A Shorter Version of the CSD Report

IMPACT OF RESERVATION FOR SCHEDULED CASTES,

SCHEDULED TRIBES AND WOMEN IN PANCHAAT
RA! INSTITUTIONS" A Pi#ot St$%& in An%hr' Pr'%esh
The Council for Social Development (CSD), Southern Regional Centre in Hyderabad
conducted a pilot study in Andhra radesh on ! The "mpact of Reservations for Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and #omen in anchayat Ra$ "nstitutions% as a prelude to the
seminar it intended to organi&e on empo'erment of socially disadvantaged sections in the
conte(t of decentralised local governance) The study is set in the bac*drop of +,
rd
Constitutional Amendment and its impact on socially and economically 'ea*er sections,
particularly on 'omen, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and -ther .ac*'ard Castes)
The main ob$ectives of the study are/ (i) to e(amine the socio0economic and political
profile of the SCs, STs and #omen elected to the R"s1 (ii) to analyse various forms and
the e(tent of participation by SCs, STs and #omen in the functioning of R"s1 (iii) to
assess the involvement of SCs, STs and #omen in relation to their developmental
priorities and fund allocation1 (iv) to understand the inter and intra community conflicts
and their effect on SCs, STs and #omen2s participation1 (v) to identify the measures
needed to ma*e anchayats more effective in 3SA areas particularly regarding the
management of local resources of 3SA anchayats, and (vi) to suggest measures to
improve the participation of SCs, STs and #omen)
A very short, abridged version of the report is presented here to outline the
analysis, ma$or findings and conclusions of the study) Divided into seven sections, the
first section deals 'ith some of the important aspects li*e empo'erment, decentralisation
and participation in the 'a*e of +,
rd
constitutional amendment) The second part e(plains
the methodology used in the study) The third section describes the status of the anchayat
Ra$ "nstitutions in Andhra radesh) The fourth, fifth and si(th parts assess the impact of
reservations on socially disadvantaged groups li*e SCs, STs, -.Cs and #omen and ho'
they contributed to their empo'erment in terms of participation, development priorities
and managing inter and intra0community conflicts) The final section is a brief s*etch on
the conclusions and recommendations of the study)
EMPOWERMENT, DECENTRALISATION, PARTICIPATION AND
THE ()
RD
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
3mpo'erment is broadly defined as the gaining of collective control over resources,
institutions and decision0ma*ing processes) Development of critical consciousness and
the ability of the actors to transform their life situations are some of the important
attributes of empo'erment) Decentralisation and articipation are t'o instruments
'ithout 'hich a meaningful empo'erment cannot be achieved) 3ach of it promotes
e4uality by providing a voice for ordinary people and by involving them in decision0
ma*ing process) A genuine participatory process enables the people to act collectively in
decision0ma*ing, to challenge the ine4ualities and 4uestion the status 4uo 'hich favours
some and discriminates other) articipation infuses cooperation among the sta*eholders,
acts as a countervailing force against oppression and increases the confidence level of the
participants) "t produces a ne' breed of pressure groups 'hose interests have not been
articulated so far)
The instrumental value of participation in the conte(t of the anchayats is
apparent in the goal of decentralising the decision0ma*ing through local government) The
system of local governance enhances empo'erment by ta*ing decision0ma*ing process to
the lo'est level) "t allo's the disadvantaged to e(ercise the control over the issues that
affect their lives and o'n the responsibility for it) "n the process, it also contributes to the
advancement of democratic governance) Decentralisation and articipation also infuse
egalitarianism in the society by involving 'ider segments of population in the production
and distribution of common resources)
The +,
rd
Constitutional Amendment Act of 5667 'as an important milestone in the
history of decentralised governance in "ndia as it strengthens both the aspects discussed
7
above, i)e) articipation and 3mpo'erment) Apart from providing the political and
administrative autonomy to R"s, it also aimed at empo'ering the marginal and socially
disadvantaged groups (SD8s)) "t incorporated several provisions to enhance social
$ustice and to improve the status of 'ea*er sections) 9ost significantly, it reserves a 4uota
