EMPOWERING THE ‘SOCIALLYEXCLUDED’ IN RURAL LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS: AN EXPLORATORYSTUDY FROM A STATE IN INDIA
SEKHAR BONU1*,y, MANJU RANI2z, DAVID H. PETERS3x and TIMOTHY D. BAKER3�
1Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines2World Health Organization, WPRO, Manila, Philippines
3Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
Abstract: The study investigates the effects of mandatory political representation of women
and non-forward castes in India (73rd Constitutional Amendment) on development prefer-
ences and social equity. We used systematic content analysis of proceedings from meetings of
155 rural village assemblies. The study revealed overemphasis on physical infrastructure,
relative neglect of health and education, influence of state government directives and
marginalisation of gender issues. However, there was higher likelihood of articulation of
non forward caste-related issues by non-forward caste chairpersons. A paradigm shift in the
development perspective of local governments, stressing investments in leadership develop-
ment is needed. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: Asia; India; empowerment; decentralization; social change; rural development
1 INTRODUCTION
Decentralisation is often suggested as a potential strategy to enhance equity, efficiency and
local responsiveness of development administration (World Bank, 2000). Past experiences
with decentralisation efforts worldwide, however, have been mixed (Rondinelli et al.,
1983). The focus of this paper is on skewed development preferences and dominance by
Journal of International Development
J. Int. Dev. 23, 42–62 (2011)
Published online 1 July 2009 in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/jid.1566
*Correspondence to: Sekhar Bonu, Development Bank, ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines.E-mail: [email protected] Urban Development Specialist.zScientist.xAssociate Professor.�Professor.
Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
local elite—the two major concerns that have emerged from past decentralization
experiences across a number of countries.
Skewed development preferences of the decentralised institutions may result in less than
optimal allocative efficiencies. For example, development professionals have expressed
concern that brick-and-mortar investments (which result in creation of tangible assets) may
take preference over human development issues such as education or health, for which
explicit demand may be low. The second concern involves inequities in political
representation from different social groups that may lead to weakening of equity and
accountability in the decentralised institutions. In societies where social inequities are
widespread, the decentralised institutions might reflect similar inequities in political
representation and in the development agenda that dominant groups advocate.
Evidence from some countries indicates that decentralised institutions may become
tools of local elite who may in turn usurp the development agenda to their advantage
(Narayan and Petesch, 2002). In India, ‘social exclusion’1 is widespread for women
(Miller, 1989; Murthi et al., 1995; Jeffrey and Basu, 1996; Visaria, 1996; Agarwal, 1997)
and members of non-forward castes2 (Beteille, 1969; Ghurye, 1969; Furer-Haimendorf,
1982; Galanter, 1984; Chaubisa, 1988; Omvedt, 1993). Exclusion has been documented in
almost all walks of social life, as well as in the rural local governments, called the
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India. Before 1993, women constituted less than 1
percent of all the representatives in the PRI, and non-forward castes rarely commanded
enough representation to influence policies and programs in the PRIs (Sirsikar, 1970; Narain
et al., 1976; Chaubisa, 1988; Shiviah and Srivastava, 1990; Webster, 1992; Jeffery, 2000).
When decentralised institutions dominated by local elite have proclivity for skewed
development preferences, development failures are striking. For example, in some
communities, the majority of girls or non-forward caste children may not be attending
schools and the non-forward caste clients may not be utilising health services for the fear of
mistreatment by the health providers. Yet, the problems do not become serious issues for
the local political organisations (Dreze and Sen, 1995).
Some developing countries have adopted mandatory representation for the ‘socially
excluded’ groups—especially for women3—to protect interests of the socially excluded in
decentralised institutions (World Bank, 2001). The Parliament of India passed the 73rd
Constitutional Amendment in 1992 to provide mandatory representation for women and
non-forward castes in the PRIs. One-third of all the positions in the PRIs were reserved for
women, and positions proportional to the population of the non-forward castes were
reserved for the non-forward castes (Mukherjee, 1993; Ramachandran, 1993; Meenakshi
Sundaram, 1997).
1‘Social exclusion’ denotes a phenomenon of marginalisation experienced by individuals or sections of society. Itmay be due to the failure of institutions in the society that destroy social cohesion or due to fragmentation of socialrelations (Cartaya et al., 1997).2Hindu religion is hierarchically organised along innumerable castes and sub-castes that vary by region. However,there are four main castes: Brahman (priest), Kshatriya (warrior), Vaishya (merchant) and Shudra (worker). TheBrahmans and Kshatriyas are the high-status castes while the Shudras are historically considered the lowest caste.Caste is divided into four main groups by the Indian government: scheduled tribes (comprising the tribalpopulations, primarily in north-east and central parts of the country), scheduled castes (Shudras), other backwardcastes (other occupational castes) and general castes (Brahaman, Kshatriya and Vaishayas). The first three groupsare special population groups that the Indian Government identifies as socially and economically backward and inneed of special protection from social injustice and exploitation.3The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) at Cairo in September 1994 highlightedthat though progress is being made, women continue to be grossly underrepresented in the political process andadvocated that barriers to their participation in political process must be removed (UNFPA, 1995).
Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Int. Dev. 23, 42–62 (2011)
DOI: 10.1002/jid
Exploratory Study From a State in India 43
It was argued that the women and non-forward caste representatives in the PRIs would
articulate a development agenda that addresses gender- and caste-based inequities in
development, respectively (Mukherjee, 1993; Jain, 1994; Jain, 1996). Besides leading to
better articulation of interests of women and non forward castes, mandatory reservations
for women and non-forward castes were also expected to highlight concerns for
development in health and education, since women and non-forward caste social groups
have historically experienced the worst health and educational outcomes. However, little is
known about the development agenda championed by PRIs, in general, or more specifically
by the representatives of the ‘socially excluded’ members in the decentralised institutions.
Few studies have systematically examined the development issues supported by the
PRIs, or the impact of mandatory reservations for the socially excluded groups on the
decision-making process of the PRIs. Using data collected from the local citizens, Alsop
et al. (2000) investigated the impact of reservations in the PRIs on the participation of
socially excluded groups in the activities of local governments. Chattopadhyay and Duflo
(2001) examined the impact of reservations on decision-making process of rural local
governments by interviewing elected representatives of the local governments and
villagers about changes in the type and quality of village infrastructure.
This study uses a new source of data—the official proceeding of meetings of village
assemblies— to gain insights into the decision-making process of the local governments.
By carefully scrutinising the proceedings of the meetings organised at the lowest level of
PRIs, the study investigates how representation by female or non-forward caste
chairpersons influences the development agenda. The hypotheses we tested are whether
(a) the gender or caste of the chairperson influences the balance between discussion of
infrastructure and human development issues in the PRIs; (b) representation of women and
non-forward castes in the PRIs affects the inclusion of health and education issues in the
discussions of PRI meetings; and (c) representation of women and non-forward castes in
the PRIs leads to greater likelihood of decisions that would bridge gender- and caste-based
development gaps.
The findings are relevant not only for India, but also for countries that have embarked on
decentralisation for making the development process more equitable, inclusive, and
sustainable. The study will also provide evidence on the utility of mandatory political
representation as a strategy to increase the participation of socially excluded groups in the
social development process.
2 STUDY SETTING AND DATA
The study was conducted in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan—geographically
the second largest state in India, having a population of 56 million (5 percent of India’s total
population). The PRIs in Rajasthan, like other states in India, are organized along a three-
tier system—at the level of district, development block and a group of villages as shown in
Figure 1. The composition of the Panchayati Raj representatives in Rajasthan is shown in
Table 1. Our study examines the policy decision-making process and development agenda
only of the lowest level PRIs, the Gram Panchayat (GP). Each GP’s jurisdiction
encompasses 3–10 villages and has a population of about 10 000 people. The executive
body of the GP is headed by a directly elected chairperson called the sarpanch and is
composed of 6–10 ward members directly elected from the constituencies under the
jurisdiction of GP.
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44 B. Sekhar et al.
The law requires GPs to conduct regular meetings of the village-wide assemblies (called
gram sabhas in Hindi) four times a year to take stock of administrative and development
matters and to finalise development plans (Government of Rajasthan, 1994). All adults—
18 years or older—residing in the jurisdiction of the GP are members of the village-wide
Figure 1. Structure of PRIs in Rajasthan state
Table 1. Percentage distribution by gender and caste of elected representatives in rural localgovernments in Rajasthan state, India
Designation Caste Gender Total(number)
Forwardcaste
Otherbackwardclasses
Scheduledcastes
Scheduledtribes
Male Female
Village
GP chairperson 54 12 18 16 67 33 9185
Ward members 55 13 17 15 68 32 103 712
Block
Block chairperson 53 15 17 15 66 34 237
Block members 55 12 18 15 67 33 5257
District
District chairperson 50 16 19 16 69 31 32
District members 55 12 18 15 67 33 997
Total 54 13 17 16 68 32 119 420
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Exploratory Study From a State in India 45
assembly and are eligible to participate in the quarterly meetings. At least 10 percent of the
total members of the village assembly should be present to constitute a quorum for the
village assembly. The proceedings of the meeting of village assembly are recorded by
secretary (gram sevak) of the GP in Hindi (the official language of Rajasthan) and are
considered as official documents.
The empirical findings presented in the study are based on data derived from the official
proceedings (minutes) of the meetings of village assemblies. The sampling framework for
the study was purposive and relied on the willingness of the GPs from four blocks in Jaipur
and three blocks in Ajmer districts to participate in the study. The proceedings of village
assemblies were obtained with the help of the Director of Panchayti Raj, who oversees the
local governments. The Director of Panchayati Raj requested all the GPs from selected
blocks in Ajmer and Jaipur districts to provide a copy of proceedings of the most recent
meeting of village assembly. 155 GPs from seven development blocks4 provided the
photocopies of the proceedings of meetings of village assemblies organised between
January and May 2001, all of which were included in the study. Of the approximately 250
GPs from seven development blocks, 155 GPs participated in the study giving a response
rate of 60 percent. To control for seasonal variations in the administration’s focus (during
monsoon, the focus is more on flood relief; and during summer, the focus is more on
drinking water), the study was limited to one meeting held within the first quarter of the
year.
Systematic ‘content analysis5’ was the main qualitative research technique used to
analyse the text data in the proceedings. The coding instrument was constructed in
accordance with the hypotheses of the study to capture as much data as possible. The
instrument was organised into 11 sections focusing on different administrative and
development themes. The copy of data coding instruments is given at Appendix A.
Each document of the village assembly proceedings typically comprised 10–15 pages.
