Rajasthan and in 2009, The Panchayat Raj Institutions have completed fifty

years of its inception. The Golden Jubilee Celebration was marked with the

observance of year 2009-2010 as ‘The Year of the Gramsabha’.93 The Gramsabha is

explained in the context of the Constitution of India as body of all adult members of a

village who has the right to vote; it has been conceptualized as a forum of village

people to ensure the accountability of the elected representatives at the village level

and has been recommended to act as watchdog on the working of Gram Panchayat

besides facilitating the rural people’s participation in the decision-making processes.

So, decentralization in India has taken a huge step with the formation of Gramsabha

as a constitutionally mandated body, which is supposed to play a central role in

promoting participatory democracy not only by working as an institutionalized

platform to represent each and every section of the community and their needs but

also by functioning as a mechanism to monitor and evaluate the development

activities carried on by Panchayath to achieve the goal of national reconstruction.

1.21 THE ROLE OF GRAMSABHA AS PEOPLE’S PLATFORM FOR

PARTICIPATION ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

Participation is a process through which stakeholders influence and share

control over development initiatives, decisions and resources that affect them.

93
Panchayat Raj Update. (2009). XVI(1), 1.

61
Participation is the people’s involvement in decision making process about what is to

be done and by whom, their involvement in implementing the programme, sharing

benefits and monitoring and evaluation of the programme. It needs voluntary

involvement of people.94 In this aspect Gramsabha as an institution is made

synonymous with its members who are the voters in constituency. Gramsabha is seen

as a way of mobilizing support for national development policies by better knowledge

at the local level and providing political education through its meetings. It can be

an effective channel of communication between people and government or with

administration units. H. Friedman argued that the greater participation in development

planning and management not only promotes national unity by giving people, in

different regions of a country, a greater ability to participate in planning and decision

making but also increase their share in maintaining political stability.95 Aim of

Gramsabha is at better and faster communication, involvement of resources in a better

manner for national development and secure commitment of the people in rural

development. It reveals that Gramsabha asks only for effective participation and ready

to assure both democracy and socialism. This attitude of Gramsabha is making local

self government more accountable because in Gramsabha a common man also can

raise questions under Right to Information Act (RTI) It is a system of checks and

balance of functions of on the part of leasers and administrators to the people This

type of situation can bring more transparency in government activities.96

94
Narayanasamy, N. (2009). Participatory Rural Appraisal. New Delhi: Sage Publication, pp. 2,3.
95
Panalithurai, G., & Sundaram, D. (2006). Decentralization and Rural Development in India:
Empowerment, Strategies and Emerging Challenges. The Grassroots Governance Journal, IV(1), 64.
96
Joseph, T.M. (2007). Local Governance in India Ideas, Challenges and Strategies. New Delhi:
Concept Publications, p. 46.

62
1.22 THE ROLE OF GRAMSABHA INCLUDING THE EXCLUDING,

EMPOWERING THE POWERLESS

Gramsabha has been interested in understanding the distribution of power in

society. It is agreed that in no society power is equally distributed. While some people

enjoy or exercise power, especially political power, always went to those who enjoyed

high status and wealth.97 In other words, the upper classes always rule. Gramsabha

has empowered villages and also included weaker section of society socially. Social

evils like untouchability, child marriages, child labor, lack of education, low amount

of involvement in the administrative happenings were prevailing in villages. With the

introduction of Gramsabha today rural citizens have the facilities of education, health

and agriculture. The evil systems were abolished gradually and today every caste and

creed people are included as part of society. Decades back, the upward class people

ruled the villages. With the introduction of Gramsabha, its programmes gave dumb

people the voice against the evils of society.

1.23 THE ROLE OF GRAMSABHA IN OVERCOMING WEAK

GOVERNANCE

There are serious obstacles to good governance. They are lack of transparency,

weak accountability, poor organizations, lack of technical capacity, and lack of

responsiveness, inefficiency and poor motivation. Corruption is both and an effect of

weak governance. Weak governance serves private interests. Since governance is

concerned with the use of power or authority, the abuse of power leads to weak

governance. Weak governance is bad for the poor. Their benefits, rights, Privileges

and assets are deprived; they are exploited by the powerful. Therefore, weak

governance acts against the interests of the people.

97
Bishnu, C.B., Umesh C. Sahoo, & Baviskar, B.S. (2009). Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rural
Development, Narrative on Inclusion of Exclude (sub title, Including the Excluding , Empowering
the Powerless: Case Study of Panchayati Raj in Maharashtra). Mumbai: Rawath Publication, p. 11.

