India's political parties
A study of democracy is incomplete without a study of one of its most fundamental components—political parties. In India, works on the country’s political parties so far have explored, among other things,
Political Decentralisation
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Decentralisation: A constitutional mandate or rhetoric?
The implementation of decentralisation reform as embodied in the 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution has suffered from complete negligence. The two recent articles by Oommen and Sivaramakrishnan have highlighted the inexplicable attitudes of the finance commissions and the judiciary towards decentralisation.
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Jharkhand Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill
Discussion in Lok Sabha on theBill further to amend the Jharkhand Panchayat Raj Act, 2001.
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Judicial setback for panchayats and local bodies
The Supreme Court
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Panchayats should not be rubber stamps
The newly elected panchayat representatives of Rajasthan have demanded devolution of all 29 subjects to the panchayats of the state.
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Have the State Finance Commissions fulfilled their constitutional mandates?
The State Finance Commission, although a technical and quasijudicial constitutional entity like the Union Finance Commission, has to help local governments plan for economic development and deliver social justice and public services at the local level.
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Best governance practices in tribal areas: examples & experiences
The Decentralisation Community of Solution Exchange, an initiative of the United Nations in India, provides a platform for increasing our understanding of local governance-both rural and urban-through knowledge sharing and collaboration.
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Mandatory voting: Practical step or political gimmick?
On 19 December, the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2009 was passed in the State Assembly. It is now mandatory for all registered voters in Gujarat to vote in the elections of all local bodies (municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayats) of the state.
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More power to gram sabha
The Union Government, especially the Ministry for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj deserve all credit for declaring 2009-2010 the year of the Gram Sabha
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Legal provisions related to women sarpanches - Experiences
The Decentralisation Community of Solution Exchange, an initiative of the United Nations in India, provides a platform for increasing our understanding of local governance both rural and urban-through knowledge sharing and collaboration. This article is a summary of one of the discussions held on the Decentralisation Community.
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Countries in transition: a brief review of the emerging political economy of Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Nepal
In 2008, four countries of South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Nepal) held significant elections. The paper highlights various pertinent issues in the political economy of these four countries and maps out the broad contours of the reforms they need to embark on.