1

Modul
e:Democr
acy
,El
ect
ionsandGoodGov
ernance

•Democr
acyi
nIndi
a

–Di
mensi
onsofDemocr
acy
:Soci
al,
Economi
candPol
i
tical

–Decent
ral
i
sat
ion:
Grassr
oot
sLev
elDemocr
acy

–Chal
l
engesbef
oreDemocr
acy
:womenandmar
ginal
i
sedsect
ions
oft
hesoci
ety

•El
ect
iont
oLocalSel
fGov
ernmentBodi
es

–73r
dand74thConst
it
uti
onalAmendmentActs:
Inst
it
uti
onsatt
he
l
ocal
lev
elandRol
eofStat
eElect
ioncommissi
on

–Local
BodyEl
ect
ions:
Urban&Rur
al

–Dut
iesofanI
ndi
vi
dual
towar
dsel
ect
oral
process

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 2

•GoodGov
ernance

–Meani
ngandconcept

–Gov
ernmentandGov
ernance

–GoodGov
ernancei
nit
iat
ivesi
nIndi
a
ss

I.Democr acy
A.I nt roduct ion
Democr acyi sder i
vedf rom t heGr eekwor d‗ Kr ates’meani ngpower
orr ule.Democr acyt husmeansr uleoft he demos( t
hedemos
refer eei ngt ot hepeopl e,althought heGr eeksor i
ginal
lyusedt hi sto
meant he‗ poor ‘ort he
‗many ‘.Thusdemocr acyessent ial
lylinkst ot hegov tt
o2t hepeopl e
andhenceAbhr am Li ncon‘ sf amousdef i
nitionof―Democr acyi s
gov er nment
oft hepeopl e,byt hepeopl eandf orthepeopl e"r ightl
yexpr essest he
spirit
ofdemocr acy .
Ver ybr oadl y
, democr acymaymeant hef ollowi ng
1.Thesy st em ofr ulebyt hepooranddi sadv ant aged.
2.Af or m ofgov ernmenti nwhi chthepeopl er ulet hemselves
dir
ect lyandwi thoutt heneedf orpr ofessional pol i
tici
ansorpubl i
c
officials.
3.Asoci et ybasedonequal oppor tunityandi ndi vi
dual meritrather
thanhi er ar chyandpr ivileges.
4.Asy st em ofwel fareandr edistr
ibutionai medatnar r
owsoci al
i
nequal ities.
5.Asy st em ofdeci sionmaki ngbasedont hePr incipeofmaj orityrule

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 3

6.Asy stem ofrulethatsecuresther i

ghtandi nterest
sofminori
ti
es
byplacingchecksupont hepoweroft hemaj orit
y .
7.Ameansoff i
l
lingpublicoff
icesthroughacompet i
ti
vest
ruggl
e
forthepopularv ote.
8.Asy stem ofgov er
nmentt hatservestheinterestofpeopl
e
regardl
essoft heirpart
ici
pati
oni npoli
ti
calli
fe.

Democr
acyi
sbr
oadl
ycl
assi
fi
edas:

1.Di
rectDemocr
acyand

Repr
esent
ati
ve2.Democr
acy

Dir
ectDemocr acyisal socal ledaspar t
icipator
ydemocr acy
thi
swast hefirstevermodelofdemocr acyintr
oducedi ntheGr eek
cit
yst at
eofAt hensin3rdcent uryBC.I nthisf orm ofdemocr acy,
cit
izensparti
cipatedintheaf f
airsoft hest at
edi rectl
yandhadasay
i
nt hegov er
nanceoft heci t
yst ate.Ev erycit
izenhadapol i
ticalright
i
nt heism st
ate.(womenandsl aveswer enotal l
owedt oparti
cipate).
Dir
ectdemocr acy t
hus obl i
terates the di st
incti
on bet ween
gov er
nmentand t he governed and bet ween t he state and ci vi
l
society.

Feat ur
esofDi rectDemocr acy
Itheightensthecont r
olthatciti
zenscanexer ci
seovert heirown
destini
esasi tsi t
heonlypur eform ofgovernment.
Itcreatesabett eri
nformedandmor epoli
ticall
ysophisticated
cit
izens.
Itenablesthepubl i
ctoexpr essthei
rownv i
ewsandi nter ests
withouthav i
ngt orel
yinself-serv
ingpoli
ti
cians.

Represent ati
veDemocr acy
Iti
sal socal l
edl imi
tedori ndi
rectdemocracy .Thenar r
owmeani ng
ofrepr esentati
vedemocr acyasunder st
oodbymanyi speri
odic
voti
ngaf terast ipul
atedtime(incaseofIndi aitiseveryfi
veyears)
.
Howev ert helargermeani ngofdemocracyi sfullpar
tici
pat
ioninthe
day to day af fairs ofgov er
nance.The pr ocess ofelecti
on is
essential
lyt o establi
sh a li
nkbet ween thegov er
nmentand t he
governed.

Feat
uresofrepr
esent
ati
vedemocracy
:
I
tisapract
icabl
efor
m ofdemocr
acy.

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 4

Itrel
ievesordinarycit
izenstheburdenofdeci sionmaking t
hus
possibl
eadivisionofl
abourinpol
i
tics.
Itall
owsgov ernedtobepl acedi
nt hehandsoft hosewi
thbetter
educati
on,expertknowl
edgeandgreaterexper
ience.

Pri
nci pl
esofDemocr acyareasf ol
lows
1.Gov ernmentbyconsent :democr acyisgover
nmentbyconsentof
thepeopl e.Rati
onalconsentcanbeobt ai
nedbyper suasi
onf or
whichanat mospher eoff reediscussionisessenti
al.Consenti s
obtainedatt wolevels.
A)Among t he representati
ves oft he peopl
ei nt he legi
slat
ive
assembl ieswheremember softheoppositi
onhavetheirful
lsayand
B)Atapubl i
clevelwher ethereisadi r
ectcommunicat i
onbetween
theleader shi
pandt hepeopl e.