63
 Gramsabha the essence of decentralization is meaningful in this context of

placing people’s interests on high pedestal. In order to protect their interests, the

people should be the center of discussions in which they take part actively as primary

stakeholders. The raison dietre of all programmes and projects is a decentralized

system of governance. Gramsabha provides the people at the grassroots a space for

people participation. Active participation of the people promotes good governance.

Participation is at the same time people’s right and responsibility. It enables to

overcome weak governance.

1.24 THE ROLE OF GRAMSABHA IN CREATING RESPONSIBLE

CITIZENS

Civil society is considered as one of the important stakeholders of good

governance. Its inclusion, in fact is the novel factor in the governance literature. Civil

society is becoming more an active partner in Gramsabha concept. In this context the

active intervention of civil society as an alternative, which has the potential to work

for a social order ‘that is supportive of the Constitutional values of democracy,

secularism and social justice’. The Gramsabha has provided the desired space for civil

society. Villages are the back bone of India. Gramsabha has made the rural citizens to

involve in Indian political system. It also helps to involve people in the developmental

programs in their villages. A platform for the discussion is created by the

establishment of Gramsabha. Citizens get stabilization to act against the undone

works. Gramsabha system informs and educates people about the happenings in

administration.

64
1.25 THE ROLE OF GRAMSABHA IN SOCIAL AND HUMAN

DEVELOPMENT

Successful social development will be achieved only when each man and

women has the right, capacity, and responsibility to make the fundamental choices

that affect their life. Only by individuals active participation in making these

fundamental choices it be possible to optimize the quality of life in their communities

through sustained development and management of community resources. Recently

the development community has begun to appreciate the critical role that social

capital plays in sustainable development. Social capital is defined as attributes of

social organization, such as the network, norms and social trust that facilitate

cooperation, coordination, for mutual benefit. This social capital or civic engagement

can improve standard of living, education, inhibit crime, boot economic performance,

foster government and towards health. The self governing society has decisive

advantages over the state society. It can bring fundamental human value, human

potential and effective problem solving through organization of Gramsabha meetings.

The process of Gramsabha enables groups, using local knowledge, to make

development decision and to sustain those decisions. The Gramsabha creates an

atmosphere in which citizens can feel confident in taking initiative to solve

problems.98

1.26 ROLE OF GRAMSABHA IN WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Since the world’s inception the female contribution has proved to be the

foremost necessity for propagating and developing global views. One of the best ways

to understand the spirit of any government system is to appreciate and realize the

position and status of women. The concept of democratic system without women
98
Mary E. Jennings, Raymond F. Rifenburg, Elise Paylan Schoux, & William P. Schoux. (1995). The
Role of Self-Governance in Social and Human Development. International Centre for Self-
Governance, ICS Press, p. 1.

65
participation is incomplete. Since the ancient period woman has created her own

identity without fail and she has contributed herself to the society. The former Prime

Minister of India, Indira Gandhi says, “Women should be more interested, more alive

and more active in the affairs of the society not because they are women, but because

they comprise half the human race”. For this reason our constitution has given the

facility of reservation for every women of the country to bring them in nation

reconstruction. Through the experience of the Panchayat Raj Institution one million

women have actively entered political life in India. The Gramsabha heart of PRI is

giving more opportunities to women to raise their voice against political, social,

economic restrictions. Gramsabha brought significant transformations in the lives of

women themselves, who have empowered and have gained self-confident, political

awareness, and affirmation of their own identity. These days Gramsabha is becoming

training ground to women, many of them educated and leaders in the village

Panchayat.99 Example: in Madhupalli village, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, all

the members of the Panchayat were women. In 1970, women led the Panchayat in

Vanjara, Maharashtra. Similarly, West Bengal and Haryana states also had women

majority Panchayats. During 1995-1999 Anjara Kheda, Bidar District, Karnataka was

considered the only all- women Panchayat in the state. All such instances helped

women to identify themselves politically. In this regard, women are attaining a unique

identify for themselves, by not only identifying themselves through reservations but

also launching themselves from General Seats, leading to hopeful political identity. In

the Gram Panchayat Elections of 1993, in Karnataka, about 43.6% women were

99
Singh, M.K. (2000). Panchayat Raj System in India, Issues and Challenges. New Delhi: Centrum
Press, p. 96.

66
 elected, which seems to encourage the 50% reservation as demanded by people like

Biju Patnaik.100

A nation’s progress and prosperity can be evaluated by way it treats its women

in this regard our Indian democracy always stretches its hands to both male and

female participation for its success. In this context the role of Gramsabha in bringing

women to the mainstream of the society can be comprehended. Such platforms

support women liberation and transform them from women to superwomen or

successful women through empowerment.

