UNIT-2: THEMES OF RURAL SOCIETY IN INDIA

CHAPTER: -4 RURAL CASTE SOCIETY IN INDIA: - Introduction

Sociologists and anthropologists have defined caste as a major form of stratification. Though this
form of inequality is found all over the country, there are a few misconceptions about it. There is a
general understanding that caste and class are polar opposites. It is also understood that caste is
essentially a rural phenomenon while class is found in urban communities.
The misunderstandings are many. The fact is that there are classes in a caste; there are castes in urban
communities also. During the last five decades much research has been done in the field of caste.
Caste is not regimental it is always changing. Even the caste structure which prevailed before
independence in rural India has changed considerably. But, however, its essential characteristics con-
tinue to remain. It must be admitted that the structure of caste as a form of stratification found in rural
society is not different from urban society. The changes are operational only. For instance, in rural
society, inter-caste marriages are few and far between; caste occupational mobility is lesser in rural
India than urban India. These changes make a difference of degree only. It could be safely said that
caste system has greater operational or functional role in the village compared to cities.
Definitions of Caste System: -
1.According to Mazumdar & Madan – 'Caste is a closed class i.e., class refers to people based on
property, business, occupation i.e., one can't change his own caste system by can change the class
system & can be a member of many classes at the same time. You belong to a caste by birth & can't
change it later & one has is follow the set rules & regulations & gets punishment on their violation &
one can even be thrown out of his caste. i.e., If one dares to go out of his caste he can never return. In
class one may change it with effort like in an illiterate class one can became literate & therefore go
over to the literate class i.e., caste is hereditary in nature & once born in a caste one can't change it.
2. According to Charles Cooley – "When a class is somewhat strictly hereditary, we may call it a
caste."
3.A.W. Green defines the term as: “caste is a system of stratification in which mobility up and
down the status ladder, at least ideally may not occur”.

Characteristics of Caste System: -According to G S Ghurye: -

According to G.S. Ghurye, Caste is a system of stratification based on ascriptive pattern and it has six
main features or characteristics.
1.Segmental Division of Society: -The caste system divides the whole society into various segments
or sections. Each of these castes is a well-developed social group, the membership of which is fixed
by birth. So, change from one caste to another caste is not possible.
2.Hierarchy: -The caste system is characterized by hierarchical order. Dumont believes that the
hierarchical order of caste system is based on the concept of purity and pollution. At the top of this
hierarchy are the Brahmins and at the bottom is the Shudras.
3.Restriction on feeding and social inter-course: In caste system there are several restrictions
which are related to food, drink and social inter-course. The members of the upper caste cannot take
food or water from the lower caste members, even not interact with the members of the other castes
but the vice-versa is permissible.
4.Civil and religious disabilities: -In caste system, there is an unequal distribution of privileges and
restrictions among its members. Generally, the higher caste people enjoy all the privileges and the
lower caste people are put to all kinds of restrictions.
5.Lack of unrestricted choice of occupation: - Under caste system, each caste has its own
traditional occupation. Occupation is fixed at the time of birth and the members of a caste are forced
to follow the occupation of that caste.
6.Restriction on marriage: - Endogamy is the essence of caste system. Every caste of sub-caste
insists that its member should marry within the group.
Caste System in Indian Rural Society According to A.R DESAI: -
1.Rules of Endogamy and Exogamy: -There exist a number of rules with regard to marital relations.
One cannot marry a person, who belongs to the same gotra. A man also cannot marry a girl, who is
related by blood. In certain tribal communities, there also exists the practice of village exogamy, as
tribals consider that marrying within their own village is a loss of status.
2.Interdependence of Occupations: - Division of labour on the basis of caste is an essential feature
of caste system in rural societies. The economy of the village was earlier based on the jajmani
system. In this system, the occupational castes render services to their jajmans on an exchange basis,
either in cash or in kind.
Generally, most of their payments are made in kind. Thus, the village economy is interdependent on
caste occupations. Though jajmani system in the present days is losing its significance, there are still
some villages in which occupational services are rendered on payment of cash.
3.Importance of Caste in Various Stages of Life: -The life of an individual passes from various
phases, such as birth ceremonies, marriage and death. Each of these phases is associated with a set of
rituals. All such rituals are officiated by a Brahmin.
4.Caste Associations: -Though the power of caste is losing its prominence, caste associations are
becoming much stronger, especially in political matters. The caste war, which is found in Bihar
today, is due to the power gained by these caste associations. The caste associations make most of the
political decisions in rural society.
5.Dominant Caste: -The caste that has greater numerical strength than the other castes, which holds
the majority of the land and makes important decisions pertaining to the village, is the ‘dominant
caste’. This concept explains clearly that a single caste exercises authority over the whole village. M.
N. Srinivas gave this concept of ‘dominant caste’.
6.Village Economy and Caste: -In rural society, caste determines the economic life of people.
Though the village economy is diversified, the traditional village occupations determine the status
and wealth of rural people. The habitation pattern is also determined by the clusters of the caste.
7.Social and Occupational Mobility: -In any rural society, the social and occupational mobility is
being analysed on the basis of caste. Economic mobility of a person or a family is determined by the
caste, to which he/she belongs to. Though there are some castes that have given up their traditional
occupations, other castes follow their caste occupations rigidly.
8.Hierarchical Relations are based on Caste: -Caste is a system of hierarchical relations, where the
Brahmins occupy the highest position and Sudras as lowest. In between these castes are the Rajput’s,
artisans and such other caste groups. All the interactions among the members of the village are based
on the status of caste.
9.Caste and Joint Family System: -It is generally argued that caste and joint family system are
related to one another. In a village, it is the caste, which determines the nature of the family. The
caste in village in India is essentially a cluster or group of joint families.