Since first two authors are fluent in Hindi, the documents were not translated into English,
but were directly coded from the original documents using the coding instrument. Both the
authors coded all the proceedings separately and independently. The inter-coder reliability
between the two coders was found to be very high (90 percent). In cases where there were
differences in coding, both the coders discussed the differences and then recoded the data to
reconcile the differences.
Since the main interest of the study is to examine how the local governments handled the
public health, education, gender, and caste-related issues, detailed coding of different
issues was done for these topics. For public health issues, data were classified according to
10 essential functions of public health (Institute of Medicine, 1998) along with other public
health functions deemed important in the rural Indian settings.
Data were also coded to identify any issues that showed the sensitivity of local
governments toward gender- or caste-based inequities in development. This included
discussion and identification of beneficiaries under special schemes meant for non-forward
caste or women and undertaking special measures to mitigate disadvantages faced by these
groups.
4These include Amer, Chaksu, Phagi and Sanganer development blocks in the Jaipur district, and Bhinai, Pisanganand Srinagar development blocks in Ajmer district.5Content analysis is an unobtrusive research technique that requires construction of a coding scheme to quantifythe symbolic forms, coding of the content, and finally, analysing and interpreting the data (see Weber, 1990 formore details).
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46 B. Sekhar et al.
The data entry was done in Microsoft Access and analysed using STATA statistical
software. Data are mainly reported as frequency counts and frequency comparisons.
Pearson x2 tests are conducted to test the significance of differences across different
categories in the cross-tabulations. As of the simple regression analysis was significant,
multivariate analysis was not conducted.
3 FINDINGS
Of the 155 GPs in the study, 99 (64 percent) were headed by a male chairperson, 56 (36
percent) by a female chairperson. The caste composition of the GPs was as follows: 66 (43
percent) of the chairpersons were from forward caste groups, and the remaining were from
the non forward castes. Among the non forward castes, 36 each were from other backward
castes (OBCs) and scheduled castes (SCs), and 17 belonged to scheduled tribes (STs).
Broadly, the topics discussed in the gram sabhas were coded into eight areas: (a) public
health, (b) school education, (c) building community assets, (d) individual beneficiary
schemes, (e) other development schemes, (f) relief works, (g) vigilance and (h) general
aspects of proceedings. Within each of these subject areas, various sub-areas were
identified (details given in Table 2 for general aspects, Table 3 for public health and Table 4
for school education).
The general aspects of proceedings (57 percent) and demands for community assets
(55 percent) dominated the gram sabhas proceedings (Table 2). Development schemes
(40 percent), individual beneficiary schemes (32 percent), relief works (29 percent) and
vigilance (21 percent) were moderately discussed (Table 2). Surprisingly, both school
education (11 percent) and public health (3 percent) were discussed infrequently during the
gram sabhas. The gram sabha proceedings generally followed the conventions well
(Table 2). Previous proceedings were read and approved in 74 percent of the cases.
Likewise, previous year’s expenditures were discussed 76 percent of the time.
The state government issues broad guidelines to the rural local governments on regular
basis on how to conduct meetings of the village assemblies. The examination of the
proceedings of the meetings reveals that most of the GPs have a tendency to follow the state
government guidelines. Proceedings of most of the village assemblies (92 percent) have
recorded reading out the minutes of previous village assembly meetings and obtaining
approval of proceeding as required in the guidelines. Similarly, most of the proceedings
(90 percent) recorded an agenda item on discussion and approval of previous year’s
expenditures. Rest of the findings are presented under three broad headings: infrastructure
development, health and education and gender and caste.
3.1 Infrastructure Development
Proposals for creation of different physical assets dominated the development agenda of
almost all the village assemblies. Proposals were recorded on the installation of hand
pumps (100 percent), construction of new roads or improvement of an existing road
(98 percent), construction of additional rooms in school buildings (98 percent),
construction of open drainage channels (82 percent) and construction of small irrigation
works such as tanks and small dams (80 percent). The proposals were recorded not by the
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Exploratory Study From a State in India 47
Table 2. General aspects of gram sabha proceedings
Subject Subject raised (%)
General aspects of proceedings
Previous proceedings read 74
Previous year’s expenditures discussed 76
Current budget discussed 64
Development programs discussed 50
Abadi land issues discussed 48
Community land issues discussed 54
Efforts to raise local revenues made 30
Vigilance
Vigilance committee constituted 24
Vouchers of development works shown and verified 0
Muster rolls of development works shown 4
General local governance issues discussed 52
Accounts related issues discussed 10
Fair price ration shop discussed 36
Relief works
Discussed relief works 58
Suggested new works for relief 30
Examined old relief works 12
Suggested maintenance works for relief 10
Reviewed ongoing relief works 26
Discussed about drinking water problem 30
Discussed about fodder for animals 36
Individual beneficiaries
Housing 80
Widow pension 54
Handicapped pension 50
Old-age pension 34
Loans 18
Individual assets 16
Ration cards 26
Gender 6
Caste 4
Assets
Roads 98
Irrigation 94
Soil conservation 50
Community hall 82
Sanitation 76
School 80
Health 28
Animal husbandry 18
Drinking water: pipe line 34
Drinking water: hand pump 60
Drinking water: well 54
Electricity: new 10
Electricity: extension 30
Development schemes
Balika Samriddhi Yojana 58
Jawahar Rojgar Yojana/Employment Assurance Scheme 56
Integrated Rural Development Program 18
Jawahar Gram Samriddhi Yojana 82
(Continues)
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48 B. Sekhar et al.
type of asset needed but by the different development schemes (such as Jawahar Rojgar
Yojna6, drought relief works, etc.) run and managed by the state or central government7.
