Affirmative Action and Representation of Weaker Sections: Participation and

Accountability in Orissa's Panchayats

Author(s): Pratyusna Patnaik
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 40, No. 44/45 (Oct. 29 - Nov. 4, 2005), pp.
4753-4761
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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 Bpecial articles__

Affirmative Action and Represe

of Weaker Sections
Participation and Accountability in Orissa's Panchayats
This paper studies the participation of elected representatives belonging to weaker sections
in the functioning of four gram panchayats in Orissa 's Dhenkanal district, in order to
observe the extent to which numerical representation has been successful in the actual exercise
of power by these sections. It finds that elected representatives were not able to properly
articulate group-specific interests or to exercise their own judgment in panchayat decision-making,
thus bringing into question the very notion of representation of marginalised groups through
affirmative action. The representatives in a majority of cases were answerable to the elites of
the village and remained under their control rather than exhibiting any accountability to
citizens at large. Affirmative action thus, has not ensured the effective representation of
disadvantaged groups in the panchayats with respect to the participation of elected members,
their responsiveness to citizens' interests and accountability in local government.
PRATYUSNA PATNAIK

D ecentralisation has assumed a central role in matters of weaker sections, in the functioning of panchayats in order to observe
governance in the developing world over the last fewthe extent to which numerical representation has been successful
years. In their efforts to democratise the governing struc- in actual exercise of power by these sections. The objective of the
ture and involve people in the process of governance and decision- paper is to examine "representation" in panchayats by assessing
making, most of the developing countries around the world arethe participation of weaker sections in their functioning and in
carrying out measures to decentralise governance. Thus,the village level decision-making process. For the present paper,
decentralised democratic governance is being regarded as "both the term participation is limited to the activities of the elected
a right in itself and a means of ensuring basic human rightsrepresentatives alone in the process of local governance.
observance" [Gloppen et al 2003:1]. The major promise of The empirical data for the paper have been collected from four
democratic decentralisation is that it brings popular participationgram panchayats, from Dhenkanal Sadar block of Dhenkanal
and accountability to local governance, and therefore, makesdistrict of Orissa, based on the following criteria that these panchayats
local governance more responsive to citizens' desires and moreshould have: (a) a president who is scheduled caste male from a
effective in delivering services [Blair 2000]. SC reserved constituency, (b) a president who is a scheduled tribe
The commitment towards popular participation in governance male from a ST reserved constituency, (c) a president who is a
at the local level has been reinforced through recent policies of woman from a constituency reserved for women, and (d) a general
affirmative action, which have given an opportunity to hithertocategory male president from an unreserved constituency. These
marginalised and disadvantaged groups to express their voice andfour gram panchayats are Govindpur (reserved for SC), Saptasajya
have a say in the making of policies that affect them. Measures(reserved for ST), Talabarakot (reserved for women) and Beltikiri
of affirmative action following the enactment of the 73rd Con- (unreserved). Including the president and vice-president, these
stitutional Amendment Act, 1993 opened a new chapter in thefour gram panchayats comprise 16, 14, 17 and 14 elected repre-
history of democratic decentralisation in India by devolving sentatives, respectively. A combination of interview method and
power to the people and giving constitutional status to panchayati focused group discussions was used for the study. In total, 61 elected
raj institutions. 1The increased importance of participation in the representatives have been interviewed.
panchayats through policies of affirmative action has necessarily
increased the number of SCs. STs and women in the rural political
Conceptualising Representation
institutions. However, such numerical representation itself does
not ensure empowerment of weaker sections unless and until it
Representation is taken to mean "a relation between two persons,
is transformed into effective participation. the representative and the represented or constituent, with the
Acknowledging the importance of "participation" in democraticrepresentative holding the authority to perform various actions
local governments this paper attempts to study the participation that incorporate the agreements of the represented" [Grazia
of elected representatives, more particularly those belonging to 1968:461]. Viewed in this sense, the authority that the

