Adr: Village Panchayat in India

INTRODUCTION The present village Panchayat is a kind of local self-Government. The system has three objects. One is to make the villagers better habituated with the exercise of franchise. The second is to relieve the Government from the details of the local affairs. The third is to let the people manage their own affairs. The Panchayat system has been integral part of the Indian village system through ages. A village is self contained microcosm, a composite peasant society representing different communities and cultural hues.It does not have irritant elements but represent an integrated culture, free to a greater extent from the penetrations of urban cultural patterns into the village life. The importance of village with its head man, called Gramani, could be traced to Rig Vedic times and this head man figures in later Vedic literature as one of the jewels or Ratnas of the administration. The Decimal system of classifications of village into units of 10, 20 or 100 or 1000 is well kno wn. According to Vinaya, heads of the villages (Gramikas) are stated to be meeting in an assembly of their own.Narada supervised the appointment of five officials in each village. The state took full responsibility of rural development, particularly by constructing roads, setting up of markets etc. There were also references to village elders — Gamma- vriddhas and Grama mahattaras – the prominent persons in the village being associated with village administration. An account of the Panchayat system comparing five persons (official and non official) in districts as well as in sub divisions is afforded by the inscriptions of the Gupta period.At the districtlevels, the Vishayapati or its head had a non official advisory council representing different interest in the locality. These included the Nagara- sresthin- the chief banker representing the commercial interests; the Sarthavaha or carvan – the chief of the leader of the trading community; the Prathama kulika â €“ the chief of the head of the families or the community head; and the Prathama kayastha – the chief scribe or the official administrator. The assistance of the council was sought in matters of alienation of lands and other allied matters of the community interest.At the subdivision (Vithi) and village level, there was a council of non officials consisting of the Vithi- mahaattaras and the kutumbins, representing the elders and agricultural house holds, respectively. The kulikas represented the non official elements in an advisory capacity. At the village level, the Gramika or the head man and his council settled land disputes by fixing boundaries and they also mentioned law and order. His advisory council constitutes the mahattaras – the village elders and the Astha – kuladhikarans – the eight head of the families and other leading men of experience and status.The village elders in southern India were known as Mahajans and they regulated the socio-e conomic life of the village and assisted equally in administration. The Panchayat system was prevalent in the urban context as well. The local body was called Uttarasabha, Goshthi, Panchakula and a board of Sauvayika. The Panchakula signified a body of five persons who were appointed by provincial head. They deliberated in the town hall called Mandapika. The committee looked after proper realization of grant and rent from the endowed property.On May 15, 1989, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced a constitutional amendment bill in Lok Sabha. This was introduced to make Panchayat Raj in India a truly representative and effective system. The bill could not become law as it was not passed by Rajya Sabha. The bill was again introduced in the new parliament by Narasimha Rao government. This bill, the seventy third amendment act, 1992, passed by parliament, was bought into effect on April 24, 1993. Madhya Pradesh was the first state in the country to comply with the spirit and letter of the act. Presently, there are 2. 0 lakhs village Panchayats, 5500 Samities and 375 zila parishads. These institutions have been granted statutory authority in many states for raising funds through taxation, cess, land and fairs. The 11th Five Year Plan has ambitious plans for Panchayati system reforms. These bodies will take into account local aspirations, resources and would recommend programmes and methodologies to match them. The concept of Panchayati Raj is nothing new. It was the dream of Gandhi, the father of the nation, its need was stressed by Pandit Nehru, and it was repeatedly and forcefully advocated by Late Shri Jai Prakash Narayan.But, unfortunately, for various reasons, not much headway could be made for the realization of this ideal. Ever since Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi came to the helm of affairs in the country he repeatedly stressed the importance of Panchayati Raj. He formed his views on the subject by under-taking whirlwind tours of rural India to familiarize himself with the realities of rural life, by holding frequent workshops of District magistrates all over the country, and thus assessing their views and understanding their difficulties.As a result of this interaction with the people and the administrators, his views on Panchayati Raj gradually evolved, his thoughts ware clarified and he could from his own plan of Panchayati Raj and place it before the parliament with perfect self-confidence and case. He also sought to give it constitutional sanction by proposing to add a fresh chapter to the Indian constitution in the form of the 64thamendment, through the Bill which he moved in the parliament on the 15th of May, 1989.As a result of his clarity of thought and powerful advocacy, the bill was passed with near unanimity, with only five M. P. ’s voting against it. Late Shri Gandhi forcefully and clearly unfolded the concept of Panchayati Raj, the urgent need of constitutional sanction for it, and the salient features of his scheme for making it a reality. He pointed out that Panchayati Raj means taking democracy to the gross roots, it means transfer of power, in the real sense of the word, to the people living even in remote villages and bringing even the weakest sections of society into the national mainstream.He told the honorable members of parliament that, â€Å"Democracy was the greatest gift of our freedom struggle to the people of India. Independence made the nation free. Democracy made our people free. A free people are a people who are governed by their will and ruled with their consent. A free people are a people who participate in decisions affecting their lives and their destinies†. Gandhiji believed that democratic freedoms have to be founded in institutions of self-government in every village of India. He drew his inspiration and his vision from the Panchayats, the traditional ‘village republics’ of India.Panditji established the institution of Panchayati Raj as the primary instr ument for bringing development to the doorstep of rural India. Indiraji stressed the need for the people’s participation in the processes of economic and social transformation. † Yet, there can be no denying the fact that in most parts of the country, elections to the Panchayats have been irregular. The Bill seeks to put an end to such delays and difficulties. The essence of democracy is elections. But elections to Panchayati Raj institutions have been most irregular and uncertain.A mandatory provision in the constitution is therefore necessary. A statutory provision in the state law does not quite have the same sanctity. The Bill provides for regular periodic elections of Panchayati Raj institutions. In the absence of any compelling provision to reconstitute