Varying number of beneficiaries under different individual beneficiaries schemes (such
as Indira Awas Yojna8, old age/disability pension schemes) were also listed in all the
Table 2. (Continued)
Subject Subject raised (%)
Training of rural youth for self-employment 2
Indira Awas Yojana 82
Member of Parliament scheme 10
Member of Legislative Assembly scheme 82
Watershed development 0
Social welfare 0
Anganwadi scheme 52
Para-teachers 0
Women’s collectives 82
Table 3. Percent of GPs recording proposals on different health issues in the village assembly bythe gender and caste of the chairperson
Gender�� Caste��
Aspects of healthissues discussed
Total,N¼ 155
Male,N¼ 99
Female,N¼ 56
Forwardcaste,N¼ 66
Otherbackwardclasses,N¼ 36
Scheduledcastes,N¼ 36
Scheduledtribes,N¼ 17
Creation of new health
infrastructure/repair of
existing facility
45 48 39 41 47 56 31
Review of health staff
attendance
57 60 52 55 56 56 61
Discussion of public
health problems
5 5 5 9 3 3 0
Provision of information
about different health issues
30 30 29 30 25 42 19
Different health schemes
promoted by state/central
government
45 40 52 44 44 47 44
Demand for additional
health staff
10 9 13 12 8 6 11
Construction of public toilet 17 14 22 19 15 15 17
Note: Monitoring health status, diagnosis and investigation of health problems, develop plans and policies, enforcelaws and regulations, linking people with needed personal health services, evaluation of effectiveness/accessibility/quality of personal and population-based health services, conduct research, immunisation, curativecare, women’s health issues, child health issues, non-forward caste-related health issues, old age health issues, anduser fees were coded, but were not discussed at all, and hence were excluded from above table.��None of the differences were significant at p< 0.10 (x2 test).
6English translation being ‘Jawahar Employment Scheme’—a rural employment scheme sponsored by centralgovernment to create assets while generating employment for the poor in rural areas.7It is mandatory for district authorities to obtain proposals approved by GPs for most of the development schemesof the state and central government.8The English translation is ‘Indira Housing Scheme’—a rural housing subsidy scheme sponsored by the centralgovernment for households below the poverty line.
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Exploratory Study From a State in India 49
proceedings. However, it was not possible to judge or comment on the fairness of the
beneficiary selection procedure from the data. In addition, the relative importance given to
different individual beneficiary schemes varied between different GPs. While individual
housing scheme, old age and widow pension schemes appeared in almost all the
proceedings, maternity benefit scheme, medical relief card scheme and Balika Samriddhi
Yojna9 appeared less often.
Almost all the GPs (90 percent) recorded a proposal on review of ‘below poverty list
(BPL)’ to identify any ineligible individual beneficiaries as required under the state
government guidelines. An agenda item was also recorded in almost all the GPs on public
audit of development projects undertaken in the past. Only four GPs recorded inclusion of
wrong beneficiaries in the BPL, and no GP recorded any complaint of corruption in the
construction works undertaken in the past. This is in sharp contrast to the frequent
complaints of ineligible persons obtaining benefits under schemes for people below
poverty line and complaints of rampant corruption in the construction of different physical
assets (Alsop et al., 2000; Chattopadhyay and Duflo, 2001). No statistically significant
differences (x2 test) were found in the type of assets proposed by the gender or caste of the
chairperson.
Table 4. Percent of GP recording proposals on different aspects of school education in the villageassemblies by the gender and caste of the chairperson
Gender Caste
Aspect of schooleducation discussed
Total,N¼ 155
Male,N¼ 99
Female,N¼ 56
Forwardcaste,N¼ 66
Otherbackwardclasses,N¼ 36
Scheduledcaste,N¼ 36
Scheduledtribe,N¼ 17
Creation of new room in
school/repair of existing
rooms
98 99 96 97 100 100 94
Upgradation of school
level
18 18 16 14 19 25 13
Universalisation of
elementary education
51 51 50 59 47 50 25�
Demand for additional
teachers/school
25 29 16 26 28 19 25
Toilet facility in the school 27 28 25 24 29 28 38
Teacher’s attendance 62 65 57 58 61 61 81
Student’s attendance 8 6 13 11 8 6 6
Enrolment of girls 5 7 2 5 14 0 0
Appointment of a
para-teacher
60 56 68 59 56 67 63
Note: Non-forward caste issues, user fees, and other local resources of funding for education were not discussed atall and hence were excluded from above table.�Differences are significant at p< 0.10 (x2 test).
9The English translation is ‘Girls Enrichment Scheme’—a scheme sponsored by state government to enhance thesocial status of girls.
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50 B. Sekhar et al.
3.2 Health and Education
3.2.1 Health
Health department officials were present in 54 percent of the village assemblies. Only half
of the village assemblies had one or more public health issues on their agenda. Many
aspects considered as essential elements of public health (monitoring of health status,
investigation of health problems, enforcement of health laws and regulations, etc.) were not
discussed by any of the GPs. Table 3 presents the frequency of discussion of health issues in
the GPs.
Almost 4 in 10 GPs recorded a proposal related to physical infrastructure for health
facilities, which included proposals for construction of a boundary wall, repair of the
building, construction of a hand pump, construction of a toilet in the building, construction
of a new building, etc. Though GPs headed by male chairpersons and SC chairpersons were
more likely to record a proposal on health infrastructure, differences were not statistically
significant (x2 test). No proposals were recorded for the maintenance of existing health
infrastructure by any of the village assemblies.