2.Publ i
cAccount abil
ity:Itessenti
allymeanst her epresent at
ives
mustr emainanswer abletot hepeople.Aswehav eseenear l
ierthat
democr acyessentiall
yi sbasedonpubl icconsent,thereforei tis
i
mpl i
edt hatthegov ernmentshoul dber esponsi
bleandr esponsi ve
tothepeopl e.What everwillandaspi r
ati
onsoft hepeopl ear e,the
governmentshoul dat temptt ofulfi
l
/ r
eali
sethoseift heyf allwell
wit
hint heconsti
tut
ional f
ramewor kofthecountry.

3.Maj orit
yRul e:I nmoder nr epresentati
vedemocr acies,deci si
ons
aretakeni nsev er
al bodiesr i
ghtf rom elect
ingthegov ernmentt ot he
commi t
teest hatar econst i
tuted.I tisconsider
edt obet heheartof
the democr ati
c sy stem t hatal li ssues in al
lt he bodi es from
l
egislaturetocabi net,executivesandot hercommi tteesar eresol
v ed
thr
ough maj orit
ydeci sions.Pol iti
calequal i
tyi s secur ed byt he
pri
ncipleof‘ onemanonv ote‘,whi chimpliesthatt herewi l
lbeno
pri
vil
eged sect i
ons cl ai
mi ng speci al wei ghtage nor any
underprivi
legedsect ionwhosev oiceisignored.Nodi scriminati
oni s
all
owedongr oundsofr eli
gion,race,Cast e,Sex,Pl aceofbi r
thor
owner shipofpr oper t
y .Thepr inciplesofmaj ori
tyruler eli
esont he
wisdom oft heMaj ori
ty.

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 5

BOX1:Popul arSov erei gnt y:

Itmeanspeopl e‘sr ule.Theaut horit
yof
the St at
e and gov er nmenti s created and
sustained by t he consent of i ts people,
throught heirelect edr epr esent at
ives.
Itmeanspeopl ear esupr emeaut horit
yand
nottheel ectedr epr esent at i
ves.
4.Const i
tuti
onalgov ernmentandRul eofLaw:Const it
utional
governmentmeans ‗ gover nmentby l aw‘r athert han by men.
Democr acyr equiresani nfinitelycompl exmachi neryofpr ocess,
proceduresandi nst i
tutionst ot r ansl atet hemaj orit
ywi l
lintoaction.
Ifonecompr omiseswi tht hel aw,r ampantcor r
uptionanddecayof
democr acyi sensur ed.I tis,t her ef ore,essent i
alt o haveawel l
-
establ
ishedt raditi
onofl aw andconst i
tuti
onf ort hestabili
tyofa
democr ati
cgov ernment .

Box2:Const i
tuti
onalSupremacy
Ast herulebookt heconsti
tut
ionissupreme
andnott hePar l
iament.Thelawsemanat ing
fr
om t he consti
tuti
on shoul
d supersede all
l
aws
caste,sex,place ofbi r
th orowner shi
p of
propert
y.Thepr i
ncipleofmajori
tyrulereli
es
onthewi sdom ofthemajori
ty.
II
. Di mensionsofDemocr acy:Soci alDemocr acy,Economi cand
Polit
ical
Definit
ion a democr ati
c wel f
are st atet hat incor por at
es bot h
capital
istandsoci alistpract i
ces.
Meani ng:Soci alDemocr acyi s a pol i
ti
cal,soci aland economi c
i
deol ogy that suppor t
s economi c and soci ali nt erventi
ons t o
promot esocialjusticewi thint heframewor kofacapi t
al i
steconomy ,
aswel lasapol icyregi mei nvolvi
ngacommi tmentt or epresent at
ive
democr acy,measur esf or i ncomer edistr
ibuti
on,andr egulati
onof
theeconomyi nt hegener ali nterestandwel farest atepr ov i
sions.
Socialdemocr acyt husai mst ocreatet hecondi ti
onsf orcapi tali
sm
toleadt ogreaterdemocr at i
c,egalit
arianandsol i
daristicout comes;
andi softenassoci at edwi ththesetofsoci oeconomi cpol i
ciest hat
becamepr ominenti nNor thernandWest ernEur ope.InI ndiaDr .B.R
Ambedkar t he Chai r
man of t he Dr afti
ng Commi ttee of t he
Const i
tuti
onstronglyadv ocat edforSoci alDemocr acy.

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 6

Cor evaluesofSoci alDemocr acyar easf oll

ows.
1.Fr eedom,Equal it
yandFr aternity :Thiswast hebat tl
e- cryoft he
FrenchRev olution;andt hesebr oadl yr emai nt hecor ev alues of
democr aticpar tiest oday .Thef ormul ati
onofcor evaluesbegani n
theni net eent hcent urywi tht her i
seoft hebour geoisieandt hey
begant oconquert hewor ldatt helat estint hemi d-
twentiet hcent ury
–t heycamet obet hest andar dbywhi chst at
esandsoci etieswer e
j
udged.
2.Thi si sal so r eflected i nt hel egalf oundat i
onsoft heUni ted
Nat i
ons.Wi tht heUN‘ st woHumanRi ghtsCov enantsof1966t he
fundament alci v ic,pol i
ti
cal ,economi c,soci aland cul turalright s
attai
ned t heapexoft hei rlegitimacyand hav ebeen r ati
fi
ed by
almostev erycount ryi nthewor l
d.Theyconst i
tutesomet hinglikea
globallegalf oundat ion.Fundament alr i
ghtsar esupposedt oensur e
thet r
ansposi tionofcor ev al
uesi ntof ormal l
egal claims.
3.Fundament alRi ghts:These ar et he r i
ghts enshr ined i nt he
const i
tutions of democr ati
c count ri
es.These ar e cl aims t hat
i
ndi vi
dual shav ei nast ate.InIndi a,Fundament alRigtsar eenshr ined
i
nPar tIIIoft heconst ituti
on.I fthef undament alr i
ghtsar eabr i
dged
byanyi ndi v i
dualor t hest ate,anyci ti
zencanmov et heSupr eme
Cour tort heHi ghcour ts.

