1.4. Mahatma Gandhi and Panchayati Raj

♤ Mahatma Gandhi was a staunch advocate of local self-government. In his book – India of My Dreams – he writes ‘Independence must begin at the bottom. Thus, every village will be a Republic or Panchayat having full powers. It follows, therefore, that every village has to

be self-sustained and capable of managing its affairs even to the extent of defending itself

against the whole world’.

♤ In 1920, Gandhiji made a strong plea for the introduction of Self-Government in the villages with a view to improve their economy and self-sufficiency. He put forth the idea of ‘Gram Swarajya’ or village republic.

♤ In the meantime; Indian National Congress had also undertaken a campaign to organize Panchayats in the villages. Thus, it became a part of the ideology of Indian National Movement. The boycott of the government courts and the establishment of peoples’ private court had been one of the important aspects of the Non-Cooperation Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

♤ This was indeed a call for the revival of village panchayats and empowering of the village authorities to look after the administrative affairs of their locality.