of anchayat membership and the positions of Chairperson for the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and 'omen to encourage the emergence of leadership among them)
This Constitutional conditionality of reserving seats for the disadvantaged sections at all
the three tiers of R"s added a ne' dimension to the "ndian political system by 'idening
its representative character)
9oreover, to strengthen the empo'erment component, the Central 8overnment
enacted a special legislation, ma*ing the anchyats of Scheduled areas more po'erful)
The anchayats (3(tension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 566: (3SA) is a Central legislation
that e(tends the constitutional provisions of anchayati Ra$ to the areas mentioned in the
;ifth Schedule) #hile preserving local traditions and customs, the 3SA also stipulates
that reservation for the Scheduled Tribes shall not be less than half of the total number of
seats and that all seats of Chairpersons of anchayats at all levels 'ill be reserved for the
Scheduled Tribes)
The Constitutional conditionality of reservation of seats for #omen, Scheduled
Caste, and Scheduled Tribes at all the three tiers of R" is a path brea*ing positive
discrimination) "t paved the 'ay for persons from 'ea*er sections to head the anchayats
at all three levels < =illage, .loc* and District) 3mergence of such a large number of
leaders from marginalised sections added several ne' dimensions to the challenges to the
R system in the country) The 566,06> elections in "ndia brought about some ?@,@@@
'omen into active politics as a result of +,
rd
and +>
th
Amendments to the Constitution)
"t is more than a decade ever since the +,
rd
Amendment came into force and the
elections to the R"s 'ere conducted more than t'ice in most of the states since then)
Today, more than 7: la*h representatives stand elected at all the three levels of
anchayats) -f these, over 5@ la*h are #omen, A)7 la*h belong to the Scheduled Castes
and ,), la*h to the Scheduled Tribes) "n fact, "ndia has more 'omen in positions of
elective authority than in the rest of the 'orld put together) Ho'ever, the crucial
4uestions need to be as*ed here are that ho' far the Amendment 'as successful in
,
bringing empo'erment to the disadvantaged sectionsB Could it bridge the gap bet'een
!elite% and !subaltern% sections of the "ndian society using artha Chater$ee2s idea of split
in the realm of "ndian politics (Chatter$ee, 7@@>)B #hat *ind of impact the entangled
politics of elite and subaltern classes have left on "ndian society in the post +,
rd
Amendment periodB
The present study attempted to e(amine some of the issues mentioned above 'hile
probing the impact of +,
rd
Amendment on the development of 'ea*er sections) "n doing
so, the study has ta*en Cdevelopment2 in its broader perspective as defined by Amartya
Sen/ !Development re4uires the removal of ma$or source of unfreedom/ poverty as 'ell
as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as 'ell as systematic social deprivation, neglect
of public facilities as 'ell as intolerance or over activity of repressive states% (Sen, 5666/
,)) He specifically mentioned five freedoms that help to advancement of the general
capability of a person) These are/ (5) political freedoms, (7) economic facilities, (,) social
opportunities, (>) transparency guarantees, and (A) protective security (Sen, 5666/ 5@))
Since each of these rights and opportunities helps to advance the general capability of a
person, a study must focus on investigating these freedoms and rights to assess the overall
developmentDempo'erment of a given society) Hence, the present study deploys these
components as tools to assess the impact of reservations on socially disadvantaged groups
in the bac*drop of +,
rd
Amendment) The study has been carried out in three districts of
Andhra radesh)
METHODOLO*
The primary data has been collected from 7:A elected leaders (55, men, 5A7 'omen)
across three tiers of R"s in the three sample districts of Andhra radesh) Apart from
fulfilling the regional criteria, the districts 'ere carefully selected to represent the
Scheduled areas as 'ell as a significant population of SCs and -.Cs) "n regional terms,
Ehammam District represents the Telengana region, Anantapur District is in Rayalaseema
and the =isa*hapatnam District is located in Coastal Andhra) #hile 7:)>+ per cent of
population in Ehammam District lives in Scheduled areas, 5>)AA per cent lives in
=isa*hapatnam district) These districts 'ith Scheduled Areas have been chosen to assess