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representatives enjoy is always derived from the agreement of character, involving the acceptance of a general responsibility
the constituents, which they bestow upon the representatives to for the interests of a group.2
act or make decisions on their behalf. A person's claim to be a representative depends upon what
The role of representation is multifaceted. Often, it is described s/he represents. Viewed from this point, one can find four
as the range of expectations that people possess regarding different entities that are to be represented: identities, beliefs,
government and hence related to public officials and leaders. constituencies and interest [Squires 1999:178]. Accordingly,
Edmund Burke (1774) considered the role of the representative depending on which of these one chooses to prioritise, one will
as "one who ought to respect his constituents' opinions, who advocate social, ideological, geographic or functional represen-
ought to prefer their interest above his own, but who ought not tation. The social axis involves representatives reflecting the
to sacrifice his unbiased opinion in deciding for the good of the social composition of the electorate in terms of presence as
whole nation" [cited in Rao 1998:30]. Pitkin also regards rep- secured by quotas, policies or reserved places. The ideological
resentation as, "...acting in the interests of the represented, in axis involves collective representation via parties. This is "rep-
a manner responsive to them" (1972:209-10). Taken in this sense, resentation from above" in that there is a highly centralised, party-
representatives can be considered as "trustees", who can act led decision-making structure. The geographic axis involves
according to their free judgment for the good of the whole nation. district-based delegates. Here, representatives are to act in
The functions of representatives have been further elaborated ways consistent with the opinions of citizens from areas, which
by Whalke et al (1962) who distinguish between three typical elects them. This is "representation from below" with low levels of
styles of representation, i.e. "delegates", "trustees" and "politi- party discipline and minimum ideological manifestos.
cos". The role of delegate is based on the assumption that The functional axis of representation involves representatives
representatives should not use their independent judgment or acting as spokespeople for interest groups and new social move-
convictions as a criterion for decision-making. On the delegate ments. On this model, representatives respond not primarily to
theory of representation, McCrone and Kuklinski (1979) show party or constituents but to pressure from organised interests
that this form of representation takes place only when two [Norris and Michael 1997; Squires 1999].
conditions are fulfilled simultaneously. First, the representative Representation is a concept of social interest largely in the
must feel obliged to respond to constituents' preference; second, context of power relations among leaders or representatives and
the constituents must instruct their representatives in a clear their followers or constituents. Mansbridge (2000, 2003) distin-
fashion, so that they can act in accordance with the opinions of guishes between four types of representation, i e, representation
the constituents. The trustee role finds expression in two major by promising, anticipatory representation, introspective represen-
conceptions: a moralistic conception, in which the representative tation and surrogate representation; and locates the first two of
is a free agent and follows what he considers right or just; and these in the context of power relations. "Representation by
a rational conception according to which the representative follows promising" entails that the representative should be bound to
his own judgment based on an assessment of facts and on his further the interests of the constituents, and promises to follow
understanding of the problems involved. Finally, the politico as their instructions.3 In "anticipatory representation" the constitu-
a representational role type is disposed to both trustee and ent looks back to the past behaviour of a representative in deciding
delegate roles in various ways, in that he is more sensitive to how to vote in the next election.4 In "introspective represen-
conflicting alternatives in role assumptions, and is more flexible tation" constituents select representatives who can be relatively
in adopting a style that is suited to his decision-making. Rep- accurately assumed to act in ways the constituents approve
resentation should thus be seen as a continuum of styles, with without any external incentives. In this model, representatives
the trustee and delegate orientations as poles, and a mid-point are not accountable to their constituents, but to their own beliefs
where the orientations tend to overlap and within a range give and principles. Finally, in "surrogate representation" the repre-
rise to a politico role [Rao 1998:31]. sentative and the constituent do not have any electoral relation-
ship. This type of representation occurs when the representatives

Different Meanings represent constituents outside their own 'districts.

Corresponding to the review of above scholars, the;'concept
Sartori (1968:465) discusses representation in terms of three of representation can be seen in three different senses. First, it
quite different meanings of the term: first, "the idea of mandate could be just the articulation of views of the constituents. Second,
or instructions"; second, "the idea of representativeness", that it could be a reflection of views of people of the constituency,
is, resemblance and similarity; third, "the idea of responsibility but influenced by the representative's own judgment. Third, it
or accountability". The idea of mandate is derived from private could be entirely the judgment of the representative without any
law and belongs to the context of juristic representation. In the relation to what the people of the constituency think or expect.
juristic meaning, a representative is often spoken of as a delegate Notwithstanding the various facets of representation, it obviously
or holding a mandate. Thus, a representative acting for others refers to the participation of representatives in governing the
by virtue of a contract or mandate between them is engaged in affairs of the constituency, who engage themselves in making
juristic representation. The idea of resemblance is derived from decisions on behalf of the constituents. The following section,
a sociological or existential context, where to say that somebody therefore, deals with the concept of participation and discusses
is a "representative of" means that s/he impersonates certain its role in democratic local 'governance.
existential features of the group, class, or vocation from which
s/he is drawn. The idea of responsibility or accountability is Participation
treated as political representation, which is closely connected
with sociological representation on the one hand and withjuristic Participation has been long acknowledged as a central theme
representation on the other, and additionally has a procedural of democratic governance, where the citizens enjoy the right to

