V.K. Natraj
Amidst the hype surrounding information technology and Bangalore, it should surprise no one if Karnataka’s innovations in other spheres receive short shrift. Three such areas are decentralisation through panchayats, land reforms and the backward classes movement. It is useful to appraise the nexus among these three and examine the contribution in particular of participatory governance through panchayats.
Earlier experience
Generally panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) evoke memories of Ramakrishna Hegde and Abdul Nazir Sab and the achievement of the State’s first non-Congress government in fulfilling a major pre-poll promise.
While the work of this government, and especially that of Nazir Sab, was admirable, it needs to be remembered that the State had some experience of decentralisation earlier. The Taluk Development Boards constituted under the 1959 Act had performed well. It is fashionable today to ignore this on the ground that the Boards were agencies designed to execute development work and not political institutions. Yet they opened up political spaces for more representation and afforded an opportunity for leadership to develop at the sub-State level. Above all, they must have helped in creating a helpful pitch for the Hegde-Nazir Sab innovation to be launched.
Not to be forgotten is that as far back as 1964 the State had formulated a panchayats Bill, which in some ways anticipated what the 1983 Act brought in, admittedly with more vigour.
Two other features
These apart, there are two other features of panchayats that deserve some attention. One is that the backward classes movement that was active in princely Mysore from the early years of the last century also made a positive contribution to the field of governance.
Particularly significant is the movement in the 1970’s that undoubtedly led to far greater representation of the numerically smaller castes than before. Above all these classes became ‘politically conscious’.
It is likely that this development spurred the subaltern classes to seek opportunities in governance. The framework of devolution introduced by the enactment in 1983-85 was the product of genuine commitment supplemented by the demands advanced by the political calculus.
Land reforms
The State’s land reforms also deserve consideration in this context. Even the 1974 amendment to the Land Reforms Act was not as far-reaching as it is sometimes made out to be. The reforms do not compare favourably with what took place in West Bengal in the 1970s, but they had a few achievements to their credit. One is that the Land Reforms Tribunals constituted post-1974 had to have four nominated members, including one from the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe category. This institution too created more space for the subaltern classes in governance. All in all, therefore, the devolutionary innovations in the State were a product of commitment as well as a shrewd assessment of the political calculus.
Legislative profligacy
An interesting dimension of panchayati raj in Karnataka is what may be termed legislative profligacy. Unlike West Bengal, which has managed with a legislation enacted by the Congress in 1973 — of course, amended substantially — Karnataka has introduced a much larger number of amendments. Parallel bodies exercising authority that should legitimately belong to panchayats continues to this day.
The latest in the series of interferences with the authority of panchayats is that the gram sabha’s power to identify beneficiaries under housing schemes has been taken away. A problem with repeated amendments to the panchayat structure is that it may have little time to drop anchor.
Seen as a threat
However, the attempts to whittle down the power of panchayats ought to be seen in a more dialectical perspective. It is recognition of the growing power and strength of the PRIs that, not unnaturally, are perceived by the political leadership at the State level as a threat. In that qualified sense, the emerging conflictual relationship between the State and sub-State levels is a sign of health.
(V.K. Natraj is an economist and former Director of the Madras Institute of Development Studies. He is now settled in Mysore.)