Panchayats within a reasonable period of time, by democratic elections, suspended Panchayats have remained suspended for years and dissolved Panchayats have remained dissolved for up to a decade or even more. Their existence has depended less on the mandate of the people then on the whim of state Governments.The bill leaves it to the state to determine the grounds and conditions on which Panchayats may be suspended or dissolved. The state Legislatures are to specify the grounds on which the Governor may suspend or dissolve a Panchayat. That is a matter for the Governor, acting in accordance with the constitution on the advice of the state Government. But dissolved Panchayats must be reconstituted within a reasonable period of time. It is the people who will determine, within a matter of months, the shape of the reconstituted Panchayat.The Bill will ensure that Panchayati Raj has a democratic character similar to the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies and Constitutional protection for their functioning as representative institutions of the people. â€Å"The single greatest event in the evolution of democracy in India was the enactment of the Constitution which established democracy in Parliam ent and in the state Legislature. The historic, revolutionary Panchayati Raj Bill takes the place alongside that great event as the enshrinement in the constitution of democracy at the grassroots†.Once democracy is accorded to the Panchayats the same sanctity as is enjoyed by parliament and the state Legislature, the doors will be opened for the participation in democratic institution to about seven lakh elected representatives. In this way the power-broker, the middlemen, the vested interests will be eliminated. For the minutest municipal function the people have to run around finding persons with the right connections who would intercede for them with the distant source of power.The system has been captured by the power-brokers who have established their vice-like grip on it, only because democracy has not functioned at the grass-roots. Once the people have their own elected representatives from electorates as small as a hundred persons, the source of power will lie only as far away as the Panchayat Ghar, not in some distant state capital or even the more distant capital of the country. There will be direct elections to Panchayats at all levels. Every voter will have his own representative in the Gram Panchayat, the mid-level Panchayat. The representative will be responsible to small and recognized electorate. It hey fulfill the mandate of the people the re-elected; otherwise the people will throw them out of office, power of the vote. In establishing the institutions of democracy in Parliament and in the state Legislature, our founding fathers gave particular recognition to the disabilities suffered by the Scheduled Castes and tribes. Provision was made for the reservation of seats for the total electorate. This is a principle which has not been incorporated in most of the Panchayati Raj legislations enacted by the state Legislatures. The democratic rights of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes cannot be secured by good intentions alone.It has t o be secured in the first instance, by reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions on the same basis as reservations are given in the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies. The Bill makes it mandatory for the state legislatures to ensure reservation for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population in the relevant Panchayat area. Also, there will be reservations in Panchayats at all levels of 30% of the seats for women. The presence of women in large numbers in the Panchayats will not only make the Panchayats more representative but will also make them more efficient, honest, disciplined and responsible.It is the strength of moral character which women will bring to the Panchayats. The Panchayats will have the power and authority to draw of plans within the framework of guidelines and conditions to be laid draw by the state Government. These plans will constitute the basic inputs for the planning process of higher levels. This will ensure that the voice of the people, their needs, their aspirations, their priorities become the building blocks of the edifice of planning. The second major responsibility of the Panchayats will be the implementation of development schemes assigned to them by the state Governments.These schemes should cover the major economic concerns of rural India, commencing with agriculture and land improvement and going on to irrigation. They must comprise the diversification of the rural economy into animal husbandry, dairying, poultry and fisheries. They must incorporate industrial activity in rural India. They must look to the day-to-day concerns of rural India, housing, drinking water, fuel and fodder. The panchayats will also have the major responsibility for the administration of poverty-alleviation programmes.They would have to look to the education and culture, to health and family welfare, and to women and child development. Social welfare programmes for the weaker and handicapped sections would be the re sponsibility of the Panchayats. It is also proposed to give to the Panchayats the responsibility for the public distribution system which is so crucial to the survival of the weakest and the poorest, as also to the general health of the rural economy. In this way development will be taken to the grassroots in rural India.The same concern must be extended to the growing urban and semi-urban population of the country. To this end, a new chapter has been added to the constitution. Urban Municipalities and corporations have been brought within the two major questions have been raised repeatedly. Most reservations become a parliament feature of the Indian economic, educational and political scene? Must social disability, with the attached stigma of being a Harijan and hence being disallowed to enter the places of worship etc. continue for all times, privileges as their counterpart in the rural areas?Efforts have also been made to recast revamp and rejuvenate the cooperative movement, whi ch Pundit Nehru always regarded as the essential compliment to Panchayati Raj. Our democracy has reached the stage where the full participation of the people brooks no further delay. Those who decry Panchayati Raj as an election stunt are only those whose feudal interest will be overthrown by the power reaching the people. The late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said, â€Å"We trust the people. We have faith in the people. It is the people who must determine their own destinies and the destiny of the nation.To the people of India let us ensure maximum democracy and maximum devolution of power. Let there be an end to the power-brokers. Let us give power to the people. Salient features enumerated were: 1. Panchayats shall be constituted in every state at the village, intermediate and districtslevels. At intermediate level population should exceed 20 lakhs. 2. All the seats in a Panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen directly through the elections from the territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area. 3.The legislature of state may, by law, provide for the representation of chairpersons of the Panchayats at various levels – district, intermediate and village. The chairpersons may or may not be chosen directly from election from territorial constituencies. They shall haveright to vote in Panchayat meetings. 