Gandhian Vision and Panchayati Raj: A Theoretical Examination of Gram Swaraj in India's Local Governance

Abstract

Mahatma Gandhi envisioned Gram Swaraj as a system of self-governing village communities founded on participatory democracy, economic independence, and moral leadership, positioning the village as the cornerstone of India's civilizational identity. Following independence, this philosophical ideal found institutional expression through the constitutional recognition of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), particularly after the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. Employing qualitative methodology grounded in normative political theory and secondary sources, the study reveals that while PRIs have significantly broadened political participation—particularly among women, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes—they institutionalise decentralisation primarily in procedural terms. They fall considerably short of achieving the substantive autonomy, economic self-sufficiency, and moral self-governance that constitute the essence of Gandhian thought. The paper concludes that Gandhian rural reconstruction remains both a vital normative corrective to technocratic governance models and an unfinished transformative project in contemporary India.