Yes and No: An Editorial on the Erosion of Indian Democracy from Below

AND new messagebased on surveys by the Panchayati Raj Ministry, opens a rare data-driven window into the erosion of India’s democracy from below. But where the state framed the issue as “vibrancy,” the report highlights a paradox. He acknowledges that “participation fatigue” prevented citizens from participating in gram sabhas whereas her solutions, such as more meetings and surveillance, are a recipe for further alienation of the rural working class. The 73rd amendment empowers gram sabhas, but governments have reduced them to clearinghouses for central and state systems. This fundamental aspect must change. In response to 18-28% of respondents citing a lack of results as a reason for low interest, the report advocates greater use of the NIRNAY app and real-time recording of meeting minutes. In the real world, panchayat secretaries thus have less time to facilitate discussion, even as lackluster oversight allowed officials to tell workers that their MGNREGA demands “were not entered into the system” due to server errors. Similarly, the fact that more than half of the barriers to participation are related to livelihoods could point to both visibly systemic problems – such as the precarious nature of rural work today – and deliberate economic exclusion by the state, the researchers pointed out. However, the report does not recognize such different possibilities. As the state failed to institutionalize attendance as a paid component of social protection, gram sabhas remained a playground for the leisure elite such as landlords and contractors.

According to the report, gram sabhas spend 13% of their time identifying local problems but only 4% discussing income generation. But the gram panchayats were systematically forced to raise their taxes, making them dependent on grants. The 14th and 15th Finance Commissions grant bonded panchayat expenditure on central priorities like drinking water and sanitation and restrict local priorities to “flagship” programs like Jal Jeevan and Swachh Bharat Mission. So citizens have no incentive to attend the meeting if funds are allocated by bureaucrats from Delhi. The report also said that the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) provision areas have “reasonably strong physical infrastructure”. Under the PESA Act 1996 and related forest rights laws, gram sabhas have the right to give prior informed consent to land acquisition and logging. However, the state routinely circumvents them or uses the excuse of low participation to manufacture consent. Hasde Arand’s protests were rooted in this issue. There is a right to say “no” and the state simply has to recognize it. If “yes” has to be the only answer, the grouse in the message are a farce.

Published – 02 Jul 2026 0:10 AM IST