The routine tone of the language used to record some of the health related proposals was
in compliance with the state guidelines, but did not display any genuine concern for the
issue. For example, the standard language used to record the proposal on ‘information on
women and child health issues’ mentioned in 30 percent of GPs was ‘the auxiliary nurse
midwife (ANM) informed the villagers about women and child health issues’, with little
variation from one GP to another. Though the GPs headed by forward caste chairpersons
were more likely to record discussion on any health problem, the differences were not
statistically significant (x2 test).10
Interestingly, compared with other individual beneficiaries schemes, proposals on health
schemes (maternity benefit scheme and medical relief card scheme) were recorded in only
15 percent of the GPs. While no difference was seen by the caste of the chairperson, GPs
headed by women chairperson were more likely to record discussion on health schemes
(52 percent versus 40 percent, though x2 text not statistically significant).
Proposals on sanitation came up in a substantial proportion of GPs. The majority of the
proposals were for construction or repair of open drainage channels under several
government-sponsored schemes. Seventeen percent of the village assemblies recorded
proposals for construction of public toilets and urinals. While female chairman-headed
GPs were more likely to record proposals for the construction of public toilets as presented
in Table 2, differences were not statistically significant. None of the village assemblies
deliberated upon maintenance of existing open drainage channels or public toilets/urinals.
A substantial number of GPs (21 percent) recorded irregular attendance of health
workers and longstanding vacancies of posting of health staff. Three of the GPs recorded
proposals for posting of a female doctor, another three GPs recorded complaints about lack
of drugs and charging of arbitrary fees by the doctors in the health facilities. In all cases,
10Only 5 percent GPs specifically mentioned that ANMs discussed family planning issues or specific healthproblems in the GP. In two GPs, a mention was made about the childhood immunisation.With the exception of fewGPs, no further details were provided on discussions about child and women health. One GP recorded a problemwith pollution due to a nearby factory, and another recorded a problem with high fluoride in the drinking water.Four GPs discussed low contraceptive use in the area, and one of the GP recorded the names of patients sufferingfrom tuberculosis. Whatever information was given by the ANM, local initiative was lacking in recording thehealth-related proposals.
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Exploratory Study From a State in India 51
GPs resorted to petitioning higher authorities for transfer of erring employees and did not
deliberate on other ways to resolve the situation.
Except for two village assemblies that recorded resolutions to clean their villages with
the help of community, there was no mention about community mobilisation for public
health in the remaining GPs.
3.2.2 School education
More village assemblies recorded proposals on school education than for health. However,
the proposals were confined to few issues. Table 4 presents the type of proposals recorded
on education. Independent of the caste or gender of the chairperson, almost all the village
assemblies recorded proposals for creation of physical assets. The proposals for funding
under different development schemes of the state or central government included
construction of extra classrooms (90 percent), construction of a boundary wall around the
school building (50 percent), construction of toilets in the school (27 percent), installation
of a hand pump (20 percent) and the repair of existing classrooms (10 percent) (Table 5).
With the exception of two village assemblies, no GP recorded proposals for improving
the teaching materials. Though the schools had been transferred to the local governments
by executive order of the state government, no proposals were recorded in any of the village
assemblies for the regular maintenance of their schools.
Surprisingly, proposals on universalisation of elementary education (UEE) were
recorded in substantial number of village assemblies (51 percent). With few exceptions, the
proposals were recorded in a very rhetorical and ritualistic manner. The strikingly similar
language used for recording the UEE proposal across different village assemblies was
‘villagers were informed about the need for universalisation of the primary education,
regular attendance, joyful learning and all the villagers were encouraged to send their
children to the schools’ with little variation across GPs. This type of statement put the
assemblies in compliance with the guidelines issued by the state government but did not
seem to reflect any genuine concern for the issue.
There were also some specific efforts. In three GPs, the names of all the out-of-school
children and children attending school irregularly were listed and read to the village
assemblies. A detailed plan to bring these children to the school with specific
responsibilities to each government employee and the elected representatives was laid
Table 5. Percent of GPs recording discussions relating to gender and caste by the gender and castebackground of the sarpanch
Item Discussion ongender-related issues (%)
Discussion oncaste-related issues (%)
Overall (N¼ 155) 16 28
Gender of the sarpanch
Male (N¼ 99) 18 24
Female (N¼ 56) 12 30
Caste of the sarpanch �
Forward (N¼ 66) 16 12
OBCs (N¼ 36) 15 31
SC/ST (N¼ 53) 17 58
OBC, other backward classes; SC, scheduled caste; ST, scheduled tribes.�Differences are significant at p< 0.05 (x2 test).
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52 B. Sekhar et al.
down. FewGPs specifically recorded concern over low female or low caste child enrolment
in the schools.
GPs headed by ST chairpersons were significantly less likely to record proposals on
universalisation of education (P< 0.09), though no differences was seen between male and
female chairpersons.
Though some village assemblies recorded the constitution of an ‘education committee’
(also suggested in the state guidelines), no mention was made about the functions and
responsibilities of these committees.
Almost one in four GPs recorded a proposal for posting additional teachers or for
additional schools. Proposal to upgrade schools from a primary to a middle school or from
middle to secondary school (18 percent of the village assemblies) was frequently
discussed. However, no statistically significant (x2 test) differences were seen by the
gender of the chairperson, though ST chairpersons (13 percent) and forward caste
chairpersons (14 percent) were less likely to raise the proposals for upgradation of the
schools (difference not statistically significant).