1.27 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A perusal survey of literature reveals that work has been done by various

writers and scholars on Gramsabha and Local Self-Government. The review of

literature is broadly classified into:

1. Studies related to Gramsabha and Local Self Government and its aspects.

2. Studies related to Rural Development concept and its theory.

3. Studies related to historical back ground of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act and

decentralisation process.

1.27.1 Studies Related to Gramsabha, Local Self Government and Its Aspects

The First Global Report 2008 focused on Decentralization and Local

Democracy in the World. The report published by the World Bank and United Cities

and Local Governments, made an attempt to offer a comparative analysis of the

situation of local authorities in every region in the world and the report tries to

contribute to deepening reflection of local governance principles and values. The

report deals with the evolution and development of territorial structures, powers

management, finance and local democracy.

100
Jha, S.N., & Mathur, P.C. (1999). Decentralization and Local Politics. New Delhi: Sage
Publications, p. 243.

67
 R.C. Chodhury and S.P. Jain in their book titled ‘Strengthening Village

Democracy (Proceedings of National Conference on Gramsabha (July 28-29, 1999)’

published the papers which were presented in the conference and had complete

discussion on Gramsabha. This papers explains the scope of 1999 year which

identified itself as year of Gramsabha. In this book each and every paper tries to

spread the message of importance of Gramsabha.

K. Shubha in her book ‘Karnataka Panchayat Elections 1995 Process, Issues

and Members Profile’ critically examines the main issues which influenced the voting

pattern in the 1993 and 1995 Panchayat elections in Karnataka state and the level of

participation in the village Panchayat elections. Another important theme of the book

is the new emerging leadership. This work was completely based on extensive field

investigations in all the districts of Karnataka state.

Jawahar Lal Gupta in his book ‘Local Governance’ introduced the concepts of

Rural India and Urbanization, system of Panchayat Raj and its role in rural

development. It mainly discusses administration and development of Panchayat Raj

system with rural planning.

Mary E. Jennings, Raymond F. Rifenburg, Elise Paylan Schoux and William

P. Schoux in their book, ‘The Role of Self-Governance in Social and Human

Development’ explain the scope of self-governance and characteristics. It also refers

to the case study of American Indian economic development.

Sundaram Ram in his book ‘Panchayati Raj and Empowering People-New

Agenda for Rural India’, has given the vision of Rajiv Gandhi on Panchayat Raj

Institution, and it explains how Rajiv Gandhi had taken some serious steps to bring up

the youth in democratic participation by making some constitutional changes. The

book also contains measures empowering Panchayat Raj Institution in Karnataka by

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giving the structure of political decentralization. He has discussed about political

decentralization and issues of Gramsabha and its accountability in the case of

Karnataka. Finally he concludes with listing some problems of Gramsabha and has

given suggestions to improve the local institution.

George Mather in his book, ‘Panchayathi Raj’ has tried to give complete

picture of Gandhian Swaraj concept and discusses about political parties. This book

has included women empowerment and given some election statistics abut their

participation.

Verma S.B. and Pawar Y.T in their book ‘Rural Empowerment through

Self-Help Groups, Non-Government Organizations and Panchayati Raj Institutions’

have thought about self help groups as fast emerging powerful tool of social economic

empowerment of the poor people in rural India. They identified the role of NGO (Non

Government Organization) with Panchayat Raj Institutions. The concepts of this book

included globalization and decentralization and needs of Gramsabha and its role in

rural development with giving introduction to the structure of Panchayat Raj System.

The monthly journal Kurukshetra (1999) seeks to carry the complete

awareness about Gramsabha to the people by publishing articles based on Gramsabha

genesis, power and function and the role of Gramsabha in rural development.

The Kurukshetra journal (2013) has ideas about empowering of Gramsabha. It

has many articles which focused on fifth scheduled areas, social audit, strategic action

plans, and role of social media. These papers conclude with best solution to the state

and central governments.

1.27.2 Studies Related to Rural Development Concept and Its Theory

B.G. Tanuria in his book, ‘Rural Development’ tried to give the concept

and significance of rural development and tried to trace the Indian agricultural

69
development and agricultural economy and finance with instituting all types of rural

development programmes which are implemented by Indian government.