the impact of 3SA on Scheduled Tribes) Similarly, Ehammam and Anantapur Districts
>
also serve the purpose of present study since both are having significant number of SCs,
5:)AA per cent and 5>)AA per cent respectively) The 'omen population in these districts
too is more or less e4ual to the state average (>6)>6 F)) ;rom each district, three
9andals, one each 'ith highest percentage of SC, ST and #omen population, 'ere
selected as sample 9andals) ;or instance, the ST population in Hu*umpeta 9andal of
=isa*hapatnam district is 6A)7? per cent and that of Te*ulapalle of Ehammam district is
+?)5@) Gi*e'ise in Dumriguda 9andal of =isa*hapatnam district, the SC population is
A@)?: per cent 'hereas in .ona*al of Ehammam district it is 7?)7: per cent and
Eambadur of Ananthapur district the SC population is 7,)?A per cent) Three 8ram
anchayats from each of the selected mandals 'ere chosen to carry out the study < one
headed by 'omen, one by SC and the remaining one by ST) Hence, the study 'as carried
out in , districts, 6 mandals and 7+ gram panchayats)
The data 'as collected in the study area from the Eey "nformants D -pinion
9a*ers that include anchayat Ra$ -fficials, SC D ST community and #omen leaders,
Gocal leaders, Social #or*ers, H8-s and the present SC, ST and #omen leaders of the
sample R"s li*e Sarpanch, resident and Chairman) The SC, ST and #omen members
elected under reserved category during the 7@@5 anchayat Ra$ elections 'ere chosen for
this purpose) rimary data 'ere collected from the respondents using the pre0tested
intervie' schedule) Semi0structured intervie' method 'as used for collecting data from
the officials and other sta*eholders)
PANCHAATS IN ANDHRA PRADESH AND EMPOWERMENT
OF SD*s
The 8overnment of Andhra radesh, li*e other states, framed a ne' anchayat Act
conforming to the +,
rd
Amendment of Constitution, 'hich came into effect in 9ay 566>)
This Andhra radesh anchayat Ra$ (AR) Act established a three0tier structure
consisting of Iilla arishad (I) at the District level, 9andal ra$a arishad (9) at the
intermediate (.loc*) level and 8ram anchayat (8) at the village level) The anchayat
Ra$ Act also provides for the constitution of 8ram Sabha at the village level comprising
of all the registered voters as members to function as the general body of the 8)
A
The AR Act provides for direct election of members to the R"s at all the three
levels through Territorial Constituencies 'ith the provision of reservations for the SCs
and STs in proportion to their population) -ne0third of the total number of seats in each
of these bodies are reserved for the bac*'ard classes and another one0third for 'omen)
The Head of the 8ram anchayat is elected directly by the electorate in the village
'hereas the resident of 9andal arishad and the Chairman of Iilla arishad are elected
from among the elected members from the lo'er tierDtiers) There is also a provision for
reservation 'ithin these posts as in the case of membership)
"n the post0+,
rd
CA phase, elections to the R"s in Andhra radesh 'ere held
thrice, in 566A, 7@@5 and 7@@:) At present out of the 7,6?,@7 elected representatives of
R"s, 5,+7,5,: are from general category, +>,@56 (,,F) are 'omen, ,>,@7A (5A)7F) are
representing SCs and 5+,?>7 (?F) are representatives of STs)
The ne(t part of the report probes into the issues relating to the present study, that
is the impact of +,
rd
Constitutional Amendment on the empo'erment of Socially
Disadvantaged 8roups (SD8s))
PRIS, DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND SD*s
-ne of the important ob$ectives of the +,
rd
Constitutional Amendment is to establish units
of self governance at grassroots level representing all the sections of "ndian society <
particularly the groups that 'ere so far sub$ected to discrimination and oppression)
Hence, the study paid attention to e(plore the democratisation process and representative
character of the contemporary R"s) The survey data indicates a considerable progress in
the post0CA period 'ith regard to representativeness of the R"s) Ho'ever, a lot needs to
be changed to institutionalise a real and meaningful democratic process at grassroots
level)
"n the survey, it 'as found that more than 6@ per cent of the elected
representatives 'ere one 'ay or the other dependent on agriculture sector < a finding
:
reflective of rural reality) The reservations brought in a ne' generation of leaders into the
democratic decision ma*ing process) 9ost of the elected representatives are first timers
and relatively young (less than >@ years) 'ith no political bac*ground) 9oreover, many