Almost 62 percent of the GPs recorded a proposal concerning the review of teacher’s
attendance, mostly as a part of an agenda item to review the attendance of all the
government employees (state government issued guideline to review attendance of all
government servants in the GP’s jurisdiction). Contrary to growing evidence of high rates
of public servant absenteeism, 70 percent of the GPs recorded that ‘all the government
employees are regular and working satisfactorily’. Only 10 percent of the GPs recorded
specific comments on teacher’s attendance, mostly complaining about the irregular
attendance. Only eight percent of the GPs discussed about regular attendance of students in
the schools with female and forward caste chairpersons more likely to record this proposal.
Another interesting finding is that 15 percent of the GPs recorded discussion on school
results, mostly expressing dissatisfaction over poor results and demanding transfer of the
under-performing teachers. Again, female and forward caste chairpersons were more likely
to record proposals on school results, though the differences were not statistically
significant using x2 test.
3.3 Gender and Caste
3.3.1 Gender
Overall, 18 percent of the GPs recorded proposals specifically addressing gender issues.
Contrary to the expectations, 21 percent of GPs chaired by a male chairperson compared to
11 percent of GPs headed by a female chairperson recorded proposals reflecting explicit
gender concerns. No substantial difference was observed by the caste of the chairperson.
The nature of the proposals on gender issues varied widely across different GPs. In a GP
headed by female chairperson, the village assembly was held separately for women to
discuss women’s rights. One GP headed by a female chairperson proposed constitution of a
women’s advisory committee to improve the lot of women in the villages. A GP headed by
male chairperson recorded a proposal for construction of an enclosure to ensure privacy for
women who bath near the tank. In contrast, one GP headed by a male forward caste
chairperson proposed a resolution against inheritance of agricultural land to girls.
Other GPs raised issues about construction of rest rooms in the school especially for the
girls, girl child enrolment, appointment of a lady doctor, opening of schools for girls and
upgradation of girls’ schools to improve their chances of higher education. 37 percent of
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Exploratory Study From a State in India 53
the GPs recorded proposals to constitute self-help groups for women (an item included in
the guidelines issued by the state government). GPs headed by male chairperson recorded
proposals on constitution of women self-help groups (39 percent) at a higher frequency
than GPs chaired by women (30 percent). While only 25 percent of the GPs headed by a ST
chairperson discussed constitution of self-help groups for women, 44 percent of the GPs
headed by a SC/OBC chairperson and 32 percent of the GPs headed by forward caste
chairperson did.
3.3.2 Caste
The non forward caste-related issues were recorded in 28 percent of the proceedings.
Caste-related issues were discussed in 24 percent of the village assemblies by a male
chairperson and 30 percent in the village assemblies headed by female chairperson. The
non forward caste-related issues were discussed in village assemblies headed 12 percent by
forward caste, 31 percent by OBCs and 58 percent by SCs and STs, the differences being
statistically significant (p< 0.05 using x2 test).
In two of the GPs headed by a forward caste chairperson, administrative measures that
can be deemed as anti-non-forward castes were taken. One of the GP recorded that a forward
caste applicant should replace the existing SC anganwadi11 worker. Another GP recom-
mended that a fair price shop allotted to a SC person be transferred to a forward caste person.
Proposals reflecting concern for non-forward caste populations were mostly limited to
discussion on government development schemes that target the non forward castes. These
included construction of physical assets such as roads, hand pumps, and community halls
in the non-forward caste neighbourhoods. In only one GP headed by an OBC chairperson, a
proposal was recorded expressing concern over low school enrolment of children from
backward castes.
4 DISCUSSION
Few limitations in the study methodology are as follows. The sample is purposive in nature,
so only the GPs who willingly provided the proceedings were included in the study. The
GPs included in the study came from two most literate districts in the state of Rajasthan.
The findings of the study are also based on what is recorded in the proceedings, and not
what is actually happening in the field. Some researchers have reported modification of the
proceeding by the chairperson and the secretary and falsification of the attendance of the
villagers (Alsop et al., 2000). However, the direction of bias in the results is expected to
be in the positive direction. Given the nature of limitations, it is reasonable to expect that
the proceedings reflect the thinking of some of the better functioning GPs, and it is highly
unlikely that the situation in the field is better than what is arrived through the study.
The cross-sectional nature of our study does not allow us to assess the change in
development agenda before and after the implementation of mandatory representation.
However, we were able to compare differences at one point in time. Comparison with pre-
73rd Constitutional Amendments, that is situation prior to 1992 could be helpful, but will
not be a serious limitation of the study as the comparison between different groups in the
post-1993 situation with male forwards caste as the control group can provide valid
insights. Another major limitation in testing the hypotheses on the impact of mandatory
11Anganwadi worker is the field-level functionary of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).
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54 B. Sekhar et al.
representation of women and non-forward castes on gender- or caste-based social
inequities is the lack of data on the distribution of the proposed infrastructure. We tried to
code data for the distribution of physical assets wherever possible, but it was not always
possible to assess the caste of the population served from the name of the neighbourhood. It
was also not possible to verify the eligibility of beneficiaries proposed under various
individual beneficiary schemes. So, our study tests the impact of reservation on gender/
caste equity only as far as direct reference is made in the proceedings to the issues of
concern to women or non forward castes. The effect of mandatory representation may also
be seen in the form of a better quality of infrastructure or better-targeted transfers of
benefits to the excluded groups, which we are unable to assess in this study.