Katar Singh in his book, ‘Rural Development Principles, Polices and

Management’ explains basic concepts, elements, objectives, paradigms, determinants,

polices and programmes and management about rural development. It is also of

interest for policy-makers and planners both governmental and non- governmental

organisations engaged in rural development.

S.S. Meenakshi Sundaram in his book, ‘Decentralization in Developing

Countries’, based on comparative study on the decentralisation patterns in three

developing countries of India China and Nigeria unfolds the history of local

governments in each one of these countries. The descriptive chapters are followed by

an analysis of the three systems under the common parameters of structure, functions

and resources. Book finally concludes decentralisation and democratisation are

needed not only for development but also to fulfill the needs and aspiration of the

people.

Dr. Preethi Singh and T.K. Mohanty in their book, ‘Panchayati Raj Institution

and Rural Development’, mainly focus on the policies of government and

development of villages, how Panchayati Raj Institutions are trying and keeping their

steps ahead in developing nation at grass root level.

Bishnu C. Barik and Umesh C. Sahoo in their volume ‘Panchayati Raj

Institutions and Rural Development’ have reviewed the micro-macro ground realities

on a broad canvas of interdisciplinary approach. It also offers a comprehensive

account of development dynamics, empowerment of excluded categories and

participatory governance.

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 Subhash Kansal in his book, ‘Village Democracy and Rural Development’ has

tried to explain the role of regional administration and the role of Civil Servants in

democratic decentralization. This book focusses at economic reforms of local

government and gives picture of constitutional development of village Panchayat in

Indian administration.

R.P. Joshi and G.S. Narwani, in their book, ‘Panchayat Raj in India Emerging

Trends Across the States’, covers almost all major issues of concern on Panchayat Raj

Institution and urge to initiate debate on some crucial issues and emerging trends on

PRIs in India. They have focussed on incorporating recommendations of various

committees and tried to give feasible data to substantiate the conclusion and findings.

K.K. Singh and S. Ali in their book, ‘Rural Development Strategies in

Developing Countries’ have tried to explore the concept of rural development in

economic perspective and provided an objectives critique of the contradictions and

consequences of the development and disparities in rural area.

Mamta Manoram in her publication titled, ‘Encyclopaedia of Rural

Development’, Vols. 1 and 2, deals with dimension and elements of rural area. This

book has global perspective and the introduction provides an overview of rural

economics, markets with the case study of local plan by discussing sociological

aspects of rural community in detail. It is covered with detailed reflections on

historical, conceptual and infrastructural perspectives. The respective roles of

Panchayat Raj Institution and Gramsabha are also discussed.

Ravi Goel in his book, ‘Panchayati Raj and Rural Development’ has

investigated the concept of Panchayat Raj in India and explained the role of

Panchayat Raj Institutions and its function in social mobilisation and disaster

management with decentralized planning.

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 R.P. Panchal in his book, ‘Globalization Its Impact on Rural Development’,

deals with the vision behind an open global society. Rural Development Concept and

Methods have been discussed in this book with districts development plans by giving

new vision on development system.

Dr. Jai Prakash and Dr. P. Mishra in their book, ‘Negative Impact of Rural

Development Plans’ have explained economic imbalances and regional imbalances

according to Indian Development Plans and traced out negative impact of rural

development. This book finally concludes with some suggestions to be included in

systematic plans.

R.C. Arora in his book, ‘Integrated Rural Development’ tried to view concept

of rural development in socio-political, economic, agricultural and technical

dimension with instituting management skill in all planning process of rural

development.

Krishnamurthy and Veerappa Gowda in their book, ‘Development

Economics’, have given clear picture about what is development? They have

discussed the economic thought of Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen. This book

contains thoughts on Indian economy, poverty and the concept of underdevelopment.

Thirlawall in his book, ‘Growth and Development with Special Reference to

Developing Economies’ has viewed development and underdevelopment broadly, in

economics perspective. This book is updated with new statistical data. It provides

insightful survey of the main theoretical models and empirical findings concerning

poor countries.

Yathindara Singh Sisodia, ‘Rural Development: Macro-Micro Realities’,

attempts to identify document and comprehend the broad trends emanating across the

state. It says about effective people centric rural development across the country. It

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has changing patterns, perspective and paradigms of rural development with local

administration.