4. There shall be proportionate representation according to the total population of Panchayat area reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. One- third of the total number of seats shall be preserved for women. The office of the chairperson shall also be likewise be reserved. . Term of each Panchayat shall be 5 years unless it is dissolved earlier. This will apply to Panchayats constituted before the 73rd amendment act. 6. The legislature of a state may, by law, endow the Panchayats with the power to prepare plans for economic development and authorize them to levy, collect appropriate taxes, duties, tolls and fees and the power to provi de for grants-in-aid from the consolidated fund of the state. 7. The governor of a state, after every 5 years, will constitute a finance commission to review and audit the financial position of the Panchayats.He will also determine the principles for the distribution of the net proceeds of the taxes and tolls between the state and the Panchayats and will measure for the improvements of the financial positions of the Panchayats. 8. The governor shall appoint a state election commissioner whose tenure and service conditions will be decided by the state legislature. The state election commissioner will be responsible for the preparation of the electoral rolls and for the conduct of all elections. 9. The provisions mentioned above shall apply to union territories as well.The administrators shall be empowered in the same manner as the governors of the state. 10. None of the afore-mentioned provisions would be applicable to scheduled and tribal areas, to the hills area of Manipur, to the states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, to the district of Darjeeling in west Bengal to the Darjeeling Gorkha hill council. 11. Finally, the 73rd Amendment Act provides for the addition of Eleventh schedule – Article 243 G. This includes 29 areas like agriculture, land improvement, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, women and child development etc. OLD SYSTEM OF THE VILLAGE PANCHAYAT AND ITS DECAYIn the pretty old time there were village Panchayats in India. They were very powerful organizations. They were virtually ruling over the village according to the customary laws. During the Mughal period the village Panchayats remained unaffected. Because the Mughal Emperors and the Mughal Chiefs were satisfied with the collection of revenue and taxes. They did not trouble about the local administration. But during the British period the Indian village Panchayats were completely inactive and runied. Because the British administration was very strong and was penetrating into every nook and corner of the country.The British Government founded the system of union-president to know the view of the public. But the union presidents played into the hands of the thana officers. Hence the old panchayat system was completely ruined. Panchayati Raj in Pre British Period. The word panchayat is derived from the word pancha panchasvanusthitah, has references in to the existence of Grama Sanghas or rural communities. The institution of Panchayati Raj is as old as Indian civilization itself. It was in existence since ancient periods, having an effective control over civil and judicial matters in the village community.The Rigveda, Manusamhita, Dharmashastras, Upanishads, Jatakas and others, refer extensively to local administration, i. e. the panchayat system of administration. In the Manusmriti and Shantiparva of Mahabharata, there are many references to the existence of Grama Sanghas or village councils. The earliest reference to panchayat is derived from the word Pancha, that refers to an institution of the five (pancha panchasvanusthitah) is found in the Shanti-Parva of Mahabaratha, pancha and panchavanustitah are semantically close to panchayat.A description of these village councils are also found in Arthashastra of Kautilya who lived in 400 B. C. Arthashstra gives a comprehensive account of the system of village administration prevailing in his time. During this period, the village administration was carried under the supervision and control of Adyaksha or headman. There were other officials such as Samkhyaka [accountant], Anikitsaka [veterinary doctor], Jamgh karmika [village couriers], Chikitsaka [physitian]. The village headman was responsible for ensuring the collection of state dues and controlling the activities of the offenders.In Ramayana of Valmiki, there are references to the Ganapada (village federation) which was perhaps a kind of federation of village republics. Self-governing village communities characterized by agrarian economies existed in India from the earliest times. It is mentioned in Rigveda that dates from approximately 200 B. C. The village was the basic unit of administration in the Vedic period. The most remarkable feature of the early Vedic polity consisted in the institution of popular assemblies of which two namely ‘Sabha’, and the ‘Samiti’ deserve special mention. A Samiti was the Vedic Folk Assembly that in some cases njoyed the right of electing a king while the Sabha exercised some judicial functions. Both the Samiti and Sabha enjoyed the rights to debate, a privilege unknown to the popular assemblies of other ancient people. The office of the village head man (Gramani) indicates the emergence of the village as a unit of administration. In the later Vedic period, the Samiti disappeared as a popular assembly while the Sabha sank into a narrow body corresponding to the kings Privy Council. In the course of time, village bodies took the form of panchayats that looked into the affairs of the village.They had the powers to enforce law and order. Customs and religion elevated them to the sacred position of authority. Besides this there was also the existence of caste panchayats. This was the pattern in Indo Gangetic plains. In the south, the village panchayats generally had a village assembly whose executive body consisted of representatives of various groups and castes. These village bodies, both in the north and south India, had been the pivot of administration, the centre of social life and above all a focus of social solidarity. In the Mouryan period, the village was the basic unit of administration.Villagers used to organize works of public utility and recreation, settle disputes, and act as trustees for the property of minors. But, they had not yet evolved regular councils. The village council appeared to have evolved into regular bodies in the Gupta period. They were known as Panchamandalas in central India and Gramajanapadas in Bihar. These bodies negotiated with the government for concessions and settlement of disputes. The inscription of Chola dynasty shows the construction and functions of the village assembly and their executive committees.The village administrations were performed by the elected representatives forming village council. During the medieval and Moghal periods, village bodies were the pivot of administration. In the Moghal period, particularly in the regime of Sher Shah, the villages were governed by their own panchyats. Each panchayat comprised of village elders who looked after the interest of the people and administered justice and imposed punishment on defaulters. The head man of the village, a semi government official, acted as a coordinator between the village panchayat and the higher administrative hierarchy.Akbar accepted this system and made it an indispensable part of civil administration. In this period, each village had its own panchayat of elders. It was autonomous in its own sphere and exercised powers of local taxation, administrative control, justice and punishment. The Moghals introduced elaborate administrative machinery with a hierarchy of officials, particularly in the field of revenue. The Moghal local