From Mandal to the Panchayat — Did Power Reach the Village, or Did the Village Break Apart?
N. Singh · ·6 min read
Translated from the original Hindi · मूल हिंदी लेख पढ़ें
Think back to any Indian village of thirty to forty years ago.
If a poor man’s daughter was to be married in the village, the entire village would stand up for her, treating her as their own daughter. Someone would bring grain from their home, someone would lay out charpais [woven rope cots], and someone would tend the large frying pan beside the confectioner to welcome the baraat [wedding procession]. If misfortune struck a home or someone passed away, the hearth in that house would be lit by food from a neighbour’s home for three days. Joys and sorrows were shared, the chaupal [village gathering place] was one, and the verdict of the village elders was deemed greater than any decree of a court.
But go and look at that very same village today!
Invisible yet unyielding walls of hatred have been erected right through the heart of the village. First cousins who once stood by the very same well and along the same field ridge are now out to take each other’s lives. Every other day, there are false FIRs [First Information Reports] lodged at police stations, lathi charges, murders, and mountains of lawsuits piling up in the courts.
The question is, how did the Indian village, which had preserved its harmony and communal solidarity for centuries through famines and the atrocities of both the Mughals and the British—how did that very village suddenly become so hollowed out and fragmented from within in the seventy years since Independence? Did the 73rd Constitutional Amendment and the caste politics of the Mandal Commission bring democracy to the village, or did they murder the very soul of the village?
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment and Panchayat Elections: The Dark Truth of Decentralisation
In 1992, through the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, constitutional status was granted to Panchayati Raj [local self-governance]. The objective was noble in the extreme—to realise Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of ‘Gram Swaraj’ [village self-rule] and to take power out of Delhi and Lucknow directly to the village chaupal.
In practice, however, this system afflicted the Indian village with three catastrophic maladies:
- Panchayat elections turned into a betting bazaar of crores: Earlier, the village pradhan [village head] was chosen by the consensus of the elders, someone impartial and self-sacrificing. Today, to win an election for the village headship, candidates pour out money like water, spending anywhere from ₹25 lakh to ₹1 crore! Crates of liquor are distributed, sarees are handed out, and chickens are slaughtered. For whoever wins, the primary task is not to bring development, but to recover the ₹50 lakh spent on the election through bribes and commissions!
- Caste reservations and permanent animosity: Every five years, when the reservation for the seat of the village head changes (sometimes women, sometimes OBC, sometimes SC, sometimes general), fresh fuel is added to the fire of old caste rivalries. The losing faction spends the next five years doing nothing but hatching conspiracies against the victors and throwing spanners into government development works.
- The destruction of the chaupal and nyay panchayat: In earlier times, mutual disputes in the village were resolved in the council of elders. Today, even for petty squabbles, people rush straight to the police station and the kachahri [district court], where the police and lawyers fleece both sides and leave them destitute.
The Traditional Indian Village Versus the Modern Electoral Panchayat
| Dimension | Ancient/Traditional Village System | Modern Electoral Panchayati Raj System |
|---|---|---|
| Social Relations | Community cooperation, familial feeling, and shared joys and sorrows | Vote-bank-based factionalism, distrust, and permanent enmity |
| Basis of Leadership | Character, impartiality, seniority, and sacrifice | Money power, muscle power, distribution of alcohol, and caste arithmetic |
| Justice System | Swift and free justice by consensus in an open village panchayat [village council] | Police-station touts, endless court hearings, and ruinous expenses |
| Use of Public Funds | Collective upkeep of village ponds, wells, chakmargs [consolidation paths / farm tracks], and trees | Commission-taking, fake muster rolls, and the plunder of funds through substandard cement drains |
The Bitter Truth from the Book: N. Singh’s Poignant Anguish
The author, N. Singh, writes in the chapter ‘The Fragmentation of the Village’ of his book ‘Anokha Bharat’:
“In the name of the decentralisation of democracy, the system we imposed on the panchayats did not bring power to the village, but it shattered the village’s centuries-old mutual love, brotherhood, and the culture of the chaupal forever. The British had adopted the policy of ‘divide and rule’, but our politicians sowed discord from house to house through panchayat elections to cement their vote-banks. Today, a brother in the village is breaking his own biological brother’s head because one stands beneath the banner of this party, and the other under that of another. The day the village chaupal fell apart was the day the heart of India was broken!”
— N. Singh (Anokha Bharat, pp. 88–89)
The author further records a chilling scene:
“In the village, people no longer sit by the bonfire at night listening to tales and legends; now, conspiracies are hatched around the bonfire on how to slap a false case under Section 307 or the SC/ST Act on a boy from the rival faction! Was this the Gram Swaraj that Gandhiji dreamt of?”
— (Anokha Bharat, p. 92)
Four Revolutionary Measures to Save the Soul of the Village
- Panchayat elections must be entirely non-partisan and party-free: There should be a complete ban on the symbols, posters, or interference of any political party in panchayat elections.
- Massive financial incentives for unanimous election: For any gram panchayat that elects its village head and ward members by consensus without voting, the government should grant a special additional grant of ₹1 crore for development.
- Real veto power to the Gram Sabha: No bill or payment submitted by the pradhan or secretary should be approved until it has undergone physical verification in an open meeting attended by at least 50% of the village’s voters.
- Revival of traditional village courts: Mediation tribunals composed of retired teachers and respected elders should be established to resolve petty civil and family disputes, putting an end to villagers having to go to the courts.
A Question for Reflection (The Message of the Book)
Shall we continue turning our own villages into battlegrounds of Kurukshetra in the name of electoral democracy, or will we resolve to bring back that warm, harmonious, and self-reliant Indian village?
To understand this agonising transformation of the Indian village, the poison-vine of politics, and its genuine solutions, this chapter from N. Singh’s timeless book ‘Anokha Bharat’ is a must-read for every villager and policymaker.
In the name of the decentralisation of democracy, the 73rd Amendment that we imposed on the panchayats did not bring power to the village; instead, it shattered the village's centuries-old mutual love, brotherhood, and the culture of the chaupal forever.