DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES, SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AND WOMEN: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS IN THE CONTEXT OF PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM

Abstract

India has a long history of panchayati raj beginning from self-reliant and autonomous rural area communities that survived the up and down of empires in the ancient times to the modern legalized institutions of supremacy at the lowest level i.e., 3rd level with the help of Constitution. If we look back to Rig-Vedic period (1200 BC), on the basis of evidences we come to know that at that time self-governing village bodies that were known as ‘sabhas’ existed in society. As the time passed, ‘sabhas’ got converted and came to known as ‘panchayats’ (council of five persons). In every village there was presence of functional institutions of grass root governance known as Panchayats. These bodies i.e., Village Panchayat or elected councils had huge powers, both types of powers such as executive power and judicial power. Keywords: Panchayati Raj, Empowerment, Government.