Our ancestors knew the importance of administration at the village level to bring social harmony and so they established a way to cater to the needs of the village, in the village itself – Gram Panchayat. It’s an age old administrative tool in India. It dates back to the Vedic period. The word panchayat derived from the word panch, meaning five. The village was equipped with the committee of five knowledgeable elders, who would solve the issues of the villagers according to their wisdom. The villagers would put forward the names of those whom they felt were wise, sincere and honest. The five would choose a head amongst them-Mukhia (sarpanch).
The system continued even after many centuries in our country. Mahatma Gandhi appreciated this method of local governance and tried to promote it in his times. He dreamt of bringing his concept of Ram-rajya into reality through the panchayat system of administration wherein all the people would be given equal opportunities and resources to live and to grow. Though the system has been existing for many centuries, it was not suitable for the modern culture and day we are in today. It went through refining process under the constitution of India. And was later adopted as a powerful tool for village development, specially the backward classes of the nation.
Today what we have is the constitutionally accepted and supported system of panchayat. The foundation is the same local solution for the local problems, but the structure is very modern. Democratic ways of the administration has brought more powers into the local system of administration. The powers have increased much more than its older version. It only requires to be in the hands of the wise, sincere and the honest ones.
The panchayats were held under the trees in the past yet they had the best control over the affairs of the village. The panchayat today owns posh premises yet are lagging behind to provide clean governance. In few days Goa is going into panchayat elections. The villagers will vote and elect their panch members. Let us try and understand why do we really need a panchayat and why do we need a panch member.
A panchayat of every village does the following: Works to improve the education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, environment and other aspects of village life. It works to make the village self-sufficient and self-reliant. A panch-member on the other hand does the following: Takes up issues of their respective wards and works tirelessly and unitedly to resolve them. A panch member works for the cause of the village. Promotes friendship and peace. Is approachable to all irrespective of social positions. A panch-member never favours any one person or any one organisation. A panch member is never a puppet in somebody else’s hands. A gram panchayat, if organised well can bring the best out of every village in the country. We need panchayat members who will bring change for good in the society. By now you as a voter must have decided whom to vote, does your candidate has the following abilities and qualities in him or her?