administrative system lasted over centuries. It was with the collapse of the Moghal strong hold, the British established their hegemony in India. British PeriodThe British came to India as traders, and before long established an inroad into the cultural nexuses of the land. The primary focus of the British Raj was much to do with trade and little to do with governance and development. The local governments were hardly their first priority. In fact till the advent of the British rule in India, the rural republic had flourished and thrived. With the emergence of the British Raj in India, panchayats ceased to play a role that it once played. But, local self government as a representative institution was the creation of the British.In the initial days, the inter est of the British was limited to the creation of local bodies with nominated members. These bodies were built around trading centers. Thus in the year 1687, a municipal corporation came to be formed in Madras. Set up on the British model of town council, this body was empowered to levy taxes for building guild halls and schools. As time passed, similar bodies were set up in other major towns and this model became prevalent, helping the British widen their taxation power. This model continued to comprise nominated members with no elected elements what so ever.It was Lord Mayo, the then viceroy of India (1869 to 1872), who felt the need to decentralize powers in order to bring about administrative efficiency and in the year 1870 introduced the concept of elected representatives in the urban municipalities. The revolt of 1857 that had put the imperial finances under considerable strain and it was found necessary to finance local service out of local taxation. Therefore it was out of f iscal compulsion that Lord Mayo’s resolution on decentralization came to be adopted. The Bengal Chowkidar Act of 1870The Bengal Chowkidar Act of 1870 marked the beginning of the revival of the traditional village panchayati system in Bengal. The Chowkidar Act empowered district magistrates to set up panchayats of nominated members in the villages to collect taxes to pay the chowkidars or watchmen engaged by them. Ripon Resolution (1882) Lord Ripon made remarkable contribution to the development of Local Government. In 1882, he abandoned the existing system of local government by the officially nominated people. According to his local self government plan, the local boards were split into smaller units to achieve greater efficiency.In order to ensure popular participation, he introduced an election system for the local boards. The government resolution of 18th May, 1882, stands as a landmark in the structural evolution of local governments. It provided for local boards consist ing of a large majority of elected non-official members and presided over by a non-official chairperson. This is considered to be the Magna Carta of local democracy in India. This resolution proposed the establishment of rural local boards where 2/3rd of whose membership was composed of elected representatives.He brought in the concept of self-government in urban municipalities. He is treated as the founding father of urban local government. Ripon’s resolutions followed a series of Committees, Commissions and Acts in this line. The Royal Commission on Decentralization in 1909 elaborated further the principles of Ripon resolution. But this remained merely on paper. Ripon’s scheme did not make much progress in the development of local self government institutions. Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 In this backdrop, Montagu Chelmsford reforms were passed in the year 1919.This reform transferred the subject of local government to the domain of provinces. The reform also r ecommended that as far as possible there should be a complete popular control in local bodies and the largest possible independence for them, of outside control. By 1925, eight provinces had passed village panchayat acts. However, these panchayats covered only a limited number of villages with limited functions. But this reform could not get much result as far as democratization of panchayats was concerned and lead to a lot of organizational and fiscal constraints. Government of India Act (1935)This is considered as another important stage in the evolution of panchayats in British India. With popularly elected government in the provinces, almost all provincial administrations felt duty bound to enact legislations for further democratization of local self government institutions, including village panchayats. Although the popular government in the provinces governed by the Congress vacated office following the declaration of Second World War in 1939, the position as regards local gov ernment institutions remained unchanged till August 1947, when the country attained independence.Even though the British government did not have interest in the village autonomy, they were forced to do so, in order to continue their rule in India and moreover to meet financial necessities. The Indian rural republic had flourished till the advent of British. It received a set back during the British rule. Self contained village communities and their panchayats ceased to get substance. They were replaced by formally constituted institutions of village administration. In the highly centralized system of British rule, village autonomy seems to have lost.PANCHAYATI RAJ IN INDEPENDENT INDIA The task of strengthening panchayati raj system fell on the Indian government formed after independence. It was clear that India a country of villages had to strengthen village panchayats to strengthen democracy. Mahatma Gandhi who strongly believed in Ggrama Swaraj pleaded for the transfer of power to the rural masses. According to him the villages should govern themselves through elected panchayats to become self sufficient. But surprisingly, the draft Constitution prepared in 1948 had no place for Panchayati Raj Institutions.Gandhi severely criticized this and called for immediate attention. It is thus, that panchayat finds a place in the Directive Principles of the State Policy. Article 40 of the Directive Principles of the State Policy states that ‘the states shall take steps to organize village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them function as units of self governments’. The most important aspect to strengthen grass root democracy was neglected by the Constitution makers as Directive Principle of State Policy is not legally binding on the governments.The first organized effort to tackle the problem of rural India was made through Community Development Programme in 1952 and National Extension Service in 1953. The programme was based on an integrated approach to the various aspects of rural development. The objectives were to promote self help and self reliance among the rural people, to generate a process of integrated social, economic and cultural change with the aim of transforming social and political life of the villagers. Community Development Programme was launched in 55 selected blocks.The programme was based on an integrated approach to the various aspects of rural development. The programme made provisions for appointing Block Development Officers [BDO] and Village Level Workers [V. L. W]. This programme was intended to bring socio economic development of the rural masses on democratic lines, but failed to take off along the expected lines due to the absence of an effective instrument for people’s participation. Balwantrai Mehta Committee Balwantrai Mehta Committee was the first Committee set up in 1957 to look into the problems of democratic decentralization in independ ent India.The Committee was asked to report on community development projects. The Committee made far reaching recommendations in the direction of democratic decentralization and rural reconstruction. It pointed out that the community development program was not successful because it failed to evoke local initiative and that in the absence of local initiative and local interest, development would not be possible. The committee laid down five fundamental principles. 