What do you understand by Panchayati Raj?
Answers
The Panchayat raj is a South Asian political system found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago[1][2][3][4], and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in South Asia, and historical mentions date to the c. 250 AD period.[5] The word raj means "rule" and panchayat means "assembly" (ayat) of five (panch). Traditionally panchayats consisted of wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local community. However, there were varying forms of such assemblies. Traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and between villages.
The leader of the panchayat was often called the mukhiya or sarpanch, an elected or generally acknowledged position. The modern panchayati raj of India and its gram panchayats are not to be confused with either the traditional system nor with the extra-constitutional khap panchayats (or caste panchayats) found in parts of northern India.[6]
Open Panchayat near Narsingarh, Madhya Pradesh
Mahatma Gandhi advocated panchayat raj as the foundation of India's political system. It would have been a decentralised form of government where each village would be responsible for its own affairs.[7][8] The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj ("village self-governance"). Instead India developed a highly centralised form of government.[9] However, this has been moderated by the decentralisation of several administrative functions to the local level, empowering elected gram panchayats.[10] There are significant differences between the traditional panchayati raj system, that envisioned by Gandhi, and the system formalised in India in 1992
Panchayati Raj System is a system of governance at a lower level. This sytem of governance is at the lowest level of governing body, i.e., at the village level. This governance system was established under the Panchayat Raj Act in order to improve the governance system at the village level.
There are three tiers in Panchayati Raj system:
1) at village level called as Gram panchayat
2) at block level called as Block samiti
3) at district level called as Zila parishad