Influence of Dominant Caste: -

What is Dominant Caste? In a society where stratification is present at a vast level, there is some
certain pattern in which each caste is at some greater position. Dominant means holding superiority
in a group by any means.
M.N Srinivas has been one of the researchers in the field of dominant caste in any group. He defined
it as a particular caste economically, spiritually, and politically above any other castes. For example,
in India, the Brahmin caste is considered as a dominant caste, thus it is having a superior frame over
other caste.
Since 1987 Srinivas’s definition of dominant caste was of greater impact over societies. Firstly, it
was believed that the Dominant caste system exists only in one village namely Okkalinga but
Srinivas cleared the air and stated that this stratification regarding dominant castes is found nearly in
every place.
FACTORS ON WHICH DOMINANT CASTE DEPENDS: -
1.Economic Strength: -The Economic condition of a person played an important role in deciding its
Dominance. Suppose a person is not dominant by its ascribed status, but through its economic
condition, a person is seen as a dominant figure in society.
2.Political Power: - Political power is getting the power to rule over a clan thus making it’s a
dominant thing in the society sometimes irrespective of their caste. For example, India’s prime
minister is a dominant figure in India irrespective of his caste.
3.Ritual Purity: - In India, it is a saying that the Brahmin caste is equivalent to God, thus they are
ritually the most powerful caste.
4.Numercial Strength: -A specific group of people high in number than any other group or caste
will be considered as dominant.

Dimension of Functions of Dominant Caste: -

1. The dominant caste often acts as a reference model to the lower caste group. The lower caste
people imitate their behaviour, ritual pattern, customs etc. In this way, they help in cultural
transmission.
2. The dominant castes of a particular locality act as watch dogs of pluralistic culture and system.
They set norms and regulations for social life. Anyone who violates the norms Is severely punished.
Anil Bhatt has pointed out that the leaders of the locally dominant caste may arbitrate in village
disputes. They decide the mode of rewards and punishment. They may determine civic and economic
privileges.
3. Dominant castes are the main power holders. They establish contacts with the outside government
officials, elected representatives and political leaders. They influence the political process.
4. Dominant castes because of their dominant position exploit all the developmental sources in their
favour. They act as agents of rehabilitation programmes. They accelerate the process of socio-
economic developments.