1.27.3 Studies Related to 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act and

Decentralisation Process

S.R. Maheshwari in her book, ‘Local Government in India’, discusses both

rural and urban arms of local government in India. It traces the history of local

government, it attempts to discuss the structure, finance and functioning of rural as

well as urban local governments. This book also suggests ways and means of

improving the system of local government in India.

R.P. Joshi in his book, ‘Constitutionalization of Panchayati Raj – A

Reassessment’ has viewed Panchayat Raj in constitutional perspective. This book has

included limitation of state power, political thought from the Vedas to Gandhi and

tried to describe Panchayat Raj Institution on democratic basis.

B.S Khanna in his book, ‘Panchayati Raj in India (Rural Local Self-

Government)’ has included heritage of Panchayat Raj Institution in national

perspective in first part with explaining of Constitutional statements. The second part

of the book discusses the origin of Karnataka State and the growth of Panchayat Raj

Institutions.

V. Sudhakar in his book, ‘New Panchayati Raj System – Local Self-

Government in Community Development’ explains the concept of rural development

in democratic dimension and discusses the evolution of local government institutions

in Karnataka state in the post independence period. The book also provides a critical

account of the concept of Gramsabha.

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 PART – B: RESEARCH PROBLEM

“True Democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting at the

centre. It has to be worked from below by the people of every village”.
 Mahatma Gandhi

1.28 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

India has a long history of local governance. But it was Mahatma Gandhi who

emphasized the role of village Panchayat as an important instrument of rural

development and of promoting and nurturing democracy at the grassroots. He asserted

that unless Panchayats were invested with adequate powers villagers cannot have a

real ‘Swaraj’. Article 40 in Part IV of the Constitution of India was introduced at

Gandhiji’s insistence. The article states that, “The State shall take steps to organise

village Panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be

necessary to enable them to function as units of Self Government”. To achieve the

goal of a welfare state, the modern state has established district Panchayat, taluk

Panchayat and village Panchayat for the overall development of the country. It is said

that decentralisation is the heart of Panchayat Raj System through which efficient

administration is possible. The grassroot units of local self government have been

proclaimed as the vehicles of political transformation in rural India. Effective and

meaningful functioning of these bodies would depend on active involvement,

contribution and participation of its citizens. The aim of every village being a republic

and Panchayats having powers has been translated into reality with the introduction of

three tier Panchayat raj system to enlist people’s participation in rural reconstruction.

As Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, “My idea of village swaraj is that it is a complete

republic. The government of the village have all the authority and jurisdiction

required. This Panchayat will be the legislature, judiciary and executive combined”.

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 In the Panchayat System, Gramsabha is the primary unit of and it is the most

powerful body of decentralised governance with elected representatives who are

directly and regularly accountable to the people. The aim of the government has been

to strengthen the Gramsabha by introducing favorable policy changes. The declaration

of the year 1999-2000 as the year of Gramsabha itself signifies the importance which

the Government attaches to this institution and its resolve to strengthen Gramsabha in

a manner which will facilitate consultation of the process of direct democracy at the

village level. The Gramsabha is now a constitutional body comprising all persons

registered in the electoral rolls of a village.

1.29 NEED FOR THE PRESENT STUDY

The political, social, economic and cultural status of India was at the core at

the time of freedom. It was a challenge to independent India to attain development not

only in grassroots but also in urban areas. Gramsabha formation after the

independence lighted the development plans to improve the condition of the villages.

Later at different phases, the generations demanded as different prospects of

Gramsabha to emerge villages positively. Today, Gramsabhas are trying to make

Indian villages independent and also provided them the weapon to overcome

problems and social evils. The proposed research is being undertaken to study the role

of Gramsabha in rural development in Chickmagalore and Bellary districts as a

comparative study.

1.30 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The proposed study intends in particular to throw light on, ‘The Role of

Gramsabha in Rural Development in Chickmagalore and Bellary Districts’ by making

a focused study on the following aspects:

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• To know the structure and functions of Gramsabha.

• To understand the participation of people in the working of the Gramsabha.

• To find out the development programmes undertaken by the Gramsabha.

• To compare the programmes taken up by the Gramsabha in Chickmagalore and

Bellary districts.

• To identify the development programmes which are to be adapted to the entire

area.

• To know the empowerment of women through Gramsabha.

1.31 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The proposed research aims at understanding the structure, role, powers,

functions and working of Gramsabhas in Chickmagalore and Bellary districts of

Karnataka and also to understand the people’s involvement in establishing a

participatory democracy.

1.32 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objectives of the study are as follows:

• To know about the genesis of the Gramsabha from a historical perspective.