BOX2:Si xFundament alRight

s:
Rightto
equalit
yRight
tofreedom
Rightagainstexpl
oit
ati
on
Righttofreedom ofrel
igi
on
Educationalandcult
ural
ri
ght

Economi c democr acy or st akeholder democr acy i s a

soci
oeconomi cphilosophyt hatpr oposest oshi f
tdeci si
on-making
powerf rom cor poratemanager sandcor porat
eshar eholderst oa
l
arger gr oup of publ i
c st akeholders that includes wor ker s,
cust
omer s,suppli
ers,neighbour sandt hebr oaderpublic.Nosi ngle
defi
niti
on orappr oach encompasses economi c democr acy,but
mostpr oponent scl aimt hatmoder npropertyrel
ationsext er
nalize
costs,subordinatethegener alwel l
-beingtopr i
vateprofit
,anddeny
thepol i
tyademocr ati
cv oicei n economicpol i
cy deci sions.I n
addi
t i
ont othesemor alconcerns,economi cdemocr acy

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 7

makes pr
act
icalcl
aims,such as thati
tcan compensat
efor
capi
tal
i
sm'si
nher
enteff
ect
ivedemandgap.

Polit
icalDemocr acyi sameansf ort hepeopl et o chooset hei
r
l
eader sandt oholdt hei
rleader saccount abl
ef ortheirpoli
ciesand
thei
rconducti nof f
ice.Thepeopl edecidewhowi l
lrepresentthem in
parl
iament ,andwhowi llheadt hegov ernmentatt henat i
onaland
l
ocall evels.Theydosobychoosi ngbet weencompet i
ngpar t
iesin
regular,fr
eeandf airelecti
ons.Gov ernmenti sbasedont heconsent
ofthegov erned.Inademocr acy,thepeopl earesov erei
gn—theyar e
thehi ghestf orm ofpol i
ti
calaut horit
y.Powerf lowsf r
om thepeopl e
tothel eader sofgov er
nment ,who hol dpoweronl ytempor ari
ly
.
Poli
ticalDemocr acyi sa meansf ort hepeopl et o chooset hei
r
l
eader sandt oholdt hei
rleader saccount abl
ef ortheirpoli
ciesand
thei
rconducti nof f
ice.Thepeopl edecidewhowi l
lrepresentthem in
parl
iament ,andwhowi llheadt hegov ernmentatt henat i
onaland
l
ocall evels.Theydosobychoosi ngbet weencompet i
ngpar t
iesin
regular,fr
eeandf airelecti
ons.Gov ernmenti sbasedont heconsent
ofthegov erned.Inademocr acy,thepeopl earesov erei
gn—theyar e
thehi ghestf orm ofpol i
ti
calaut horit
y.Powerf lowsf r
om thepeopl e
tothel eadersofgov ernment, whohol dpoweronl ytempor ari
ly.

B.Decent ralisation:
Decent rali
sat ioncanbeusef ul l
yunder stoodasapol iti
calpr ocess
wher eby admi ni
str ati
v e aut hor
ity
, publ ic r esources and
responsi bil
itiesar etransf err
edf rom centralgov er nmentagenci esto
l
ower -
levelor gansofgov ernmentort onon- gov ernment albodi es,
suchascommuni ty-basedor ganisati
ons( CBOs) ,‗thi
rdpar ty‘non-
gov ernment al or
gani sations( NGOs)orpr iv at esect oractors
In1993,t heGov ernmentofI ndiapassedaser i
esofconst i
tutional
reforms,whi chwer ei ntendedt oempoweranddemocr ati
seI ndia‘
s
ruralrepresent ati
vebodi es–t hePanchay at s.The73r dAmendment
tot heConst ituti
onf or mal l
yr ecognisedat hi rdt i
erofgov ernmentat
thesub-St at elevel,t herebycr eati
ngt hel egalcondi ti
onsf orl ocal
self-r
ule – orPanchay atiRaj .Since t hist ime,t he process of
decent rali
sat ionhasbeenhi ghl yvariabl
e,r angingf rom ambi ti
ous
attempt satGr am Swar aj(orv ill
ageself-r
ul e) .

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 8

Box3:Pol iti
cal,admi nistrativeandf iscaldecentralisation.
Polit
icaldecent ralisat i
ont ransferspol i
cyandl egislati
v e
power sf rom cent ral gov ernmentt oautonomous, lower -l
evel
assembl iesandl ocal counci lst
hathav ebeendemocr at
icall
y
el
ectedbyt heirconst ituenci es.
Admi nistrativ
e decent r
alisation pl aces pl anni ng and
i
mpl ement ati
onr esponsi bilityi
nt hehandsofl ocallysi t
uated
ci
vilser vant s and t hese l ocalci vi
lser vants are undert he
j
urisdicti
onofel ect edl ocal government s.
Fi
scal decent ralisat i
on accor ds subst antial revenue and
expendi t
ur eaut hor ityt ointer mediateandl ocalgov ernment s.