DANIEL THORNER’S CLASSIFICATION OF RURAL CLASSES: -

India is a predominantly agriculture-based society and has a distinctly organised agrarian class
structure. Read on to know more about the organisation and features of this class structure.
Fundamentally speaking, human settlements can be classified as cities, towns and villages.
The agrarian class structure is characteristic of the village or rural society. It is a classification based
on the dominant economic activity of the people – agriculture. The agrarian class structure in India is
the result of economic and social forces acting together. Hence, the dynamics of the agrarian class
structure in India result in distinct classes. 
Agrarian class structure in India: -When the rural Indian society was examined post-independence
three main agricultural classes came to be observed along with a fourth class that was composed of
people who practised non-agriculture related activities. The three agriculturist classes are the
landowners, the tenants, and the labourers. The approximate population shares of each class as given
by A. R. Desai are as follows:
 1.Non-agriculturists are about 20%.
 2.Landowners are around 22%.
3.Tenants are about 27%.
 4.The agricultural labourers are approximately 31%
In this agrarian class structure, about 60% of the cultivators are marginal cultivators who cultivate
less than 2 hectares of land, the small cultivators who work 2 – 5 hectares of land are around 16%,
the medium cultivators with 5 – 10 hectares of land are 6%, and big cultivators with more than 10
hectares of land are about 18%.
 