In addition, the timing or season of the year when the village assembly is held may affect
the development agenda of the meeting. This may lead to difficulties in comparing
proceedings between different GPs. However, we overcome the seasonality bias by using
proceeding of the village assemblies held in a particular season (January–May 2001).
Five major findings emerge from study: GPs focus on an input-based approach to
development rather than an outcome-based one; the development agenda is skewed toward
the creation of new physical assets and shaped by the state government-sponsored schemes
rather than by the local needs or initiatives; little effort is made by the leadership of PRIs to
engage villagers on important human development issues such as health and education
regardless of the caste and gender of the chairperson; there is little articulation of issues
regarding gender equity independent of gender of the chairperson and there is a
significantly higher likelihood of inclusion of proposals that address the concerns of non-
forward castes in GPs headed by a non-forward caste chairperson. The policy and program
implications of the findings are discussed under two headings followed by conclusion.
4.1 Skewed Development Agenda With Neglect of Human Development Issues
Irrespective of the gender and caste of the chairperson, few GPs discussed proposals in
terms of their impact on development outcomes. While all GPs recorded proposals to
monitor the budget, few recorded any agenda item to monitor important development
outputs or outcomes such as primary school enrolment rate or number of infant or maternal
deaths. For example, all GPs recorded proposals on the construction of additional school
rooms, but no GP related this to an improvement in enrolment or to the learning outcomes
of children. The lack of the focus on outcomes had its fallouts. It led to a corresponding
lack of prioritisation among different development needs. The input-based approach can be
attributed partly to the way GPs receive funding—tied to specific schemes—from the state
government and partly to their lack of orientation towards outcomes.
Another telling finding that emerges from the study is general lack of interest of PRIs,
irrespective of the gender and caste of the chairperson, in the key human development
issues such as public health and school education. Proposals for creation of physical
infrastructure ranging from roads to school buildings dominated most of the agenda in
almost all the GPs.
Creation of physical infrastructure is an important determinant of development, but
without sufficient emphasis on human development, the development returns of the
physical infrastructure may be limited. Empty school buildings, absentee teachers, under-
utilised health centres, unrelenting school dropouts and avoidable child mortality are much
too common to ignore.
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Exploratory Study From a State in India 55
Why have PRIs overly stressed physical assets development? There could be two main
reasons. The first one is institutional, and the second one is contextual. Historically, the
PRIs have been reduced to the status of ‘implementing agencies’ for various state and
central government schemes. This institutional dependence has seriously undermined the
local initiative. The contextual reason is derived more from the environment in which PRIs
operate—they have a largely illiterate electorate to whom it may be much easier to
communicate ‘physical’ development than ‘human capacity’ development.
Political leadership is supposed to be vanguard of change. Then, why is the leadership in
PRIs less inclined towards critical human development issues? While class, caste and other
differences in the villages of India are major hurdles in building partnerships for human
capacity development, the 73rd Constitutional Amendments, by providing an institutional
framework for better political equity, is an important step in the right direction.
This study, however, reveals that creation of institutional frameworks alone is not
sufficient. There is need to change the institutional culture of dependence in the PRIs to
fully take advantage of the potential of decentralisation for better development outcomes.
There is also a need for a paradigm shift in the ‘development perspective’ of the PRI
leadership. PRIs have to appreciate the central role played by human development in the
overall development and the innate potential of the communities in achieving the human
development objectives. As a first step, the state and central governments have to promote
PRI’s role in human development in rural India. Rajasthan has made a right move by
including issues such as ‘universalisation of primary education’ and ‘information on
women and child health’ in the guidelines issued to the local governments. However, the
state government has to invest a lot in the training and reorientation of the PRI leaders
before these issues are internalised by the local leadership.
4.2 Gender and Non-forward Caste Issues
The findings of the study provide no evidence to support the hypothesis that rural local
governments headed by women chairpersons are more likely to raise the gender issues.
Only 16 percent of the GPs recorded proposals with explicit gender focus, with no
significant differences by the gender of the chairperson. Previous studies have indicated
that increasing women’s involvement in GPs has made a difference in undertaking
programs of interest to women (Datta, 1998; Chattopadhyay and Duflo, 2001). However,
Alsop et al. (2000) did not find any significant differences in the participation of women or
non-forward castes in the activities of local bodies by gender or caste of the chairperson.
Why has mandatory representation of women in PRIs failed to sensitise development
agenda towards reducing gender inequities? Gender relations within households in north
Indian societies are social and cultural constructs that have evolved over generations,
incorporating gender inequities into the cultural milieu and day-to-day social practices.
These gender inequities are perceived as a norm rather than as an undesirable practice
worth erasing. However, it was expected that the elected women would be empowered
enough to correct existing gender inequities. However, the crucial element that was
missing in the change brought about by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment was the
‘agency’ aspect that fundamentally visualizes woman as an ‘agent’ of change (Sen, 1999).
Critical to the transformation of a woman from being a passive recipient of ‘welfare’
benefits to a ‘change agent’ is the consciousness of ‘gender injustice’ and awareness of
resultant gender inequities. To be effective agents, women need to not only appreciate the
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56 B. Sekhar et al.
sources and practices that lead to gender injustice, but also need leadership, organisational,
advocacy and management skills to effectively use newly gained positional power to bring
about gender equity.