of these representatives 'ere economically 'ea*, illiterate or less educated and not
having any productive assets) Ho'ever, some representatives2 family members 'ere
'or*ing as teachers or government employees) "n general, a ma$ority of the elected
representatives belong to the lo'0income group and not 'ell educated) Though this
reality indicates us ho' reservations 'or*ed in favour of 'ea*er sections, ho'ever, the
findings also point at another contrasting fact < their continuing dependence on 'ell0off
sections and their disadvantaged position to spare more time on panchayat affairs)
Ho'ever, this should not be inferred to the e(tent that the R"s are free from party
politics) -ne can easily find the active involvement of political parties at higher tiers of
R"s, i)e), at Iilla arishad and 9andal arishad though their involvement is more subtle
at 8ram anchayat level) "n fact, some political parties, li*e Communist arties, are
actively 'or*ing on ground in support of 'omen from 'ea*er sections) The survey data
also indicates that most of the 'omen and men elected to upper tier of R"s 'ere holding
e(ecutive positions in the political parties) Thus, political training and previous
e(perience 'ere counted as one of the pre0re4uisites for allocating party tic*ets to contest
at higher level of R"s)
The functioning of Community .ased -rganisations (C.-s) at grassroots level
and their impact on R"s is one of the 'idely discussed issues in Andhra radesh) The
presence of a larger number of C.-s at various levels and po'ers delegated to them
created controversy and the C.-s are accused of functioning on parallel to the R"s in
contradiction to the spirit of democratic governance, e4uality and egalitarianism)
Ho'ever, the survey data also has sho'n a sort of synergy in some cases 'here active
involvement in one or the other C.-s encouraged the persons from 'ea*er sections,
particularly the 'omen, to contest for R" positions)
-verall, the +,
rd
Amendment and reservations in the R"s contributed
significantly to the democratic process at grassroots level) The situation is in a transitional
phase moving from the control by dominant castes and rich peasants to a more democratic
system that provides greater participation to the lo'er castes) Ho'ever, one should not
+
stretch this to the e(tent that the R"s are free from the domination of traditional elites,
particularly of upper castes) -ne can see the decisive hand of traditionally dominated
sections in selecting persons from 'ea*er sections, particularly the 'omen) "n some
cases, though the dominant sections 'ere not involved in the selection of representatives,
the persons 'ere identified 'ith the tacit agreement from elites) 9oreover, 'e can also
'itness a sort of confluence of interests bet'een leaders of upper castes as 'ell as
for'ard loo*ing, prosperous leaders from SCs and STs) #hile the upper caste landlords
controlled the panchyats earlier, they no' share their dominance 'ith small, but
influential groups of SCs and STs) "n some cases, 'e can also see the competition and
conflict 'ithin SCs) 9oreover, leaders are in general interested to 'or* for their o'n
personal benefit rather than of community) .igger political aspirations, for instance to
become an 9GA, are also operating on the minds of the leaders of the 'ea*er sections)
Since this re4uires acceptance from all the sections of the society, some elected
representatives of the 'ea*er sections are not interested in annoying the traditionally
dominant classes) "n these cases empo'erment is restricted to the elected representatives
not the community per se)
PRIs, PARTICIPATION AND SD*s
eople2s participation implies various forms of involvement in decision0ma*ing process,
vi&), plan formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and sharing the benefits of
development) articipation means a *ind of grassroots level autonomy in 'hich people
discover the possibilities of e(ercising choice, 'ield influence and thereby become
capable of managing their o'n development) Thus participation can be understood as a
process in 'hich people can articulate their problems, their vie's on priorities and
e(ercise their choice) articipatory governance through R"s 'ould help the 'omen and
marginalised groups to protect their interests and push through their priorities) "n concrete
terms one can see the participatory process in terms of attending to the 8ram Sabhas,
casting the votes, attending to the anchayat meetings, interacting 'ith the other
sta*eholders, e(pressing the dissent, contributing meaningfully for decision0ma*ing
process, prioritising the activities, etc)
?