ANALYSIS OF THREE RURAL CLASSES CLASSIFIED BY THORNER: -
The concept of ‘agrarian class structure’ refers to the type of the class structure that prevails in an
agricultural society or set up. Scholars such as S. Bhargava, D.R. Gadgil and others have stated in
their studies that the agrarian classes did exist in pre-independent India. The agrarian social structure
consists of agrarian classes which represent different social groups in rural India.
Daniel Thorner has suggested that one could divide the agrarian population of India into different
class categories by taking three criteria:
a. Income obtained from land that is, through rent, one’s own cultivation or ‘wages.
b. The nature of right that is, ownership rights, tendency right, share-cropping right, or no right at
all.
c.The extent of fieldwork actually performed that is, doing no work at all, doing partial work, doing
total work, and doing work for others to earn wages.
The three agrarian classes which Daniel Thorner spoke of are: -
(1) Malik, (2) Kisan, and (3) Mazdoor. According to Thorner, prevalent agrarian relations can also
be analysed in terms of three specific terms.
(1). Maliks or Landlords: -The term ‘Maliks’ refers to the big landlords and considerably rich
landowners who constitute the relatively affluent class in the village set up. Whose income is derived
primarily from property right in the soil and whose common interest is to keep the level of rents up
while keeping the wage-level down. They collect rent from tenants, sub-tenants and sharecroppers.
They could be further divided into two categories, -
 a. Absentee landlords or the big landlords. These Maliks are normally big landlords who have the
rights over large tracts extending over several villages; they are absentee owners or rentiers with
absolutely no interest in land management or improvement.
b. The rich residential landowners. Those Maliks who reside in the village in which they own land.
These people also do not work in the land personally but get the cultivation work done by others.
(2). Kisans or working peasants: -The term ‘Kisans’ refers to the working peasants. They own
small plots of land and work mostly with their own labour and that of their family members. They
own much lesser lands than the Maliks. They too can be divided into two sub-categories –
a. Small landowners. They have sufficient landholding to sustain the family. Members of the family
are responsible for cultivation. They neither receive rent nor employ outside labour unless it becomes
absolutely necessary in a season.
b.Substantial tenants. These are the tenants holding who may not own any land but cultivate a large
enough holding to help them sustain their families without having to work as wage labourers.
(3). Mazdoors or labourers: - The term’Mazdoors’ refers in the rural context to the landless
villagers who work as labourers on a wage basis. They obtain their livelihood primarily from
working on other people’s land. The class of Mazdoors may consist of –
a. Poor tenants. They have tenancy rights but that is not secure. Holdings too small to maintain a
family and income is too limited.
b.Sharecroppers. They are either tenants-at-will, taking lease without security or cultivators in
other’s land on sharecropper basis. This implies they earn a share of the crop produced.
c. Landless labourers. These people engage themselves as labourers in other’s land on a temporary
basis and without any specific conditional relation with the landlord.
Agrarian class structure in India varies from one region to another; the relations among classes and
social composition of groups that occupy specific class positions in relation to land-control and land-
use in India are so diverse and complex that it is difficult to incorporate them all in a general scheme.
They have emerged out of multidimensional forces and their bearing in space and time.
PROF.DHANAGARE’S MODEL OF AGRARIAN CLASSES: -
D.N. Dhanagare has suggested a different model of agrarian classes. He has proposed five classes:
landlords, who derive income primarily from land- ownership by collecting rent from tenants, sub-
tenants and share croppers; rich peasants, i.e., small landowners with sufficient land to support the
family and who cultivate land themselves, and rich tenants who have substantial holdings and have to
pay a nominal rent to their landlords; middle peasants, i.e., landowners of medium size holdings and
tenants with substantial holdings and paying higher rent; poor peasants,
On the basis of their writings, we can broadly identify five or six agrarian classes:-
1.The landlords the owners of large tracts of land who do not work on land directly. They generally
lease their lands out to tenants. They are a conservative class and do not like agricultural
developments, which they fear, could weaken their hold over the rural society.
2.The rich peasants are those who own substantial areas of land. They invariably lease out a part of
their land to tenants but have direct interest in land. Once they begin to use modern technology, they
begin to employ wage labour and become capitalist farmers.
3.The middle peasants do not own much land but have enough for their own needs. They typically
work with their family labour. Neither do they employ wage labour nor do they work as labourers
with others.
4.The poor peasants do not own much land. In order to survive they invariably have to supplement
their income through wage labour.
5.The landless labourers or agricultural proletariats are tenants, share-croppers who end up
losing their lands when capitalism begins to develop in agriculture. They survive basically by hiring
out their labour power to rich peasants.

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CHAPTER:5 GENDER AND AGRARIAN RELATIONS: -INTRODUCTION
Rural Indian women’s labour force participation varies by class, with the biggest decreases in this
share occurring in households reliant upon income from casual wage labour. This paper presents
some preliminary evidence in favour of two hypotheses to explain this particular intersection of class
and the gender. The first, that an intensification of rural women’s reproductive labour may play a role
in their falling labour force participation rates. The second, that alongside a loss of access to the
commons, this outcome is made more likely in an accumulation context marked by processes of
formal subsumption to capital.

Meaning of the Concept of Gender: -

Gender refers to the economic, social, political, and cultural attributes and opportunities associated
with being women and men. The social definitions of what it means to be a woman or a man vary
among cultures and change over time. Gender is a sociocultural expression of particular
characteristics and roles that are associated with certain groups of people with reference to their sex
and sexuality.
DEFINITIONS: -
1.According to J.J. Massionis:- “The fact that any person is female or male is defined by society.
Social gender refers to the personal qualities and social status attributed to members”.
2.According to Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology states that: - “Social gender of the cultural ideas
created in relation to images and expectations of women and men”.