Sour
ce:Wor
ldBank

Def
ini
ngf
eat
uresofDecent
ral
isat
ion:

popularcont
rolofpol
icymakers,
bot
hbyr
egul
arel
ect
ionsandby
t
hepr essur
eofsociali
nter
estgr
oups;

t
he i
nst
it
uti
onal
isat
ion ofal
ladul
tci
ti
zens i
nvot
ing (
i.
e.one
per
son,
onevote)
;

pol
i
tical
freedom i
ntheey
esoft
hest
ate;

pol
i
cydeci
sionsmadeont
hebasi
sofmaj
ori
tyr
ule

Whatmakesl ocali
nst
it
ut i
onsaccountabl
e?
I
nthissecti
on,weconsiderthr
eebroadcondit
ionsunderwhi
chlocal
i
nst
ituti
onscanbemademor eaccountabletopoorandpolit
ical
ly
marginalgr
oups:

anact i
veci
ti
zenry,whosepar t
ici
pationinbr
oadareasofpolit
ical
l
if
e,suchasv ot
ing,campaigning,attendi
ngmeet i
ngs,runni
ngf or
of
fice,l
obbyi
ngrepresentat
ives,etc.
,servestocounterbal
ancethe
ar
bitrar
yuseofpower ;

fi
scalandpol
i
ticalsuppor
tfr
om hi
gherl
evelaut
hor
it
ieswi
thi
n
gov
ernment;

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 9

theexi
stenceofcompeti
tiv
epol
iti
calpart
ieswhosel
egit
imacy
dependsatleasti
npartontheabi
l
itytosupportt
heneedsofthe
poor.

C.Chal l
engesbef oreDemocr acy
The basi c chal
lenges bef or
e democr acy inIndia are poverty
,
i
lli
teracy,l owerpar ti
cipat
ion,criminal
i
sat i
on ofpolit
ics,poli
ti
cal
viol
ence, corrupt
ion,communal ism,Regionali
sm.Apartfrom t
histhe
two v ery cruci
alar eas of ( non)
parti
cipati
on ar
e women and
mar ginali
sedsect i
ons.

Women
Afterf ami l
y,pat riar chyex istsmosti npol itics.Womenar eal way s
consi der edt obet hesecondar yciti
zensoft hecount ry.Hence,t he
oppor tuni ti
esf orpar ticipationar emi nimalt ot hem.I nmostcases
theydonotev enhav et her ighttosel ectt hei rowncandi dat esand
areof tenf orcedt ov ot eforacandi datewhot heheadoft hef ami ly
(gener allymal e)askest o.I fatal lwomencomeoutt ov otedur ing
variousel ectionsf rom par li
ament arytost at el egi
slaturetot hel ocal
bodi es ofMuni ci palcor por ati
ons,muni cipalcounci ls,t he zi lla-
parishadst opanchay atsami tiestot hegr am panchay at,thet ur nout
i
sgener all
yv eryl ow.Asr egar dscont estingel ecti
onswoment hough
33%r eser vationi sav ailablev er yfewwomenv ol
unteerfort hesame.
Ast hepost sar er eser v edt hepol i
ticalfami liesort hemal emember s
ofthef ami lyoper at ef rom behi ndt hecur tain.

Mar gi
nal isedpopul ation:
Asr egar dst hemar ginal i
sedsect i
ons( thedalit
s,thet r
ibal
s,casual
worker s,f i
sherf olks,const ruct
ion,mi gratedandl abour,thev oti
ng
percent agei sv eryl ow.Thegov ernmentmachi nerycannotal lthe
ti
meat temptt obr ingt hem tothemai nst r
eam.Hencecommuni ty
i
niti
atives ar e mostneeded i nt his spher e.These mar ginali
sed
groupsar enotev enr egi st
eredv oter
sandhenceal ar
genumberof
peoplear eoutoft hef rayofelecti
onandi nturndemocr ati
cpr ocess.
Itist her eforeimper ativetobr ingt hesepeopl ei ntothepol iti
cal
sphereoft hecount ry.

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 10

I
I.Elect i
onstoLocalSel fGover
nmentBodi es:
I
ndiai sconsider
edasoneoft helargestf
unctionaldemocr acyinthe
wor l
d.Thisdemocr ati
c
Exper i
menthaswi thstoodthetestoft heti
me. ithasbeenpossi bl
e
becausewehav ebeenabl et oconductf r
eeandf airelectionsat
regularint
erval(
Exceptdur i
ng1976Emer gency ).Theconstituti
onof
I
ndiaguar anteesit
speopl eri
ghttochooset heirrepr
esentativesand
peoplewho gov ernthem.Thi st akesplacet hr
oughelect ionsat
foll
owingt hr
eelevels:

National Lev el: At t his lev el peopl e di rectl

y el ect their
representati
vestot heHouseofPeopl ei.e.LokSabhaf oraper i
odof
fi
vey ears.The per son elected thus isar epresentati
ve oft hat
parti
cularareaorconst i
tuencyint hepar l
iament .E.g.Loksabhahas
543member swhi char edi r
ectlyelectedbyt hepeolet hrought he
fi
rstpastt hepostsy stem.Peopl ecastt heirvotesf orcandidates
belongingt oav ariet
yofpol it
icalpar t
ies.Theonewhosecur es
highestnumberofv ot
es is decl ared el ect
ed.Member s oft he
Counci lofStat
esi .
e.Raj yaSabhaar eindirectl
yelectedbymember s
ofLokSabhaandmember softhest atelegi sl
ati
veassembl y.

State Lev el
:The par li
amentaryf orm ofgov ernmenthas been
adopt edatt hest at
elevelaswel l
.Att hi slev
elpeopleofapar t
icul
ar
statedi rectly electtheirrepresentat i
v estothest atelegi
slati
ve
Assembl yi .
e.VidhanSabhaf oraper iodoff i
veyears.Theper son
el
ect edt husi sar epresent
ativeofpar ti
cul
arareaorconst i
tuency
fr
om a st atei nt he st
atel egisl
atur e.E.g.Statel egi
slat
ure of
Mahar ashtra has288 member sint heVi dhan Sabha which are
di
r ectl
yel ectedbythepeopleoft hest at eofMaharashtra.