1. There should be three tier structures of local self government bodies from village to the district level and these bodies should be linked together. . There should be genuine transfer of power and responsibility to these bodies to enable them to discharge their responsibility. 3. Adequate resources should be transferred to these bodies to enable them to discharge their responsibilities. 4. All welfare and developmental schemes and programmes at all three levels should be channeled through these bodies, and 5. The three tier system should facilitate further devolution and disposal of power and responsibility in future.The committee envisaged three tire system of panchayats known as Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat and recommended encouragement of peoples’ participation in community work, promotion of agriculture and animal husbandry, promoting the welfare of the weaker sections and women through the panchayats. For the first, time the Committee made recommendations for co-opting of two women who are interested to work for women and children. However, like the rest of the male members, women were not to be elected but were to be co-opted.The recommendations of the Balwantrai Mehta Committee came into effect on 1st April 1958. Rajasthan was the first state to implement it on 2nd October 1959. By mid 1960s, panchayat had reached all parts of the country. More than 2,17,300 village panchayats covering over 96% of the 5,79,000 inhabited villages and 92% of rural population had been established. There was enthusiasm in rural India and people felt that they had a say in the affairs affecting their daily life. These were considered as the promising days of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India.The report of the Ministry of Community Development had stated in 1964-65 that younger and better leadership was emerging through Panchayati Raj Institutions and there was a fairly high degree of satisfaction among the people with the working of the panchayats. The recommendations of Balwantrai Mehta Committee were implemented by many states in the country. Till the mid sixties, Panchayati Raj system flourished in India. But there was decline in Panchayati Raj Institutions after the mid sixties mainly because of centralized tendencies of functioning all over the country.The elections were not held regularly and the participation of people weakened in these bodies. Inefficiency, corruption, favoritism, uncertainty and irregularity led to their decline. Most of the devel opment programmes were kept out of their preview. Centrally sponsored schemes were initiated; parallel administrative bodies were created and government reduced funds considerably. During the period of national emergency, bureaucracy got the upper hand and these institutions lost their significance. The village panchayats were made subordinate units of government to implement its programmes.Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) In this backdrop in 1977, the Janata government appointed a Committee with Ashok Mehta as chairman and was entrusted with the task of enquiring into the causes responsible for the poor performance of Panchayati Raj Institutions. It was also asked to suggest measures to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions. The committee suggested two tire system of Panchayati Raj consisting of Zilla Parishads at the district level and Mandal Panchayats at the grass root level as against three tier system suggested by the Balwantrai Mehta Committee.The committee recommended constitut ional protection to the Panchayati Raj Institutions and further decentralization of power at all levels. THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF VILLAGE PANCHAYAT The present system of village Panchayat has been introduced by the Government of India. It is according to the Directory Principles of the Indian Constitution. Accordingly, a Panchayat organized for every group of villages. This Panchayat consists of a President or Sarpanch, Vice-President or Naib-Sarpanch and some members. The Sarpanch is directly elected by the voters. The Government has assigned certain local taxes to Panchayat for its maintenance.The Government bears the deficit. The Government does many of its welfare schemes through the village Panchayats. The Government is encouraging the Panchayats to work better. The best Panchayat is awarded a rich cash-prize to found an industry in the Panchayat area. These village Panchayat elect some Panchayat Committee. They are connected with adalat Panch and the Zilla Parishad. The Village P anchayats are elected once in every three years. DUTIES The Panchayat is to look after the village and its welfare. It works out the Government welfare schemes. It collects taxes from the villagers.The village Panchayat has a Secretary to help the Panchayat in its work. The Secretary is a Government servant. The Panchayat manages some village institution. THREE TIER SYSTEM It envisages Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samitis at the block level & Zila Parishad at the district level. a. Village Panchayat †¢Consists of elected representatives of the people. †¢Membership varies from 5 – 31. †¢Seats reserved for SC, ST, women, etc. †¢Chairman is elected from among its members, known as ‘Sarpanch’. †¢The Panchayat is accountable for all its actions to the Gram Sabha, the general body of villagers. Gram Sabha consists of all the adults residing within the jurisdiction of the Panchayat. †¢It exercises general supervision over the w orking of the Panchayat & lays down necessary guidelines for its working. b. Block & Panchayat Samiti †¢The block, consisting of 20 – 60 villagers is administered through a Panchayat Samiti, consisting of indirectly elected members of village panchayat. †¢The chairman of Panchayat Samiti is called ‘Pradhan’. c. Zila Parishad †¢It is the top level of the 3 – tier structure. †¢Elect its chairman from amongst its members who is known as the District Collector CONCLUSION The system of Village Panchayat is a good thing.It is an elected body. The villagers can vote out the Panchayat office-bearers if they do not work satisfactorily. But the villagers should co-operate with the Panchayat in working out all their welfare programmes. BIBLIOGRAPHY WEBSITES: www. greenwood. com www. wikipedia. com www. legalserviceindia. com www. westlaw. com BOOKS: †¢Law Relating to ARBITRATION and CONCILLITATION IN INDIA, by Dr. N. V. Paranjape †¢Law R elating to ARBITRATION and CONCILLITATION IN INDIA, Lexis Nexis †¢Law Relating to ARBITRATION and CONCILLITATION IN INDIA, by C. K Takwani †¢Law Relating to ARBITRATION and CONCILLITATION IN INDIA, by Avtar Singh

Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi Many people before I have said that Filippo is the father of Renaissance architecture. During his lifetime, he was indisputably the most prominent architect in Italy. Filippo, the second of three children, was born in Florence, Italy in 1377, to a lawyer and father, Brunellesco Di Lippo and his mother, Giuliana Spini. In 1392, he began his apprenticeship in a small workshop in Florence. After only 6 years, he passed his examination and became a guild master goldsmith. An important influence on him at this time was Paolo dal Toscanelli, a merchant and medical doctor. Paolo had an interest in science and mathematics and eventually taught Filippo the principles of geometry. He also brought out Brunelleschi interest in technology. In 1401, Brunelleschi entered a competition with seven other esteemed artists to design the bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery. Though his work was amazing, another artist was the victor in the competition. Therefore, he was given the job as the assistant to the artist in control of the commission. After this setback, Brunelleschi turned more towards to architecture. He then stayed 7 years in Rome working beside his friend, Donatello. In 1415, Filippo made an important achievement in the mathematics field. He rediscovered the principles of linear perspective, only using mirrors. With this discovery, he now understood that there should be a single vanishing point to which all parallel lines in a plane, other that the plane of the canvas. During this time, he also made the time to understand the scale and other mathematical principles. From the year 1409 and onward Filippo became fascinated by the uncompleted Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, the Cathedral in Florence. Work on this cathedral began in 1296 but problems persisted on the huge engineering problem of how to place the dome on the octagonal Baptistery. After another competition, Filippo won and was give the commission to finish the cathedral with machines and a unique design that he came up with. The cathedral was a prolonged process in which it was almost finished when Filippo died in 1446. All that was left to do was add a lantern that Filippo had already designed. Although the dome of this astounding cathedral was Brunelleschi’s most famous architectural achievements, he has created much more works of art. For example, he redesigned and created the Church of San Lorenzo in the early 1400’s. Another famous work was the Pazzi Chapel. Filippo has even more claims to fame. During 1421, he became the first person to attain an industrial patent. This patent gave him a three-year domination on the manufacture of a barge with hoisting gear. In 1477, Filippo Brunelleschi died. He was buried in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Remarkably, his tomb was only found in 1972 after it was lost for hundreds of years. Filippo Brunelleschi was an intelligent man who suits the title ‘ideal man’ perfectly. He was one the men who lived during the renaissance that had it all. Filippo had brains and the will to educate himself further. He was an exceptional artist and architect. He also conquered the fields of mathematics and science. All of this was shown in his architectural works and his works as a goldsmith. If Filippo weren’t inspired to be an architect, landmarks all throughout Florence, Italy would not be the same. The Church of San Lorenzo and the dome of the cathedral in Duomo would not be such magnificent feats. The idea of counterweights would have been discovered much later in time along with many other principles. In Conclusion, Filippo Brunelleschi was a man who set higher standards for the rest of the men during his time period. Discovering new ideas and conquering more feats, Brunelleschi is one of the few men that can truly be called a Renaissance man.

Modern Chinese Fashion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern Chinese Fashion - Research Paper Example The paper "Modern Chinese Fashion" focuses on modern Chinese fashion and is basically meant to discuss the changing fashion patterns seen at festivals and traditions, how traditional and festive Chinese clothing differ from each other, mainstream Chinese fashion designers, popular dress trends, and how wealth produces influence on the type of clothes worn by the Chinese people. Integrating the creative and priceless knowledge gained from places which are considered to be centers of fashion like New York, Paris, and Milan in the native system to create modern clothes sensitively customized to the culture of China is not an easy challenge to fulfill. Chinese fashion designers are astute and sensitive enough to acknowledge the changing economical trends in the country and design their clothes while keeping the national economical state of the country in their minds so that everyone would be able to wear stylish clothes irrespective of class difference. Basic Chinese fashion elements der ive from the Tang and Song dynasties and Shiatzy Chen is one such fashion label in China run by Wang Chen which relies heavily on materials such as silk and satin. In words of Chen, â€Å"I wanted to create something that reflects Chinese culture, yet manages to achieve global recognition; a brand that would make China proud†. Class difference, though not as pronounced now as it was previously in Chinese clothing, also presents challenges for Chinese fashion designers on some levels. In the past, these elements of class difference.... Distinction made by clothes between rich and poor was undeniably so obvious in the ancient China as compared to the modern China that no one could possibly remain oblivious to it. The wealthy members of the society were identified by the richness reflecting from their royal clothes which were almost always made out of silk, while the middle class and poor people relied on wearing very simple clothes made out of cotton. But irrespective of past and modern times, silk has throughout served as a resolute status symbol in the Chinese society and has always remained the material of choice to be worn for the rich and elite Chinese people in traditional terms. It is also the general consensus among the Chinese people, fashion designers, and critics that silk has a wide range of application in both festive and ordinary clothing. From being integrated in women’s blouses and scarves to men’s dress shirts and ties, silk is recognized as the material of choice for the fashion desig ners too who design clothes in accordance with common public’s demands and tastes. The modern Chinese fashion wear largely refines the more conventional clothing approach as seen in old Chinese pictures and present day popular trends can also be considered as a major reflection of orthodox dressing trends. In the ancient days during the Tang and Song dynasties, fabrics popular in China were gauze, damask, crepe, and brocade (Csanyi). Women wore loose robes with long sleeves and used decorative cloth on the lower hems (Hua 16). Incorporation of classic Chinese symbols in the clothing is vividly apparent in the ancient Chinese clothing culture. To the present day clothing culture, symbolism still serves as one of the primarily important elements considered by the fashion designers while designing

Complex SQL Benefits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Complex SQL Benefits - Research Paper Example (2) It would be very difficult to incorporate â€Å"Driver Performance by Month† in parallel with Month of Customer’s total shipments/weights in the Customer Summary Report, especially when different months appear in both tables. (3) A typical SQL Statement will have to be written determining/rating the drivers’ performance on the basis of # of manifests on time and/or delivered late. It involves calculation + IF and THEN conditions statements I understand that the Driver Table may be created on a need basis because the purpose of this table is to get the status of Drivers’ Performance, which is also being recorded/saved into the permanent Customer File. I feel â€Å"Driver Performance by Month† in the Customer File is against the concept of table normalization because the drivers’ performance is nothing to do in the Customer Table carrying customers’ transactions.

Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113 (1973) (opinion of Blackmun, writing for the Essay

Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113 (1973) (opinion of Blackmun, writing for the majority, parts 5 11 or V XI ) - Essay Example Roe’s argument remains controversial throughout Supreme Court history since they are centred towards abortion rights. Blackmun argument divides pregnancies in three stages; first, second and third trimester. In the first trimester, a woman had unrestricted choice to abort if she had consulted her physician therefore; he held that the committee and hospital requirements were unconstitutional. In the second trimester, medical practitioners argue that the abortion poses a threat to the health of a woman and thus state could protect the women by regulating abortion. During the third trimester there was a need to protect a foetus by restricting abortion but Blackmun argued that since the moral and medical status of the foetus are uncertain, the state could not draw their argument on when life begins. For example, the state could not argue whether the fetus and newborn have equal rights if life begun at conception (Goldman 929). Similar justice majority in Doe restated largely and fleshed it to Roe ruling. Justice Blackmun when he wrote to the compact majority, he determined the regulations of the state could pose an obstacle to procedural abortion more specifically in this case, whether the law stipulated that the abortion could be done in a hospital or receive approval by two doctors. This was regarded as a violation to womens intention to terminate pregnancy. Many women have far and wide experience the burden of abortion as a result of the risks that result from aftermath of conception. In this regard, Blackmun argues that the government should relieve the women the burden by allowing them to make independent decisions since they are the transcendental finalist of the effects of abortion or rather not aborting. He further acknowledges the need to resolve the issue of abortion due to its emotional and sensitive nature. The subject of

One Hundred Years of Solitude Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Essay Example Ideally, Marquez was brought up by her paternal grandparents in Aracataca, Colombia. His childhood tales talks about a big home that are filled with ghouls, discussions in secret code, and relatives who could prophesy their own deaths (Villad 40-50). Through reading this book One Hundred Years of Solitude, one observes many elements of Marquez’s childhood. Conversely, the perspective for the book is Marquez’s own personal reminiscence for childhood, for his grandparents, for a big house overflowing with ghouls and endless laughter. Also, the context of the book is Marquez’s political viewpoint and the brutal realism of growing up in a predominantly turbulent developing country. Colombia has a long and tragic socioeconomic history, in which Marquez acquired knowledge about politics and economics. Intermittent absentmindedness, particularly of the critical happenings that shape Macondo town remains a structural persistent right through the novel, apparent in recurr ence and circularity. This repetitive behavior traits and names of the Buendia offspring; the outwardly endless civil wars; the succeeding refuge of annihilated Aureliano in the bare practice of making little gold fish, melting down and remaking them; the stages of dissatisfaction, lack of accomplishment and tragic death that curses pedigree. This novel appears to be suggesting that the failure to learn from one’s blunders, the lack of historical awareness, becomes the primary curse called upon Macondo’s history and therefore a critical element in the series of dealings surrounding the killing of the banana workers (Browitt 16-33). The chronological burden of wars, economic distress, consecutive ethical failures and political betrayal, ultimately leads to devastation. One Hundred Years of Solitude chronicles historical facts from the inside. Garcia Marquez adeptly avoids the melodramatic style of former socialist realisms by placing the storyline focalization within th e community of Macondo. He ingeniously permits the Colombian bourgeoisie to conceal its profligacy through its own dealings. Garcia Marquez’s technique around classical realists is basically to locate the story-telling height of popular culture, focalizing dealings in the course of their understanding of the townspeople, who through their discerning memory re-live the past. Furthermore, Garcia Marquez does not â€Å"problematise† the language of illustration; his magical realism changes the entity of representation itself, permitting the magical and superstitious world of oral folk mores to stand for itself. This novel makes use of eminent uniqueness of the Latin American modernist tradition (Browitt 16-33). The first thing the reader notices when reading Marquez’s novel is the mere quantity of dealings it covers, therefore making it a daunting task to provide a brief synopsis of the plot. Even though the novel rests on an impossible to read manuscript given to a family by a strange gypsy, there are many tangents and twirls as we realize the events of the Buendia’s in their home town of Macondo. This seemingly makes the novel a tad too difficult to follow, with family disputes, civil war, incestuous relationships and industrialization, tossing the story-line into many numerous directions. The political wars and quarrels in the novel reflect the taut relationship between the liberals and the conservatives throughout Colombian History, where the exertion for