RURAL GENDER RELATIONS OR MALE -FEMALE RELATIONS: -

1.Rural women, food security and nutrition:-A large and growing body of research shows that
direct responsibility for household food provision falls largely on women. Despite this, women
farmers are disadvantaged. When they lack access to land (which is very common), they are not
eligible for credit, membership in farmers' organizations and training and extension services.
Women's heavy workloads and lack of the inputs they need to become more productive are the main
constraints, and these aggravate food insecurity and malnutrition in millions of households,
especially female-headed ones.More than 780 million people in the developing world suffer from
hunger and malnutrition. Many of these are women of child-bearing age, especially those who are
pregnant or breastfeeding.23 Studies have shown that, in the poorest female-headed households,
household resources are used mainly to feed and educate the children, which is not necessarily true of
equally poor male-headed households. It is important to highlight the direct link between women's
access to household resources and income management, and the improvement of family food security
and nutritional well-being. This linkage, along with the importance of increasing women's
productivity and, hence, their contribution to food systems, should be a core consideration of policies
and programmes aimed at enhancing food security and nutrition. There is, therefore, a crucial need
for a gender-disaggregated database on the control and management of resources and production
factors.This emphasizes the need for gender-disaggregated data on the use of scant resources.
2.Rural women and the environment:-Women's relationship to the environment revolves around
their central concern with household food security. Environmental degradation has a direct impact on
women's workloads, and yet restricted access to inputs, resources, capital and employment often
force women to overexploit the natural resources base. Despite this, rural women are both the best-
equipped and the worst-equipped to manage the environment; the best because they have the
necessary expertise, and the worst because they lack the power to intervene. The expertise in the
conservation and preservation of wild plant and animal species that women have developed over time
must be explored, and these skills must be taken into account in policy formulation.
3. Rural women and population:- Despite the ongoing campaigns to limit world population growth,
poor families, especially in rural areas, continue to produce large families with many children
because of the labour value that children represent. A gender-disaggregated database would
contribute to a deeper understanding of population trends and to the adoption of policies designed to
improve the living conditions of all rural people.
4.Rural women and poverty:- Not only do women in the countryside do work that is directly related
to production and food security, they also do all of the domestic chores, working up to 16 hours a day
in some developing countries. However, most women are not remunerated for their work and their
economic contribution is undercounted in official statistics - development programmes and policies
rarely consider their contribution. According to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
report on human development, over 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people living in absolute poverty are
women. Economic crises, structural adjustment programmes, armed conflicts and drought have led to
the "feminization of poverty". Male outmigration, divorce and unstable living arrangements have
dramatically increased the number of households headed by women who find themselves wholly
responsible for running the farm and feeding the family. In some regions, these factors have all
contributed to the greater presence of women in agriculture. Development programmes and policies
have rarely focused on these new phenomena, however, and there is a lack of reliable statistics on
these social changes.