Attendance
The level of attendance 'as found to be very lo' at 8ram anchayat level) -ut of the
total respondents, about :? per cent had not attended the meetings of 8ram anchayat) "t
is understood from the discussion that many elected representatives at 8 level 'ere not
even a'are that they need to attend the meetings of R"s) They have not been ade4uately
educated about their role and responsibilities) Some of the 'omen representatives 'ho
contested in the election in place of their husbands due to the reservations for 'omen do
not attend these meetings and merely sign on papers sent to their residence)
Ho'ever, the attendance 'as some'hat better at higher level of R"s) The
attendance 'as A:), per cent at Iilla arishad and A?)7 per cent at 9andal arishad) The
presence of 9inisters, 9GAs, 9s and higher officials in these meetings 'as one of the
main reasons, as pointed out by respondents, for the high attendance) 3ven here also the
non0attendants constitute to more than >@ per cent)
Hence the attendance of elected representatives to the R"s 'as not sufficient
enough to contribute meaningfully to the participatory process) T'o possible factors can
be identified for this lo' attendance) Stating negatively, those elected under reservation
'ere not serious about their attending the meetings) 9any of them have come to !fill0up%
the seats D position as !to*en% under the reservation system) utting it positively, lo'
income level and less education are adversely 'or*ing for the R" representatives to
attend for the meetings) The attendance 'as better among high income and better
educated R" representatives)
Interaction
articipating in R"s meetings is a minimum re4uirement one can e(pect from the R"
functionaries) Ho'ever, it is the level of interaction that provides 4uality to these
meetings) The reservations are simply ensure a sort of representation for 'ea*er sections
of the society1 ho' this representation can be utilised for the empo'erment of community
entirely depends on these representatives) "ronically, the level of interaction at 8 level is
disappointing) 9ore than :A per cent of representatives 'ere found rarely interacting at
6
8 meetings) 9ostly the Sarpanch spea*s about the activities, others listen to it) At the
9andal arishad level also a large proportion of representatives rarely interacted (A+)5F)
and si&eable proportion of representatives have interacted only by instruction (,A)AF) and
some have spo*en on the special issues (5:)+F)) Some of these interactions are either
polemics bet'een the representatives belonging to different political parties or demanding
or re4uesting favours from the officials) Ho'ever, interaction is far better at Iilla
arishad1 more than :@ per cent of the representatives are actively interacting at this level)
There are many reasons for this) Since most of the I representatives are functionaries of
one or the other political parties, most of their interventions 'ere directed by the 'hip
from their parties) The active functioning of Standing Committees at I level is also
facilitating the interaction since most of the I members are part of these committees)
Hence, as stated earlier, party politics are more of a factor for active interventions than the
community interests)
Ho'ever, one positive aspect the study found at the ground level 'as that 'omen
in general are interacting more than the men) This is particularly the case 'ith the upper
caste and SC 'omen 'here more than A@ per cent 'ere actively participating in the
deliberations) Ho'ever, this is not the case 'ith 'omen belonging to ST and -.C
communities) -n the 'hole, those 'ho are al'ays available in the villages li*e farmers,
'age labourers and unemployed persons have ta*en interest to interact in anchayat
meetings) eople engaged in services and business activities have not ta*en much interest
to interact in the R system)
-ne of the reasons found for poor interaction at R"s 'as the lo' educational
level of R" representatives) Correlation 'or*ed in the study reveals that as the education
level increases the level of interaction also increased) Gac* of e(posure, information,
a'areness and *no'ledge are holding bac* the R" representatives from actively
intervening in various issues of importance) .ecause of these dra'bac*s, as field level
observations indicate, still the participation by the SCs, STs and #omen elected under
reservation 'as, to a large e(tent, !directed% by the persons from dominant castes, by the
affluent sections and also the leaders of political parties) This is pointing out to the fact
that there is an immense need for organising training programmes for representatives of
the R"s at all the levels)
5@
Decision-Making
-ne of the important conditions for the effectiveness of the reservation policy is that the
