Author Archives: The Bookaholics of MOC

By Sreekutty & Nihala Navas In December 1977, the Janata Government appointed a committee on panchayati raj institutions under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta. It submitted its report in August 1978 and made 132 recommendations to revive and strengthen the declining panchayati raj system in the country. Main recommendations: The three-tier system of panchayati rajContinue reading “MODULE 2: Ashok Mehta Committee”

By Sreekutty & Nihala Navas The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee, headed by MP Balwantrai Mehta, was a committee appointed by the Government of India in January 1957 to examine the work of the Community Development Programme (1952) and the National Extension Service (1953), to suggest measures to improve their work. The committee’s recommendation was implementedContinue reading “MODULE 2: Balwant Rai Mehta Committee”

By Sreekutty & Nihala Navas The governing of the advance system at the district level in Panchayat Raj is also popularly known as Zila Parishad. The chief of administration is an officer of the IAS cadre and chief officer of the Panchayat raj for the district level. CompositionThe membership varies from 40 to 60 andContinue reading “MODULE 2: ZILA PARISHAD”

By Sreekutty & Nihala Navas Sarpanch is its elected head. The members of the gram panchayat are elected from each for a period of five years by the members of Gram Sabha. Sources of income: Taxes collected locally such as on water, place of pilgrimage, local mandirs (temples), and markets. A fixed grant from theContinue reading “MODULE 2: GRAM PANCHAYAT SABHA”

By Sreekutty & Nihala Navas A Panchayat Samiti (block panchayat) is a local government body at the tehsil level. This body works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a “development block”. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. In general, the block panchayat hasContinue reading “MODULE 2: BLOCK LEVEL PANCHAYAT OR PANCHAYAT SAMITI”

By Sreekutty & Nihala Navas Panchayati Raj System● Panchayati Raj System in Kerala began with enactment of Panchayati Raj Act in 1994. ● The status of Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Kerala (2010-2015) is as follows: Elections The Chairpersons of all the three tiers are elected through indirect elections. The SEC also conducts elections toContinue reading “MODULE 2: PANCHAYAT RAJ SYSTEM IN KERALA”

By Sreekutty & Nihala Navas In India, the Panchayati Raj generally refers to the local self-government of villages in rural India as opposed to urban and suburban municipalities, this system was introduced by a constitutional amendment in 1992. India has been known to be the land of villages, as majority of the population live invillages. It is widely accepted that self-governing institutions at the local orContinue reading “MODULE 2 : INTRODUCTION TO PANCHAYAT RAJ SYSTEM”

By Harshida Hareesh & Safa Parveen REGIONALISMRegionalism is a political ideology focusing on the “development of a political or social system based on one or more” regions.Its aiming to strengthen the consciousness and loyalty to a distinct region with a homogeneous population.Regions may be delineated by administrative divisions, culture, language and religion, among others. RegionalistsContinue reading “MODULE 4: Regionalism The Strengthing Of Democracy”

BY Harshidha Hareesh 1.Indian Party System India has a multi-party system with recognition accorded to national and state and district level parties. The status is reviewed periodically by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Other political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election CommissionContinue reading “MODULE 4 – Indian Party System”

By Harshidha Hareesh 2.Major National-Regional Political Parties party is recognised as a National Party only if it fulfils any one of the following three conditions: The party wins 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha (as of 2014, 11 seats) from at least 3 different States. At a General Election to Lok Sabha or LegislativeContinue reading “MODULE 4 – Major National-Regional Political Parties”