RURAL WOMEN –AGRICULTURE AND AGRARIAN RELATIONS:-

1.Female Workers In Indian Agricultural Sectors:-Women play an essential role in the
development of agriculture and rural sectors of developing and underdeveloped nations. They
manage their household and agricultural-allied activities systematically. In rural India, out of 89.5%
of the labour force, about 80% are working to be agricultural workers. Among them, 50 percent of
the labourers had an onlyprimary level of education and 19.2 percent labourers are illiterate. Out of
the total workforce, about 76.7 percent of the women labourers belong to the nuclear family. The
average number of family households of labour was 4.54 members. Among the women labours 85
percent belongs to the backward caste category and 15 percent belong to the scheduled caste
category. Another wide custom prevailing in villages and informal sectors is that females are
always paid less than their male counterparts.
2. Female Work participation in India 1981-2011:-Table 1 reveals that the female work
participation rate initially shows an upward tendency from 19.67 in 1981 to the 25.63 in 2001 and
25.50% in 2011. This does not mean there are wide variations in the work participation rate over
these years, just minute changes can be noted here.
Table 1. Female Work participation in India 1981-2011
CENSUS YEAR INDIAN FEMALE
1981 19.67
1991 22.27
2001 25.63
2011 25.5
3. Female Rural Work participation in India 1981-2011:-
Table 2 shows the ups and downs in female rural work participation rates during 1981-
2011.The Women Rural Workforce Participation Rate which 23.06% in 1981 become
30.73% in 2001 and then decline of 30% in 2011. In rural sector about more than 80% of
female workforce engaged in agriculture and other allied activities. A major part of women in the
primary sector working in the informal or residual sector can be fetched of low wages.
Women are working as hired labour and pressurised to do works from morning to evening,
even at late night, in deplorable conditions. Table 2. Female Rural Work participation in India 1981-
2011
 CENSUS YEAR INDIA FEMALE
1981 23.06
1991 26.79
2001 30.73
2011 30
4. Distribution of Female workers in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors in
India from 1981 – 2011:-Here, the entire population of the study has been classified into two main
categories i.e. Agriculture workers and non-agricultural workers, i.e., who are from manufacturing,
construction, trade, community service activities. Table 3 explains that number of female agricultural
workers per 1000 in 1993-94 period was 869 which is drastically declining to 749 in 2011-12, but at
the same time number of labours in other sectors shows an upward trend, that is from 138 per 1000 in
1993-94 to 251per 1000 in 2011-12. This comparison indicates that, females have been shifted from
agrarian activities to the industrial -service sector which provides better wage, working
condition, and social status.
Conclusion:-
The purpose of this study is to analyse the women’s participation in agriculture in India
based on secondary data sources. The analysis had concluded that female involvement in
agriculture is falling day by day and year by year, due to primitive working condition and low
wages. So, women tend to leave the agriculture sector and move to the non-agrarian sector,
where they get a better wage according to educational qualification and experience with High social
status and working environment.

88888888888888888888888888888

RURAL WOMEN AGRICULTURE AND AGRARION RELATIONS:-

CHAPTER: - 6 IMPACT OF PANCHAYAT RAJ SUSTEM AND RURAL POLITICS

PANCHAYAT RAJ: - INTRODUCTION

The topic Panchayati Raj will look into the features and provisions related to Panchayati Raj in the
country. In addition, the article will also discuss gram Panchayat, e-panchayat, and Panchayat Raj
and rural development.The father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, pointed out the importance of the
autonomy of the villages in the country. Therefore, the basic concept behind the Panchayati System
in the country comes from the principle and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Article 40 of the Indian
Constitution, which is also a Directive Principle of Indian Policy, deals with the significance of the
Panchayati system in the country. The first Prime Minister of India- Jawaharlal Nehru- thought of the
Panchayati system as a crucial social, political, and economic institution. 
The three-tier structure for rural development in the Indian Administrative systems is widely known
as the Panchayati Raj. The primary goal of this system is the development of the local governments
of the several villages, zones, and districts of the country. The Panchayati systems in the country
have been established in several states and Union Territories. However, few states and union territory
are exempted from the system of Panchayati Raj- Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Darjeeling, Delhi,
and other secluded and hilly terrains in the country. 

What is a Panchayat?
Panchayati Raj is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent. Panchayati
Raj Institutions as units of local government have been in existence in India for a long time, in
different permutations and combinations. However, it was only in 1992 that it was officially
established by the Indian Constitution as the third level of India’s federal democracy through
the 73rd Amendment Act.
1.The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) consists of three levels:
2.Gram Panchayat at the village level
3.Block Panchayat or Panchayat Samiti at the intermediate level
4.Zilla Panchayat at the district level

 The word “Panchayat” means assembly (ayat) of five (panch) and raj means “rule”.
Traditionally Panchayats consisted of elderly and wise people chosen by the local community,
who used to settle disputes between individuals and villages. The leader of the panchayat used
to be called as Mukhya or Sarpanch. Generally the elder-most or most senior person would be
elected to this position. The Panchayati Raj system is also recognised as a form of direct
democracy (i.e they exercise all powers of a government at a village level), as opposed to the
popular notion that it is a type of representative democracy. As per January 2019, there are 630
Zilla Panchayats; 6614 Block Panchayats and 253163 Gram Panchayats in India. There are
currently more than 3 million elected representatives (of which more than 1 million are women)
for panchayats at all levels.
In modern India, Mahatma Gandhi was one of the leading advocates of Gram Swaraj i.e village
self-governance where the village would be responsible for its own affairs. The Panchayati Raj
system of governance can be found all over South Asia in countries such as Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Nepal, where it goes by the same name.