elected representatives must e(ercise independent po'er and autonomy in decision
ma*ing 'hile e(erting authority over bureaucracy and local elite) Ho'ever, the findings
of the study sho' a different reality) #hatever shortcomings have been stated above for
participation and interaction are more or less visible in the decision0ma*ing process as
'ell) Still, the traditional elite, the po'er structures and bureaucracy influence the
decision0ma*ing process) "t 'as observed in the field that some R" representatives
'ould not sit in the presence of upper caste leaders) The decisions ta*en at the top are
flo'n do'n and endorsed by the R" representatives)
PRIs AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES OF SD*s
An important ob$ective of +,
rd
Amendment 'as to reverse the top0do'n process of
development 'ith bottom0up approach) Since, the decentralised governance is considered
to be more responsive to the needs of the people, it is e(pected that the changes brought
out by the Amendment ma*es it easier for people to monitor local politicians) Hence,
democratisation of the public service delivery system can be understood as one of the
important of ob$ectives behind the Amendment) 9oreover, the provision for reservations
'as incorporated in "ndia2s decentralisation e(periment 'ith an assumption that those
elected as representatives of 'ea*er sections 'ould sho' sensitivity to'ards their
community and influence the developmental priorities in a manner that 'ould facilitate
empo'erment of the people belongs to these communities)
The present study paid a considerable attention to understand ho' the
representatives from 'ea*er sections prioritised the development activities in their
respective $urisdiction) ;or this purpose, 'e have re4uested the respondents to spell out
their development priorities for the local community and problems they have e(perienced
in their effort to get them approved) The respondents have put forth a set of priorities, as
presented belo')
55
The R" representatives have mainly focused on providing basic facilities to the
people they are representing) Drin*ing 'ater, sanitation, roads and creation of physical
assets li*e school buildings are generally preferred by most of the representatives) At the
Is level, the representatives have ta*en up various development priorities of their o'n
group and those of common to all the groups) The development priorities 'ere in the
follo'ing order/ providing road facilities (6,),,F), augmentation of drin*ing 'ater
supply by revamping the e(isting system and installing ne' delivery pipes (?@F) and
school related aspects covering 'ater supply and sanitation facilities
(+:):+ F)) Thus providing basic facilities dominated at I level, infrastructural pro$ects
dominated at I and 9andal level)
Though a significant number of representatives have sho'n interest in
construction activities and creating physical assets, ho'ever, the study also found that
'omen representatives have sho'n interest to meet the re4uirements of the 'omen in
their villageDcommunity) "n fact, some of the 'omen representatives found genuinely
influencing the developmental priorities of the R"s) Similarly, the SC sarpanches have
allocated relatively more funds to the areas 'here SCs are living than the sarpanches
elected from upper castes) Hence the reservations, to some e(tent, served the purpose for
'hich they 'ere meant)
PRIs AND COMMUNIT CONFLICTS
"ndia is a segmented society 'ith caste and class divisions and hierarchies) These
divisions have created mutual suspicion and conflict bet'een the communities) These
conflicts, in turn, are influencing the political process in general and the R"s in
particular) 8enerally, conflict serves the purpose of removing hierarchies, oppression,
ine4ualities and discrimination, and changing the status 4uo that puts some communities
in a disadvantaged position) Ho'ever, sometimes it also negatively affects the political
process 'ith &ero sum gains) "n case of R"s, conflicts on trivial matters are adversely
affecting the governance at grassroots level) "n some cases, the conflicts 'ithin the rural
poor and 'ea*er sections have become counter productive to their development)
57
"n the present study, an attempt has been made to understand inter and intra0
community conflicts of the R" representatives) "n the areas 'here the study has been
carried out, the inter0community conflict is relatively less/ of the total 7:A respondents
intervie'ed, only a small fraction (about A per cent) have faced inter0community conflict
in the process of participating in R system) A fe' conflicts arouse 'henever differences
appeared over the selection of beneficiaries, 'hen people from 'ea*er sections sought
clarifications 'ith regard to the anchayat decisions, 'hen they 4uestioned the
development priorities, or contracts given to the people closer to anchayat leaders, etc)