LocalLev el
:Inor dert oachiev
ei dealsofgoodgov ernance the
consti
tuti
onofI ndiasince1990‘shasaddedonemor et i
ertothe
government,inthef orm ofl
ocalself
-governi
ngbodi
es,bothinrural
andur banareas.Int hi
spartofthechapt erweshal
lgoi nt
odetail
s
ofUrbanandRur alLocalBodyElecti
ons.

Insti
tutionsatt heLocalLev el
:
Thegeogr aphicallengthandbr eadthofourcount rycoupledwi t
h
unimagi nabl
esoci o cul
tur
aldi v
ersi
tymakesherauni quenat i
on
state.Inadditiont othisahugepopul ati
onposemanygov er
nance
challenges bef oreus.Ourconst i
tut
ionhasdi v
idedthepower sand
functionsbet weent heuni onandst ateintheform ofthreelist
s
ment ionedinpar tVI Ioftheconst i
tuti
on.Butwithchangingtimes
Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 11

andgr
owi
ngexpanseofgov
ernance,

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 12

i
twasr ealisedthatagover
nmenti sneededwhi chclosertopeopl e,
wherepeopl earepartofthegov er
ningprocessandal soapar tof
el
ecti
ng t heirown localrepresentati
ves to address thei
rl ocal
probl
ems and concer ns.To t his ef
fectin 1993 t wo hi st
oric
consti
tutionalamendment swer epassedbyt heIndianPar l
i
ament .
The73r dCAAand74t hCAAcel ebratethespir
itoflocaldemocr acy
andlocal gov er
nancei
nIndia.

Const ituti
onalPr ov i
sions of t he 73r d & 74t h Const it
utional
AmendmentAct s:
The73r dand74t hAmendmentt ot heConst itutionofI ndiahasgi ven
l
egalsanct it
yt ot hePanchay atRajSy stem i nr ur
alar rearsand
Muni cipalGov ernancei nUr banar eas.I ndiahasachequer edhi story
ofl ocalsel f-gov er ningbodi eswor kingatt hel ocall evel.Thecounci l
off iveel derlymember sf r
om av il
lagei .e.Panchay atexistedi nIndia
since t i
me i mmemor i
al.Si rChar l
esMet cal fcal led these v i
llage
communi ti
esas
‗LittleRepubl ics‘.Butwi tht hepassageoft imet hesecommuni ti
es
became dy sfunct i
onal. Af ter i ndependence, t hrough t he
recommendat ionsofv ari
ouscommi tteesl ikeBal wantRaiMehat a
Commi tt
ee, AshokMeht acommi t
teeandot her s,I
ndiangov ernment
tri
edt or evivet hesei nst i
tuti
ons.Butunf or t
unat elyt heyal lfai l
ed
mi ser ably.Howev erwi tht heonset sofl i
ber alr eformsi n1990‘ s, the
processofdecent rali
sational sogai nedmoment um.Andf i
nall
yi n
199373r dand74t hCAA wer epassedbyt heI ndi
anPar l
i
ament .
Theseact si mpl ementAr t
icle40oft heDPSP.I taddedPar tXIandXI
At ot heconst it
ut ion.I tcov ersAr ticle243t o243Owhi chr el
atest o
Panchay atiRajSy st em inr uralar easandAr ticle243Pt o243 ZG
whi chr elatest our banl ocalgov er nancei nI ndia.Theseact sal so
addedt wo schedul est ot heconst itution,namel y11t hand12t h
schedul e.The 11t hschedul epr escr ibesal istof29f unctionst obe
per formedbyr ur all ocalbodi esand12t hschedul epr escribesal i
st
of18f unctionst obeper formedbyt heur banl ocal bodies.

Thesetwoactshaveaddedt
hirdt
iert
ot hefederalf
ramewor kofour
Governmentandthusi tmakesIndi
aauni quet hreetierfeder
al
democrat
icpol
it
yintheworl
d.Thefol
lowingflowchartexplai
nsthi
s:

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 13

Uni
onGov
ernment

St
ateGov
ernment

Local
Gov
ernment

Panchay
at Nagar
pal
i
ka

Di
str
ictPanchay
at Muni
cipal
Cor
por
ati
on

I
nter
medi
atePanchay
at Muni
cipal
Counci
l

Vi
l
lagePanchay
at NagarPanchay
at

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 14

I
mport
antf
eat
uresoft
he73r
dand74t
hConst
it
uti
onalAmendment
Act
s:

1)Gr am SabhaorWar dSabha(Meetings):I tisadel i

berati
vebody
att hegr assroot slev el.I
tcompr i
sesofal lther egi
stersvotersina
vil
lagei nr ur
alar easorawar dinanur banar ea.Iti
st hefoundat i
on
ofl ocaldemocr acyandpr ocessofdecent rali
sati
onofpower sin
India.Peopl e atgr assrootslevelcan di r
ect l
ypar t
ici
patei nt he
meet ingsofGr am SabhaorWar dMeet i
ng,wher et
heycandi scuss
i
ssues concer ning t hem, offer suggest ions, question t heir
represent ati
vesandal soapprovetheplansandbudget spreparedby
theirrepresent atives.I nawayi t‘
sami ni
atureoft hepar l
iamentof
Indiaatt hegr assroot slevel
.

2)Reservati
onofseat sf orSC/StandWomen:I nordertopr ovi
de
fai
randequalr epr
esentationtoal lthesect
ionsoft hesociety,
seats
arereservedforSC, STinpr oportiontotheirpopulati
on.Alongwith
thi
s,onethir
dseat sarealsor eservedforwomencandi dat
es.St at
es
l
ike Mahar ashtr
a,Madhy aPr adesh,Gujaratnow r eser
vef i
ftyper
centoftheseatsintheirPanchay atiraj
inst
itut
ions.