Key Features of Panchayat Raj System:    

The Gram Sabha is a body consisting of all the people registered in the electoral rolls who
belong to a village comprised within the area of the Panchayat at the village level. Gram Sabha
is the smallest and the only permanent unit in the Panchayati Raj system. The powers and
functions of Gram Sabha are fixed by state legislature according to the law on the subject.
Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and chairpersons of
the Panchayats at all levels are reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population.
One-third of the total number of seats are to be reserved for women. One-third of the seats
reserved for SCs and STs, are also reserved for women. This policy extends to the office of the
chairperson at all levels as well (Article 243D). The reserved seats may be allotted by rotation
to different constituencies in the Panchayat.
There is a uniform policy with each term being five years. Fresh elections must be conducted
before the expiry of the term. In the event of dissolution, elections compulsorily within six
months (Article 243E).
Panchayats have the responsibility to prepare plans for economic development and social
justice with respect to the subjects as per the law put in place, which also extends to the various
levels of Panchayat including the subjects as illustrated in the Eleventh Schedule (Article
243G).
1.Gram Panchayat: -
Gram Panchayat consists of a village or a group of villages divided into smaller units called
“Wards”. Each ward selects or elects a representative who is known as the Panch or ward
member. The members of the Gram Sabha elect the ward members through a direct election.
The Sarpanch or the president of the Gram Panchayat is elected by the ward members as per the
State Act.  The Sarpanch and the Panch are elected for a period of five years. Gram Panchayat
is governed by the elected body and administration. The secretary is normally in charge of the
administrative duties of the Gram Panchayat.
Block Panchayat: -
Panchayat Samiti (also called Taluka Panchayats or Block Panchayats) is the intermediate level
in Panchayati Raj Institutions. The Panchayat Samiti acts as the link between Gram Panchayat
(Village) and District Panchayat (Zilla). These blocks do not hold elections for the Panchayat
Samiti council seats. Rather, the block council consists of all of the Sarpanchas and the Upa
Sarpanchas from each Gram Panchayat along with members of the legislative assembly (MLA),
members of parliament (MPs), associate members (like a representative from a cooperative
society) and members from the Zilla Parishad who are a part of the block. The Gram Panchayat
members nominate their Sarpanch and Upa Sarpanch amongst their ranks, which extend to the
selection of the chairperson and vice-chairperson as well. The Executive Officer (EO) is the
head of the administration section of the Panchayat Samiti.
District Panchayat: -
The District Panchayat also known as the District Council or Zilla Parishad is the third tier of
the Panchayati Raj system. Like the Gram Panchayat, the District Panchayat is also an elected
body. Chairpersons of Block Samitis also represent the District Panchayat. Like the Block
Panchayat, the MP and MLA are also members of the district panchayat. The government
appoints the Chief Executive Officer to carry out the administration of the district Panchayat
along with the the Chief Accounts Officer, the Chief Planning Officer and one or more Deputy
Secretaries who work directly under the Chief Executive Officer and assist him/her. The Zilla
Parishad chairperson is the political head of the district panchayat.
The primary objective of establishing the third tier of the government is to increase democratic
participation, better articulate local needs and priorities, and to ensure a more efficient use of
local resources along with greater accountability and transparency. Accordingly, 29 functions
have been proposed to be transferred to local governments in the rural area. These institutions
have been playing an important role in several flagship programmes of the central and state
governments, perhaps more role in implementation and monitoring.