Class 12 Sociology · Chapter 10 NotesThe Story of Indian Democracy

The Constitution is the fundamental document that lays down the basic norms of social justice. While law is backed by the coercive power of the state, justice is based on fairness. The Supreme Court, as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution, has expanded the meaning of Fundamental Rights. For example, Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and liberty, has been interpreted to include livelihood, health, shelter, education and dignity. The Directive Principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work has been read into the Fundamental Rights to equality. Social movements have also helped courts and authorities interpret rights in keeping with contemporary understandings of social justice.

• Lawbacked by state power and coercion.
• Justicebased on fairness.
• Supreme Courthighest court and ultimate interpreter of the Constitution.

Panchayati Raj means governance by five individuals, aiming to ensure a vibrant democracy at the village level. While grassroots democracy is not alien to India, sharp inequalities based on gender, caste and class hinder democratic participation. Traditionally, caste panchayats represented dominant groups and often held conservative views. During the Constituent Assembly, panchayats were not mentioned in the Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar argued that local elites and upper castes would continue to exploit the downtrodden. Gandhiji, however, envisioned each village as a self-sufficient unit, a model of gram-swarajya. It was only in 1992 that the 73rd Constitutional Amendment gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions.

• Panchayati Rajgovernance by five individuals.
• Caste panchayatstraditional, often dominated by upper castes.
• 73rd Amendment (1992)gave constitutional status to PRIs.

The 73rd Amendment provided a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all states with a population over twenty lakhs. At the base is the Gram Sabha, consisting of all citizens in a village, which elects the local government. Elections to these bodies are mandatory every five years. Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and thirty-three percent for women. District Planning Committees prepare development plans for the district. The 73rd and 74th Amendments reserved one-third of seats for women in local bodies, bringing 800,000 women into political processes in the 1993-94 elections. This was a major step in women's enfranchisement and decision-making.

• Gram Sabhabase of the pyramid, all village citizens.
• Three tiersvillage, block and district levels.
• ReservationSC, ST and 33% for women.
• District Planning Committeeprepares district development plans.

Panchayats are institutions of self-government with powers to prepare plans for economic development, promote social justice, levy and collect taxes, and help devolve governmental responsibilities. Their social welfare duties include maintaining burning and burial grounds, recording births and deaths, establishing child welfare and maternity centres, controlling cattle pounds, propagating family planning and promoting agriculture. Development activities include constructing roads, public buildings, wells, tanks and schools, promoting small cottage industries and managing minor irrigation. They monitor schemes like IRDP and ICDS. Income comes from taxes on property, profession, animals, vehicles, land revenue cess and rentals, plus grants from Zilla Panchayat. Nyaya Panchayats in some states hear petty civil and criminal cases, impose fines but cannot award sentences.

• Nyaya Panchayatshear petty cases, impose fines, cannot award sentences.
• Right to informationpanchayat offices must display fund details.

Many tribal areas have a rich tradition of grassroots democratic functioning. In Meghalaya, the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos have traditional political institutions at village, clan and state levels. For instance, the Khasis have a clan council called Durbar Kur, presided over by the clan headman. However, a large part of tribal areas lies outside the 73rd Amendment, possibly because policymakers did not wish to interfere with traditional institutions. Sociologist Tiplut Nongbri notes that tribal institutions are not necessarily democratic; they may be intolerant towards women and have undergone distortions due to social change. In Uttarakhand, women have set up Van Panchayats to protect forests, developing nurseries and policing against illegal felling, continuing the legacy of the Chipko movement.

• Durbar Kurclan council of the Khasis.
• Van Panchayatswomen-led forest protection in Uttarakhand.
• Chipko movementwomen hugged trees to prevent felling.

Democratisation is difficult in a society with long-standing inequalities based on caste, community and gender. In many villages, certain groups are excluded from meetings and activities. The Gram Sabha is often controlled by a small coterie of rich landlords from upper castes or landed peasantry, who make decisions on development activities and allocate funds, leaving the silent majority as mere onlookers. This shows that formal democratic institutions alone cannot ensure participation; social and economic inequalities must also be addressed for genuine democratisation.

• Gram Sabha often dominated by rich landlords.
• Exclusion based on caste, class and gender.
• Democratisation requires tackling inequality.

In a democratic system, political parties are key actors. A political party is an organisation oriented towards achieving legitimate control of government through elections, based on certain understandings of society. Interest groups are organised to pursue specific interests, primarily by lobbying members of legislative bodies. Pressure groups lobby with the government. Different groups—industrialists (FICCI, ASSOCHAM), workers (INTUC, CITU), farmers (Shetkari Sangathan)—seek to influence policies. Some argue that the concept of pressure groups underestimates the power of dominant social groups such as class, caste or gender. Max Weber noted that parties live in a house of power and their actions are directed towards goals, whether ideal or personal.

• Political partyaims to achieve governmental power through elections.
• Interest grouppursues specific interests by lobbying.
• Pressure grouplobbies with the government.
• Weberparties live in a house of power.