3)St ateEl ectionCommi ssion:Thi samendmentpr ovidesfort he

establishmentoft heSt at eEl ecti
on Commi ssion f
orconductof
el
ectionst ot heur banandr urallocalsel
f-
gov ernment.Thisconsist
ofMuni cipalCor por at
ions,Muni ci
palCouncils,NagarPanchay at
si n
urban ar eas and Zi ll
a Par i
shads,Panchay at Sami ti
s,Vi l
l
age
Panchay atsi nr uralareas.Thi s amendmentmade pr ovi
sion of
Arti
cle243- Kand243- ZAwher einStateElecti
onCommi ssionwer e
established.Themai nobj ectivefor73rdand74t hamendmentand
maki ngt hispr ov i
sionwast ocr eateindependentst at
usofSt ate
Electi
onCommi ssionsot hatel ecti
onsareconduct edinfreeandfair
,
withoutot herinterventi
on.

Roleofani ndivi
dualtowardselectoralpr
ocessatthelocall
evel:
Democr acyasasy stem andasawayofl if
ebecomesmeani ngful
onlywhent hereisacti
v epart
ici
pati
onofpeopleintheelect
oral
process.Foll
owingsuggest edacti
vit
ieshelpusunderst
andourrole
asaci t
izenandasani ndi
viduali
ntheelector
alpr
ocess.

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 15

Suggest
edAct
ivi
ti
es:

1)Fi
ndoutthenameofelect
edlocalr
epresent
ati
vef
rom y
ourr
ural
orur
banareainwhi
chyouliv
e.Whatpromiseshemadeatthet
ime
ofel
ect
ionandhowmuchwor khehaddoneinyourar
ea?

2)Registeryour
selfi
nt hevoter
slistofyourareaofresidence,tobe
ablevoteatthetimeofNat i
onal,Stat
eorl ocalEl
ect
ions.Ifyoushif
t
yourresi
dencetheny oualsomustshi ftyournamet othev oter
sli
st
ofthatarea.Vot
erregistr
ati
oncannowbedoneonl i
neaswel l.

3)Vi
sitaLocalbody
.E.
g.Gr
am Panchay
atorMuni
cipalCor
por
ati
on
orZi
l
laPari
shad

4)At
tendaGr
am SabhaorWar
dMeet
ingi
nyourownar
ea.

5)Findoutwhatfuncti
onsr
uralorur
banl
ocalbodi
esar
esupposed
toperf
orminyourArea.

6)Findoutwhataretheprobl
ems,chal
lengesandconcer
nsofy
our
area.Whatst
epslocalbodyhast
akentoaddressthesame?

7)Findoutthenamesofpolit
icalpar
ti
eswhi chcont
estedel
ecti
onin
yourarealastti
me.Whatwast hei
relector
almanif
estooragenda?
How farthepar t
yhasbeenabl etoaddr essthelocalconcer
ns?
Whatistheirpar
tyideol
ogy
?Whati stheirpar
tysymbol?

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 16

II
I.Good
Gov er
nance
Intr
oducti
on:
Gov er
nancehasbeendef i
nedtor ef
ertostructuresandpr ocesses
that are designed t o ensure account abil
it
y,t r
anspar ency,
responsi
veness,rul
e oflaw,st abi
li
ty,equity and i
nclusiveness,
empower mentandbr oadbasedparti
cipat
ion.Whenagov ernment
sti
ckst othesepri
nci
pleswhilemakingpol i
ciesandimpl ement i
ng
them,iti
ssaidtobegoodgov er
nance.

Letusnowl
ookatt
heconceptofGoodGov
ernancei
ndet
ail
.

Meani ngofGoodGov ernance:

I
n 1989,t he conceptof‗ governance‘was f ort he fi
rsttime
hi
ghlightedinaWor l
dBankst udy‗Sub-Sahar
anAf ri
ca-from Cr
isi
sto
Sustainabl
eGrowth‘todescr i
bet heneedforinsti
tut
ionalrefor
m and
abet t
erandmor eeffici
entpublicsectorinSub-Sahar ancountr
ies.
The st udy report ment i
oned f our key di mensions of good
governance:

i
.Publ
i
csect
ormanagement

i
i
.Account
abi
l
ity

i
i
i.Legal
framewor
kfordev
elopment

i
v.I
nfor
mat
ionandt
ranspar
ency

Foracount rylikeIndiawher edemocracyf ormst hebaseofal lt he

governingsy st
ems,gov ernanceneedstobei nclusiv
eandi slargely
det
er minedbyt hepar t
ici
pati
onofi t
speopl e.Inademocr acyl ike
our
s,asy st
em ofgov ernancewhichisaccount ableandt r
anspar ent
demands t he par ti
cipati
on of people atev eryl ev
el.Peopl e‘s
par
ticipat
ionononehandcanhel pthegov ernmentf ormul
atebet ter
pol
icieswhi chcanbecommuni catedtothesoci etyagai
nt hrough
par
ticipat
ionandal soimplementedwel l
withi t
shel p.

