Exploring the Dynamics of Deliberative Democracy in Rural India: Lessons from the Working of Gram Sabhas in India and Gram Sansads in West Bengal
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556118814937 |
| Date | 01 March 2019 |
| Published date | 01 March 2019 |
| Author | Prabhat Kumar Datta |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Exploring the Dynamics
of Deliberative Democracy
in Rural India: Lessons
from the Working of
Gram Sabhas in India
and Gram Sansads in
West Bengal
Prabhat Kumar Datta1, 2, 3
Abstract
Deliberative democracy has gained considerable momentum in India in recent
years in the wake of a new drive for decentralisation and democratisation to
promote good governance. The constitutional amendment made in India in 1992
sought to institutionalise this concept in villages through a body called Gram
Sabha (village assembly). The amendment mandates the constitution of this
institution at the Gram Panchayat level (usually a cluster of villages), the func-
tional details of which have been left to the hands of the states. The Gram Sabha
is now in place in all the states though it varies from state to state in location and
functions. Some states like West Bengal, have taken a step further by creating
another body down the line at the level of the electoral constituency. This
article presents a case study of Gram Sansads, as known in West Bengal against
a general review of the working of the Gram Sabhas in India.
Keywords
Gram Swaraj, inclusion, deliberative democracy, Gram Sabha, Gram Sansad
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
65(1) 117–135, 2019
© 2019 IIPA
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DOI: 10.1177/0019556118814937
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1 Center for Chinese Rural Studies, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, People’s
Republic of China.
2 Institute of Development Studies Kolkata, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
3 Formerly, Centenary Chair of Public Administration, Department of Political Science, University of
Calcutta, Kolkata, India.
Corresponding author:
Prabhat Kumar Datta, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata, Salt Lake Campus, 27/D, DD Block,
Sector I, Salt Lake, Kolkata, West Bengal 700064, India.
E-mail: dattaprabhat@gmail.com
118 Indian Journal of Public Administration 65(1)
Introduction
Deliberative democracy is a contrivance of human wisdom rooted in the belief
that the involvement of citizens in the process of decision-making makes develop-
ment more demand-driven and target-group-oriented and governance more
inclusive. It facilitates active political involvement of the citizenry, helps forge
political consensus through dialogue and promotes the growth of a healthy society
and productive economy. It is also a measure of improving the quality of decisions
because it creates an opportunity for citizens to come closer to the process of
decision-making. Deliberation encourages mutual respect and reciprocal account-
ability, thus motivating participants to eliminate irrational and self-focused opin-
ions to generate a ‘moralising effect of public discussion’ (Smith & Corinne,
2000). And it is definitely one of the strongest reasons why local governance
has assumed so much importance in the present global context (Bardhan &
Mukherjee, 2006).
Deliberative democracy helps improve development and governance in three
ways. First, it makes room for citizens to reflect on their preferences on issues
such as how to allocate the resources for the neediest groups. Second, it helps
improve governance by providing a forum for monitoring the actions of elected
representatives. It has been argued that in this way it may be effective in reducing
the agency problem in politics and the extent of corruption. Third, deliberative
democracy is expected to go a long way in helping subalterns, and the margin-
alised raise their voice in modern representative democracies. The World Bank’s
Voices of the Poor Report finds that the poor who are increasingly getting disen-
franchised from governance, lack confidence and view the state as unaccountable
and unresponsive to their needs (Narayan, Chambers, Shah, & Petesch, 2000)
Deliberative and inclusionary practices have the potential to improve the legiti-
macy of public policy decision-making by including disenfranchised people in the
participative process.
Deliberative democracy, which has gained considerable significance in recent
times, had lost the ground around 1940 through the 1970s. This retrenchment was
due to various political and social dynamics, including the chill of censorship
during the World War and the Cold War period, and the rise of neoliberal ideo-
logy. The upsurge of consumer advocacy in the 1970s signalled a resurgence of
more grassroots involvement in democracy. More recent sociocultural and tech-
nological changes in the 21st century have inspired a revival of deliberative
democracy, such as the development of a new civic spirit following the tragedy
of September 11, new technology such as the Internet which has destabilised
traditional power relationships and the emergence of new civic players such as
non-profit organisations (Gastil & Keith, 2005). Often referred to as ‘discursive
(communicative) democracy’, deliberative democracy is a successor to the
radical participatory communitarian models that shaped various new social move-
ments, including the ecological movement, the peace movement and feminism
(Delantry, 2000).
Many countries, including India, have accepted deliberative democracy and
institutionalised local public meetings in villages or towns where citizens gather
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