Local Governance in India: The Panchayati Raj

Local governance is a necessary condition for maturation of political and economic democracy. It undermines the vestiges of political authoritarianism and extends democracy to the grass roots. This book presents a study, analysis and an overview of local governance (Panchayati Raj) in India.

Popular participation further leads to the emergence of a viable, dynamic, and healthy political culture, providing accessible channels of political articulation, making the institutions much more accountable and much less alienated and, therefore, much more legitimate. The volume, with its special focus on Uttar Pradesh, discusses crucial themes like self-government, political culture, and participatory politics; institutionalisation of local democracy and governance in post-colonial India; dynamics, functioning, and organisation of local governance; local industrialisation and finance; developmental intervention in Panchayati Raj; and local democracy and governance in a microcosm to showcase the potential of local governance as a holistic institution of democracy and development at local levels.

This book will be an interesting read for academics and students of political science, public administration, public policy, governance studies, civil service, political sociology, development studies, policymakers, think tanks, non-governmental organisations and professionals working in the area.

Vinayak Narain Srivastava has been associated with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, Institute of Social Science, New Delhi, and Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti, New Delhi. He received his higher education at the Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Some of his publications include Local Governance under Colonial Rule: A Historical Account, a monograph published by Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti, New Delhi, and The Separation of the Party and the State: Political Leadership in Soviet and Post-Soviet Phases first published by Ashgate in 1999, and republished by Routledge in 2019.