• To understand the role of Gramsabha in Chickmagalore and Bellary districts.

• To know the structure, powers and functions of Gramsabha in Chickmagalore and

Bellary districts.

• To identify the beneficiaries of various rural development programmes

implemented in Chickmagalore and Bellary districts.

• To know the strengthening of Gramsabha as a part of national reconstruction.

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1.33 THE HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

For the purpose of the study the following hypotheses have been drawn.

1. For the efficient functioning of local governance Gramsabha has a vibrant role to

play.

2. People’s awareness about Gramsabha is a pre-requisite for its effective

functioning.

3. The Panchayats will be effective only if Gramsabhas work properly with

maximum participation of people.

4. The Gramsabhas will be effective only if the Panchayat Raj Institutions are strong.

5. Lack of proper power and authority of Gramsabhas over village affairs are

responsible for non-functioning of Gramsabhas.

1.34 THE METHODS OF THE STUDY

The proposed study made use of the historical method to understand the

background of the role of Gramsabha in rural development in Chickmagalore and

Bellary districts.

The sociological method of interview, observation, discussion with the elected

Gramsabha members, was used to gather information relating to the working of the

Gramsabha.

The comparative method was used to compare the functioning of Gramsabha

in Chickmagalore and Bellary districts.

Analyses of collected data and further findings were identified by using the

descriptive method.

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1.35 THE SOURCES OF THE STUDY

The study involves both the primary and secondary data collection. Among the

primary sources formal and informal interviews, discussions with Government

Officials, field visits were made use of. Besides secondary sources including various

Government reports, Acts, Gazettes, Documents, Books, host of Articles from various

Journals, Magazines and Newspaper clippings were made use of.

1.36 SAMPLE OF THE STUDY

The present study focuses on Chickmagalore district and Bellary district. In

each district two taluks have been selected for the comparative study based on the

regional factor, selecting two taluks from North and another two taluks from Southern

region, respectively. From each taluk two Gramsabhas have constituted the sample for

the study. Form each Gramsabha 25 Gramsabhas beneficiaries constitute the sample

for the present study. In addition to the selected area Gram Panchayat Elected

Members were also included in the sample.

1.37 CHAPTERISATION

The thesis has been divided into five chapters.

Chapter I: Introduction

This is the introductory chapter of the thesis which is divided into two sections

as Part-A and Part-B. Part-A gives a general background of Gramsabha as well as

Rural Development. Part-B deals with the research problem.

Chapter II: Origin and Growth of Gramsabha in Karnataka

This chapter traces out the origin and the growth of Gramsabha in Karnataka.

Chapter III: Structure and Functions of Gramsabha in Karnataka

This chapter explains how in Karnataka the Gramsabhas are legally formed

and what different aspects are involved in its functioning.

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Chapter IV: The Role of Gramsabha in Rural Development – A Comparative Study of

Chickmagalore and Bellary Districts

This chapter deals with the data collected for the purpose of research from the

two districts and an analysis of that and the inferences drawn from this analysis.

Chapter V: Summary and Conclusion

This is the last chapter of this research study and relates the findings of the

study with the hypothesis and implications that emerge from this study. It also

contains suggestions for future research.

1.38 RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is relevant in understanding the role of Gramsabha in rural

development through political awareness and active participation of the people at the

grassroot level.

1.39 THE LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The limitations of the present study are as follows.

1. Study is confined only to the Gramsabha and its role in rural development.

2. Only two taluks, each from Chickmagalore and Bellary districts are selected for

this research study.

1.40 SUMMARY

The concept of ‘Gramsabha’ and ‘Rural Development’ are very significant in

the field of Political Science. Every Gramsabha is capable of following protecting

and preserving its traditions, heritage, cultural identity, collective resources and

traditional modes of administration of justice. Through this the Gramsabha functions

as a protective of political economic, and social rights of the common people and

thereby upholds the objectives and goals of democracy. Today our Gramsabhas

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function in the spirit of “we the people of India ...” as stated in the Preamble of our

Constitution and strengthen and uphold our national unity.

The Gramsabha, which are committed to the idea of welfare state are playing a

vital role in the development of the villages and thereby are enabling the nation to

take a positive political turn. Gramsabhas, which have adopted the principle of

“village should think, decide and act for their own collective socio-economic interest”

can help India to achieve decentralisation of political power and maximum

democratisation of our society and can fulfill the vision of the founding fathers of the

Constitution.

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