Ifpoli
ciesoft hegov ernmentar eincl
usiv
eandpeopl ef ri
endly,it
wouldhelpencouraget heparti
cipati
onofciti
zensinthemai nst
ream
poli
ti
calpr ocess.Int urn,when peopl e parti
cipate di
rectl
y-by
contesti
ngori ndi
rect
lybyv oti
ngorbybei ngapar toftheelectoral
process,i
twoul dhelpstrengt
hent hegovernmentandwoul dhelpin
bri
ningmor epeoplefri
endlypoli
cies.
Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 17

Goodgov
ernancet
hushast
obeunder
stoodasat
wowaypr
ocess-
t
hegov
ernmentshoul
densur
ethatt
hev
aluesofgoodgov
ernance
l
i
keaccount
abi
l
ityandt
ranspar
encyar
etakencar
eofwhi
l
efr
ami
ng
pol
i
cieswhi
l
eont
heot
herhand,peopl
eshoul
dpar
ti
cipat
eint
he
pr
ocessofgov
ernancet
omakei
tbet
ter
.
Af
terhav
ingadet
ail
eddi
scussi
onaboutt
heor
igi
n,dev
elopment
andmeani
ngofgoodgov
ernance,l
etust
ryt
ounder
standt
he
essent
ialcomponent
sofgoodgov
ernancer
efl
ect
edi
nthev
ari
ous
document
sandst
udyr
epor
tsofi
nter
nat
ionalor
gani
sat
ions,pol
icy
maker
sandi
nthewr
it
ingsoft
her
esear
cher
sandacademi
cians.

Char
act
eri
sti
csofGoodGov
ernance:

1.
Par
ti
cipat
ion:

Thef ir
stchar act
eri
sticr ef
erstoequalpar t
icipati
onbyal lmember s
ofsoci etyast hekeyel ementofgoodgov ernance,wi thev ery
one
havinga r ol
ei nthepr ocessofdeci si
on-
maki ng.Par ti
cipationcould
beei therdirectort hroughl egit
imateintermedi at
ei nstituti
onsor
repr
esent ati
ves.Parti
ci pat
ionneedst obei nformedandor gani
zed.
Thismeansf reedom ofassoci at
ionandexpr essionont heonehand
andanor ganizedcivilsocietyont heotherhand.Al lthesect i
onof
societyshoul dbeal l
owedt oexpr esstheirconcer nsi nt hepolicy
maki nginfl
uencingthem wi thoutanyfearanddi scri
mi nation.

2.
Rul
eofLaw:

Goodgov ernancer equiresf airlegalframewor kst hatareenf orced

i
mpar ti
all
y .I t also requi r
es f ullpr otecti
on of human r ights,
particular
lyt hose ofmi noriti
es.I mpar ti
alenf orcementofl aws
requiresani ndependentj udiciaryandani mpartialandincorruptibl
e
policef orce.I tal
soi nvolvespr ovisi
onoff r
eel egalaidtot hepoor
andneedypeopl ewhocannotaf fordtopayt othel egalpracti
ti
oner .
I
tf ocusesonj udici
alandl egislati
ver eformsandt heimportanceof
l
egal educationandt rai
ning.

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 18

3.
Transpar
ency
:

Transparencymeanst hatdecisionst akenandthei renf

orcementar e
done inamannert hatfollowsr ulesandregulations.I
talsomeans
thatinf
ormationisfreelyav ai
l
abl eanddi r
ectl
yaccessi blet othose
whowi llbeaf f
ectedbysuchdeci si
onsandt heirenforcement .I
t
also meanst hat enoughi nformat i
oni sprov i
dedandt hatitis
provi
dedi neasi
lyunderstandablefor msandmedi a.

4.
Responsi
veness:

Goodgov ernancer equi

resthatinsti
tuti
onsandpr ocessestryto
serve allstakeholders wi
thi
nar easonabl
et i
meframe.Bybei ng
responsive,governmentali
nsti
tut
ionsgain‗ l
egi
ti
macy‘inthepubli
c
real
m whi chwi llautomati
cal
lyensuret hei
rwideracceptanceand
thuseffecti
venessi ngover
nance.

5.
Consensusor
ient
ed:

Therear eseveralactorsandasmanyv i
ewpointsi
nagi vensociety
.
Goodgov ernancer equir
esmedi at
ionoft hediff
erentint
erestsin
societytoreachabr oadconsensusi nsoci
etyonwhati sinthebest
i
nt er
estoft hewhol ecommuni tyandhow t hi
scanbeachi eved.I
t
alsorequiresabr oadandl ong-t
erm per
specti
veonwhati sneeded
forsustainabl
ehumandev elopmentandhowt oachievethegoalsof
suchdev elopment.

6.
Equi
tyandi
ncl
usi
veness:

Asoci
ety ‘
swell-
beingdependsonensur i
ngthatalli
tsmember sfeel
t
hattheyhav east akeini tanddonotf eelexcludedf rom t
he
mai
nstream ofsoci ety.Thi
srequir
esal
lgroups,butparti
cular
lyt
he
mostvulnerabl
e,hav eopport
unit
iestoi
mproveormai nt
ainthei
rwell
-
bei
ng.

7.
Eff
ect
ivenessandef
fi
ciency
:

Goodgov er
nancemeanst hatpr
ocessesandinstit
uti
onsproduce
resul
tsthatmeett heneedsofsociet
ywhil
emaki ngthebestuseof
resour
cesattheirdisposal
.Theconceptofef
fi
ciencyinthecont
ext
ofgoodgovernance

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 19

al
so cover
st he sustai
nabl
e use ofnat
uralr
esour
ces and t
he
pr
otect
ionoft
heenv i
ronment.