#hen it comes to the intra0community conflict, the findings sho' that only a
small section of SCs, STs and upper caste 'omen representatives have e(perienced
conflict 'ith their o'n community and group (about : per cent)) Ho'ever, 'herever
conflict e(isted it is due to the non0consideration of the priorities e(pressed by the SC and
ST leaders) The representatives of the 'ea*er sections also e(perienced anger from their
community 'henever they $oined hands 'ith the upper castes in the selection of
beneficiaries for various schemes) Similarly, these representatives also faced adverse
situation 'henever the interests of their community differed 'ith the priorities of the
party they represent)
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The main ob$ective of the present study is to e(plore the impact of reservations in R"s on
socially disadvantaged sections and ho' far they have contributed to the empo'erment of
these sections) .y means of empirical analysis, the study e(amined the democratic
process introduced by the +,
rd
Constitutional Amendment on grassroots politics and on
decentralisation of governance structures) The study also investigated various aspects of
participatory processes li*e attendance in the meetings, interactions and decision0ma*ing
process, etc) And finally, the study analysed the sources for inter and intra0community
conflicts and the factors for the emergence of these conflicts)
The study found a mi(ture of positive and negative trends 'ith regard to the
empo'erment of 'ea*er sections in the conte(t of decentralised governance) Though the
5,
compulsory reservations ensured proportional representation of these communities in
R"s, ho'ever, still it ta*es a longer time to eliminate the domination of traditional elite
and bring empo'erment to all the sections in a true sense) eople are still divided into
!benefit givers% and !benefit see*ers%) The notion of !beneficiaries% goes against the
normative values of !empo'erment% since it divides the population into !elite and
marginal% or !patrons and clients%) ;or a larger proportion of population, anchayats are
not a self governing units but of government institutions responsible for 'elfare
programmes < distributors of various benefits) "ronically, in recent times 'e find a
concerted effort on the part of political parties to divide the rural poor < the benefit
see*ers < into target populations and to pit the one against the other, as it happened, for
instance, in the case of !9alas% and !9adigas%)
Still, the reservations are a tool to ensure proportional representation for 'ea*er
sections of the society and a mechanism for e4ual distribution of public goods) They
have contributed significantly for the empo'erment of SCs, STs and #omen by
enhancing political consciousness and increasing social status and overall po'er and
authority) The shortcomings mentioned above are the resultants of the persistence of
traditional po'er structures and lac* of a'areness and *no'ledge on the part of the
'ea*er sections)
"n the long term, some of these constraints 'ill go a'ay on their o'n 'ith the
increase in general educationalD a'areness level of the society) Ho'ever, in the short
term, the efforts of the government and civil society organisations in terms of
disseminating information about the constitutional provisions and the rights they provided
to the people 'ill ma*e lot much difference) -ne of the findings of the study is that very
fe' R" representatives (57F) have got trained about the institutions they are
representing) The percentage is much lo' at 8 level) So organising training for the R"
representatives must become an immediate priority) 3fforts from political parties, civil
society organisations and academicians also significantly advance the empo'erment
aspect if their efforts contributed to the institutionalisation of constitutional provisions)
Gi*e'ise, enhancing leadership and communication s*ills among the representatives of
the 'ea*er sections enable them to function more effectively) -ther measures li*e
earmar*ing some proportion of plan funds for pro$ects addressing the specific needs of
disadvantaged sections, activating standing committees at all levels of R"s 'ith ade4uate
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representation from these communities, establishing synergy bet'een C.-s and R"s,
formulation of pro$ects for the development of 'ea*er sections, etc) considerably
contribute to the empo'erment of socially disadvantaged sections)
REFERENCES
Chatter$ee, artha 7@@>) The Politics of the Governed: Reflections on Political Society in
Most of the World) He' Jor*/ Columbia Kniversity ress)
Sen, Amartya 5666) Development as Freedom) -(ford/ -(ford Kniversity ress)
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