Page 1: The Big Questions
Question 1: What are Panchayati Raj institutions?
Answer: Panchayati Raj institutions are like a small government for villages. Just like India has a big government in Delhi, villages have their own local government called the Panchayat. This system helps people in villages solve their own problems and govern themselves.
Question 3: Why are they important in governance and democracy?
Answer: They are important because they let the village people rule themselves. This is called democracy. People do not have to go to a faraway city for small problems, like fixing a village road, a water pump, or a school. They can meet in their own village, talk about the problem, and decide what to do.
Page 5: THINK ABOUT IT
How do you think can these old maps be helpful for us?
Answer: Old maps can be very helpful. They can show us where old roads, wells, farms, or buildings used to be. They are also very helpful if two people are fighting over who owns a piece of land. The old map can show where the old border line was.
Can they tell us something about the past and the present?
Answer: Yes.
- Past: They tell us about the past by showing what the village looked like many years ago.
- Present: They tell us about the present because we can compare the old map to how the village looks now. We can see what has changed, like where new houses were built or if a river changed its path.
Page 7: LET’S EXPLORE
As a class activity, let four or five students form a Bal Panchayat and the rest of the class imagine they are the villagers. What issues will the Gram Sabha discuss? What challenges could it encounter? What solutions will it propose?
Answer: This is an activity, but here are some ideas:
- What issues will the Gram Sabha discuss?
- The school playground gets very muddy when it rains.
- The water from the hand pump tastes dirty.
- We need a streetlight near the big tree because it gets very dark at night.
- There are not enough benches, and some children have to sit on the floor.
- What challenges could it encounter?
- The Panchayat may not have enough money to fix everything at once.
- Some grown-ups might not take the children’s (Bal Panchayat’s) ideas seriously.
- People might argue about which problem is the most important to fix first.
- What solutions will it propose?
- Ask the Panchayat to put gravel or sand on the playground to soak up the mud.
- Ask the grown-ups in the Panchayat to test the water and repair the hand pump.
- Ask all the children to write one letter to the Sarpanch asking for a new streetlight.
- Ask the village carpenter if he can help build new benches for the school.
Page 8: THINK ABOUT IT
Why do you think it is important for the government to pay more attention to the needs and problems of the disadvantaged sections of society?
Answer: “Disadvantaged” means people who have less money, less power, or are not treated fairly. It is important to pay more attention to them because they need extra help to catch up with everyone else.
If you give one chapati to everyone, a person who is already full is fine, but a person who is very hungry is still hungry. Giving extra help to those who need it most makes things fair for everyone.
Page 8: LET’S EXPLORE
What similarities and differences do you notice between the governance system at the Central level and at the Panchayat level?
Answer:
- Similarities:
- Both have leaders who are chosen by people voting (elections).
- Both hold meetings to talk about problems and make rules.
- Both work to help the people and build new things (like roads or schools).
- Differences:
- The Central level is the big government for the whole country (in Delhi). The Panchayat is a small government for just one village.
- The Central government looks after very big things like trains, airplanes, and the army.
- The Panchayat looks after local things like village drains, streetlights, and wells.
If you get an opportunity to meet a few Panchayat members, what questions would you like to ask them? Discuss in small groups to create a questionnaire. Meet some Gram Panchayat members or invite them to your school. Ask them the questions in your questionnaire and write a short report.
Answer: Here are some questions we could ask in our questionnaire:
- What is the hardest part of being a Panchayat member?
- What is the best thing you have done for our village?
- Where does the Panchayat get money from to fix things?
- What are your plans for our village for next year?
- How do you decide which problem to solve first?
- How can children in the village help the Panchayat?
Page 9: In-text Question
In today’s language, what are the names we would give these four categories? (sangrahaņa, kārvațika, droņamukha, sthānīya)
Answer:
- A “sangrahaņa” (10 villages) is like a Block or Panchayat Samiti.
- A “kārvațika” (100 villages) is like a District or Zila Parishad.
- A “droņamukha” (400 villages) is like a large Division (a group of districts).
- A “sthānīya” (800 villages) is like a Province or State Capital.
Page 9: Questions, activities and projects (Exercises)
Question 1: Test yourself – without looking at the text above, can you name the three tiers of the Panchayati Raj system? What are the key functions of each of the three tiers?
Answer: Yes, the three tiers (or levels) are:
- Gram Panchayat (at the village level)
- Panchayat Samiti (at the block level)
- Zila Parishad (at the district level)
Key functions:
- Gram Panchayat: This level works in the village. It fixes everyday problems like cleaning drains, repairing streetlights, running the village school, and making sure there is clean drinking water.
- Panchayat Samiti: This is the middle level. It helps all the villages in its block work together. It collects the plans from all the Gram Panchayats and helps them get money for projects.
- Zila Parishad: This is the top level in the district. It looks after big projects for the whole district, like building main roads or big hospitals, and helps the Panchayat Samitis do their work.
Question 3: In your view, what type of person should be a Gram Panchayat member?
Answer: In my view, a Gram Panchayat member should be:
- Honest: They should not be greedy and should not use the village money for themselves.
- A good listener: They should listen to the problems of all people, not just their friends or family.
- Hard-working: They should be ready to work hard to solve the village’s problems.
- Fair: They should treat all people equally, whether they are rich or poor, man or woman.
- Brave: They should be able to make good decisions for the village, even if they are difficult.
Question 4: Let us suppose that you study in a village school. The school is located next to a highway and students find it difficult to cross the road when they come to school or leave at the end of the day. What are the options to solve this issue? Which institutions in the Panchayati Raj can help you? What can the students do?
Answer:
- Options to solve this issue:
- Build speed-breakers (rumble strips) on the road to make all cars slow down.
- Put up big, bright signs that say “School Ahead” and “Go Slow.”
- Ask a police officer or a school guard to help students cross the road when school starts and ends.
- Build a small bridge (a foot-over bridge) so students can walk over the highway safely.
- Which institutions can help:
- We should first go to our Gram Panchayat. The Sarpanch can help us talk to the next level.
- Because a highway is a very big road, the Panchayat Samiti and the Zila Parishad will also have to help, especially to get the money and permission to build a speed-breaker or a bridge.
- What can the students do:
- All the students can write one letter together and sign it.
- We can go to a Gram Sabha meeting (with our teachers or parents) and tell all the elders about the danger.
- We can make posters about road safety and put them up near the school.