For a woman who has been catapulted without adequate preparation into PRI leadership
because of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, the transition into being a change agent
would entail different challenges. The principal challenge will be the development of
consciousness of pervasive gender injustice, internalizing this awareness, and relating it to
one’s own life situations and to the others in the community. This, however, is less likely to
happen spontaneously. In fact, it may need an external catalyst to evoke this consciousness.
From a public policy and program perspective, the sound way to achieve this transition of
woman into an agent would be through well-designed training programs, group formation
and creation of platforms for group support.
Another possible reason for the lack of articulation of gender issues by the women
chairperson may be the lack of exercise of effective power by them. Gangrade (1997) found
in Rohtak district of Haryana that less than 30 percent of the women representatives
attended the panchayat meetings and in other cases represented by their male members.
Mathew (1999) found that the reservations for women were not viewed positively by their
male colleagues. However, in our study, it was not possible to verify these concerns, since
all the proceedings were signed by the chairperson herself, irrespective of whether she
presided over the meeting or not.
The findings of the study provide some evidence that village assemblies headed by non-
forward castes and STs are more likely to record issues of concern to non forward castes,
which is consistent with the previous studies. Pande (2000) suggested that mandated
political reservations in the state legislature for non-forward castes have increased targeted
transfers that benefit the non forward castes. A long history of mobilisation of the non-
forward castes on caste issues has led to better caste consciousness among the non forward
castes. Similar movements for gender equity are far less frequent and may explain the
better awareness of caste-based deprivation compared to gender-based deprivations.
Better articulation of non-forward caste issues by village assemblies having a non-
forward caste chairperson and the lack of adequate articulation of women’s issues even in
the village assemblies headed by women chairpersons highlight the limitations of
institutional interventions for better social equity. Both social as well as political
mobilization may be required for building momentum for social equity. Institutional
interventions such as 73rd Constitutional Amendment can produce better results in
contexts where there are prior social or political movements for gender and caste equity.
These social and political movements prepare and organize the disadvantaged, who can
take advantage of decentralised institutions when opportunities come by. This may explain
why non-forward castes seem to be taking the advantage of 73rd Constitutional
Amendment, while women are less successful.
5 CONCLUSION
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment of India has been hailed as a watershed in social
legislation, attempting to correct age-old social inequities in rural India. It ushered in a new
hope for rural development by restoring faith in the PRIs. However, evidence from studies
since the implementation of 73rd Constitutional Amendment has not shown large changes
in social equity related to mandatory representation for women and non-forward castes
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DOI: 10.1002/jid
Exploratory Study From a State in India 57
(Gowda et al., 1996; Rajasekharan, 1996; Gangrade, 1997; Panda, 1997, 1998; Mathew,
1999).
We argue that Panchyati Raj institutional traditions and overall societal values are some
of the major impediments to the success of 73rd constitutional amendment. Institutional
memory and cultural contexts are difficult to change without concerted effort. Programs
with systematic and detailed guidelines, though important, hindered local initiative of the
PRIs. The culture of dependence for both financial as well as intellectual lead among PRIs
needs to be reversed.
The development agenda of PRIs is one of preoccupation with construction of physical
assets, with an obvious disconnect between inputs, outputs and outcomes. The PRI
leadership should realise inner strengths of the communities for achieving public good.
Community participation and mobilisation should be central to PRI initiatives.
The culture of gender inequities, nurtured through centuries of practices that touch every
walk of life, is also equally resistant to change. Expecting the 73rd Constitutional
Amendment to erase centuries-old gender injustice quickly is asking for too much. It was
also asking for too much to expect women without much political and administrative
background or exposure to address issues of gender inequities effectively within short time.
The question everyone should be asking is ‘have we done enough to ensure the success of
path-breaking social legislation (the 73rd Amendment)?’ Changing the ‘development
perspective’ of PRI leadership is challenging but possible. Training programs to highlight
the centrality of ‘human development’ in the overall development framework need to be
highlighted. Administrative, programmatic and policy changes need to be made to make
PRIs responsible for development outcomes. State and central government grants need to
be devolved in a way that respects local diversity, wisdom and needs, and also in a way that
re-establishes the balance of human development and infrastructure needs. However, this
entails setting adequate processes to ensure funds are used for purposes they are meant for
in a transparent and effective manner.
The lack of political as well as management exposure among new women leaders needs
to be understood and addressed in part through training programs. Gender sensitization
needs to be a core element of training program for PRIs, for men as well as women. Support
systems and interventions to enhance solidarity among large number of women PRI
members can assist in consciousness building, and creating critical momentum for bringing
gender equity in development efforts.
The study has revealed some nascent signs of success of the mandatory representation of
women and non-forward castes in working for better social equity. Much more can be
achieved through concerted policy and program interventions. For other countries that have
plans to emulate India’s mandatory representation for the ‘socially excluded’ in rural
governments, the take-home message is that the standalone legislative measure may have
limited success. Simultaneously, the institutional, social and human capacity contexts also
need to be strategically addressed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their contribution to improving
the article. The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the authors and do not
represent the views of the organisations for which the authors work.
Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Int. Dev. 23, 42–62 (2011)
DOI: 10.1002/jid
58 B. Sekhar et al.
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APPENDIX A: INSTRUMENT USED FOR CODING THE
GRAM PANCHAYAT PROCEEDINGS
(Continues)
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