8.
Account
abi
li
ty:

Account abi lityi sakeyr equi rementofgoodgov ernance.Notonl y

gov ernment ali nstitutions butal so t he pr iv ate sect orand ci vi
l
societ yor gani zat i
onsmustbeaccount abl et ot hepubl icandt ot heir
i
nst itut i
onal st akehol ders. Account abi li
ty cannot be enf orced
withoutt r anspar encyandt her ul
eofl aw.
Gov er nment , Gov ernance and Good Gov ernance: The wor d
‘
Gov er nance’l ends i tsel
ft o wi dermeani ng whi ch includes t he
processes aswel last her esul t
s,maki ngi tmor ecompr ehensi vein
meani ngandi mpl i
cat ionst hant hewor d‘gov er nment ’
.Gov ernment
referst ot he machi nery and i nstitutionalar rangement s oft he
‘
pol i
ticalcommuni ty’wher easgov ernancemeansmaki ngpol ici
es
forthedev el opmentofor gani sati
onsaswel laspeopl e.
Whi le gov ernance,on t he one hand,deal s wi th col l
abor ati
ve
par t
ner shi pnet wor kswhi char enecessar yf orpol icyf ormulat i
on
andi mpl ement at i
on,goodgov ernance,ont heot herhand,at tempt s
tomaket hisact i
vitynotj ustef ficientbutal somor eaccount able,
democr at icandr esponsi vet ot hepubl icneeds.
Goodgov er nancegoesbey ondt hef ormali nst ituti
onsofdemocr ati
c
gov ernmentt oaddr esssev eralot hercent r
ali ssueswhi chincl udes
— r epr esent ativel egi sl
atur e;non- discr i
mi nat oryl aws;ef ficient,
i
mpar tialandr apidj udi ci
alpr ocesses;t ranspar entpubl i
cagenci es;
Uni ver salpr ot ectionofhumanr i
ght s; account abi li
tyf ordecisi
onsby
publ i
cof fici als, dev ol ut
ionofr esour cesanddeci sionmaki ngt o
l
ocal .
GoodGov er nancei nI ndia:
Kaut ilya‘ sAr thashast rahi ghl i
ght edt hepr i
nci pleofgoodgov er nance
as,
―Int he happi ness ofhi s peopl el i
es ki ng‘ s happi ness,int heir
wel f
ar ehi swel fare, what ev er pl eases hi msel f he shal l not
consi derasgood,but
what ev erpl easeshi speopl eheshal lconsi derasgood. "
TheI ndi an Const i
tut i
on hasnotused t het erm ev en oncei ni t
s
preambl e.
Indeed,t heConst i
tutionhasused‘ gov ernance’onl yonce— i ni t
s
direct i
v epr inci plesofst atepol i
cy .Ar ti
cle37say s:‘ Thepr ovisions
cont ainedi nt hispar tshal lnotbeenf or ceabl ebyanycour t,butt he
principl est her einl aiddownar enev er thelessf undament ali nt he
gov ernanceoft hecount ryandi tshal lbet hedut yoft hest at eto
Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 20

appl
ythese pr
inci
ples i
n maki
ng l
aws.
’The di
rect
ive pr
inci
ples
ofthestat
e

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 21

poli
cyemphasi zethe‘content’partofgoodgov ernance.E.
g.Right
toanadequat emeansofl i
veli
hood,Equalpayf orequalwor kfor
bothmenandwomeni sensur ed,equi
tabl
edist
ri
but i
onofresources
etc.
Thepr oblem ofgoodgov er nance( r
eadadministrat
iverefor
m)i s
di
scussed in each five-
yearpl an as wellas by par li
amentary
commi tt
ees.Besides,theGov er
nmentofI ndi
ahasappoi ntedno
l
esst han34commi t
teesdev otedt ogoodgov ernancemaki nga
l
argenumberofr ecommendat i
ons.

Thepl andocument si
npost1990r efl
ect
edt heessent ialprinci
ples
ofgood gov ernance i
ncluding consti
tut
ionall
ypr otected r i
ghtt o
el
ect gov er
nment , accountable and t ransparent gov ernment ,
effecti
v e and ef f
ici
entdel i
v er
y ofsoci aland economi c publ i
c
services,a speci alattenti
on forensur i
ng the effectiveness and
effi
ciencyofl ocalgovernment s,deli
veryofkeyser vicessuchas
primar yeducat ionand health,t heruleofl aw,pr otectionoft he
disadv antaged groups,especi all
yt he SCs,STs,mi nor i
ti
es and
otherset c.

Oneoft hebestpol iciesthathassetanexampl einthecountryisthe

RighttoInformationActwhi chcamei ntof ullfor
ceinthemi dni
ght
of12t hand13t hOct ober2005.Undert heactanyci ti
zencanseek
i
nf ormati
onfrom gov ernmentorpubl i
caut hor i
ti
esasnotif
iedi nthe
act.Theactseekst odeepenI ndi
andemocr acybyempower i
ngt he
cit
izenstoobtaint heneededi nfor
mat i
onf r
om t hepubl
icauthor i
ti
es
att henati
onal,st
at eand l ocallevel
sandai msatgoodgov ernance
byensur i
ngt hemuch- neededt r
ansparencyandaccount abili
tyin
them.

Anot hersuchi nit

iat
iveisTheNat ionalRuralEmpl oymentGuar antee
Act( NREGA) ,2005,whi chhasnowbeenr enamedast heMahat ma
GandhiNat i
onalRur alEmpl oymentGuar anteeAct( MGNREGA) .
Itis
onesuchst ept owardsi mplementingthepr ovisi
onofRi ghtt oWor k
andi sthelargestsocial wel
fareschemeofi t
ski ndinthewor ld.
EvenTheRi ghttoEducat ion(RTE)Act ,2009,maybel egiti
mately
hail
edasoneofmaj orlandmarklegisl
at i
onsthathav ebeenenact ed
by Par li
amenti nt he21stcent ury,wi t
hav iew to achievet he
objectivesofGoodGov ernance.Itaimsatf ulfi
ll
ingthepr omiseof
universaleducat ionbymaki ngitamandat oryobligati
onf ort he
statet oensur ethatallchildr
enoft he6- 14y ear sagegr oupenr ol
l
themsel vesinschool sandat t
endt heclasses.

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)
 22

Pr
of.Rut
ujaPur
ohi
t(BSL,
LLM,
DTL)(
Not
esf
orpr
ivat
eci
rcul
ati
ononl
y)