Vietnam War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Vietnam War - Research Paper Example in O’Brien’s â€Å"The Things They Carried†, but the author illustrates the base that Kiley used to be at in â€Å"The Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong†, which is comparable to the base at the Khe Sanh. O’Brien’s intention in the book is to portray on how the war changes people and even if we know the story, what happens inside their minds is still impossible to â€Å"truly† understand. O’Brien writes, â€Å"Fine with me. But you don’t know human nature. You don’t know Nam† (O’Brien 97). The author wants to emphasize that while people strive to understand each other, this attempt would only be limited to personal opinion, and there can be no truth in every individual understanding. O’Brien adds, â€Å"He couldn’t pin it down; her body seemed foreign somehow – too stiff in places, too firm where the softness should be† (99). It appears that the author is trying to evaluate the re sponses of people in the war against his personal views on how people should really behave during a war scene. But as aforementioned, the Battle of the Khe Sanh is one of the most controversial wars in history. Why? The war shows evidence of the fabrication of the American national identity. There are many misrepresentations of facts, particularly in the socio-cultural and political dimensions of the war. In order to obtain control over the infiltration routes south of the Demilitarized Zone and near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the former French outpost along Khe Sanh was walled and nearly 6 thousand Americans and South Vietnamese were designated in order to secure the base (Browne, â€Å"Battlefields of the Khe Sanh†). In the succeeding passages, the display of horrific scenes including more than 150,000 projectiles and more than 100,000 pounds of explosive ordinance were released on the encompassing hillsides of once silent village of Khe Sanh (Clarke 185). The lush foliage will never go back to the valley that surrounded Khe Sanh and the pristine beauty that it used to have can no

Silent Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Silent Film - Essay Example Accessing these materials is, however, not a straightforward path, especially when investigating a new topic. Proper researching, though, leads one to find these archives that contain materials that are so much back dated. This paper, therefore, seeks to explore the archives bearing information on Charlie Chaplain with an aim of stating the lesson learnt from the topic. It will then explain how the topic was identified, the interest it raised over time, how the topic was narrowed, and the obstacles and dead-ends met during the research and the keywords searched that worked best and why they worked. Charlie Chaplain was a wealthy man who made millions through acting in the period of silent films. He was one of the funniest men during his era. He is a funny character who speaks better for himself even though his speech is of silent nature. He could send everyone who watched him into laughter, including those who did not want to laugh. Chaplain inhabited four hubs of jocularity between Fifth Avenue and Dearborn where he brought laughter to the shifting crowds (Kitty 10). His mode of dressing entailed a miserable pair of trousers and a bedraggled coat tails. He was also familiarized with an amusing midst of a minute mustache (Kitty 14). Chaplain was a big name, celebrated for the hilarious performances made in public concerts. He could receive several performance invitations, including the one mentioned in the Los Angeles Times. It provided, â€Å"Chaplain to shine: A citizen’s Vigilance Committee from Venice was out last night searching for one Charlie Chaplain, who is to be in the parade and catch the first ball in the opening game of San Francisco – Venice series.† (Green III1). Chaplain became so famous that at one time a crowd of about 500 people mistook Francis LaPlant and followed him down state street thinking that it was Chaplain. LaPlant thought the crowd wanted to lynch him and ran to a nearby medicine store where police ‘saved ’ him by taking him to his home (Hartford Courant 9). Chaplain produced several humorous antics, which included ‘For the Commonwealth’, ‘Who Pays’ and ‘Work’. As a result of his fame, Chaplain’s value rose. According to the Madison Square Theatre Schedule in New York, Chaplain was valued at $12,500 per week by 1915. According to an article, the management of the theatre offered Chaplain a lump of up to $25,000 as salary in order to engage him (Kingsley III4). Charlie Chaplin was so funny that in some instances he was referred to as the funniest and most vulgar human in the entire universe. In his piece, ‘The Woman’, for example, decent people would be infuriated due to the vulgarity in it. Its nature left the audience angry in their own laughter. This, however, is seen as demeaning his work as he seems to have no self – limit. His talent enables him turn impossible crowds into sheers of laughter. When he gets h is trousers down, however, mixed reactions will mostly likely fill the air, and parents might start restricting their children from attending Chaplin’s concerts. Harry Hamill was once quoted saying, â€Å"†¦In my judgment Chaplin descends to the lowest depths of vulgarity in almost every case.† Another man, A. C. F. said: Even the men will no longer think him funny or clever if he continues

Economy of any country in the world Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economy of any country in the world - Term Paper Example The topic is of importance as it addresses serious concerns and a significant setback to the development and economic independence of Germany. The consistent rise in pension to the ageing population results in higher taxes affects the nation’s contribution to the European and NATO defense activities. As at 2013, Germany’s GDP reduced significantly (Federal Statistical Office, 2015). That represents an underperformance in the GDP of Germany compared to her trading partners in the EU such as Italy, France, and Spain. German’s membership in the European Economic and Monitory Union (EMU) leaves the German Bundesbank out of control of its monetary policy. Instead, it depends on the European Central Bank (ECB) for determination of the rate of interest and money supply in setting monetary policy (Forex Market Watch, 2015). Macroeconomic policies in the EU grant the ECB bank the authority to reduce interest rates. In 2012, the ECB reduced the rates only from 5.6% to 4.1% this it does in the favor of nations with higher GDP growth leaving Germany, the largest economy in the EU, adversely affected. In the 1960s, Germany’s unemployment rate was at 2.7%, the percentage reversed suddenly in the onset of the new millennium with the rate of unemployment rising to 10.4%, as at 2005. The unexpected increase in unemployment rate was an indication of low performance of Germany’s economy as compared to the rest of EU nations. Germany’s unemployed population often has little motivation to find jobs because of low wages. The unemployment rate is also propelled by lack of benefits to those earning average salaries (Ahearn & Belkin, 2010, p. 6). Germany’s low productivity experienced in the 90s and early 2000s led to the collapse of its major industries (OECD, 2011, p. 22). The output per hour per employee dropped at an annual rate of 4.7% between 1995 and 2007, and this was an acute decline compared to the