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participate in governance. In a political structure where freedom involve themselves in the implementation of policies and
and equality are granted to the people, citizens can engage in programmes concerning their own development.
political activities, at least to the extent of voting in elections With the current preoccupation of most developing countries
and even further, they have the option to participate in a political with policies of decentralisation and democratisation, and more
party organisation. Political participation, therefore, may be defined so with the introduction of affirmative action in the last decade,
as "those activities of citizens that attempt to influence the the meaning, nature and scope of public participation has widened
structure of government, the selection of government authorities considerably. This third wave of participation is posed differently
or the policies of the government" [Conway 2000:3]. from its first and second wave, where participation was
Democracy offers the citizens an opportunity to elect and conceptualised as just casting votes in elections and involvement
subsequently dispose the governments through the electoral of citizens in policy implementation, formed somewhere else
process. In such a liberal democratic framework: people are respectively [Cornwall and Gaventa 2000]. Participation in the
expected to participate only by expressing their mandate, and 1990s, with the emphasis of reservation policies at the levels of
the scope of participation ends with the electoral process [see local government, has become both a right in itself and a means
Schumpeter 19421. However, such a narrow vision of partici- for ensuring effective governance, since the twin aims of
pation undermines public involvement and minimises peoples' decentralisation, i e. deepening democracy and good governance
role in the decision-making process. Of late, scholars have disagreed can be achieved with active participation of the people.
with the Schumpeterian notion of public participation, which Participation as understood today in the context of democratic
speaks only of the citizens' role in electing representatives, and local government is different from its meaning in the 1970s, when
have argued that such restricted participation resulted in the the concept meant only involving citizens as users of state-
establishment of institutions and processes that tend to discourage delivered beneficiary programmes. As a political concept as well
citizen participation, i e, their contribution beyond the elections as a process, participation has got a dynamic implication with
[Farrar 1988; Barber 1984; Gould 1998; Pateman 1970]. Citi- the recent policies of devolution, where people are not only
zens' participation in recent years has been greatly valued and expected to voice their opinions in elections, but also enjoy the
democratic countries around the world are making efforts to power to participate in the actual decision-making process. With
broaden the scope of participation beyond citizens' electoral greater recognition of civil society and increasing emphasis on
responsibilities. It is now acknowledged, that wider public par- good governance, the concept of participation, in democratic
ticipation improves the government's ability to discern public local governance, has shifted from "beneficiary participation in
interests, allows it to gain legitimacy and it is through this state-delivered programmes to an understanding of participation
mechanism of participation that the people can hold public as a means of holding the state accountable through new forms
officials to account [Held 1987]. of governance" [Cornwall and Gaventa 2000:58].
Political participation in a democracy has got a wider conno-
tation, which ranges from popular participation in electing rep-
Accountability
resentatives to the actual participation of representatives in the
process of governance. Verba, Schlozman and Brady (1993) Accountability involves a relationship between a bearer of a
define political participation in democratic context as those right or legitimate claim and the agents or agencies responsible
activities, which have "the intent or'effect of influencing gov- for fulfilling those rights [Glopen et al 2003]. Public account-
ernment action - either directly by the making or implementation ability is considered to be an important feature of democratic
of public policy or indirectly by influencing the selection of government, where elected representatives and public officials
people who make those policies" [cited in Joyce 1998:6]. By are expected to remain accountable to the citizenry at large. In
electing representatives through universal suffrage, people par- a democratic political system, accountability generates good
ticipate in the democratic process, whereas the elected represen- governance and at least in theory, is considered important in
tatives directly participate in governance. getting optimal performance from elected representatives and the
The concept of participation is not new to policy formulations public departments [Moncrieffe 2001]. Blair (2000) observes that
in democratic political structures. However, the term entered into democratic governance both at the national and local level can
the development discourse and practice in 1970s with a new succeed if government employees (bureaucrats and public officials)
meaning, which distinguished this newly established concept of and elected representatives are accountable to the public. While
"community participation" from that of "political participation", in a governing system, the. elected representatives remain (or
which includes voting, political parties and lobbying [Cornwall should remain) directly accountable to the people, the bureaucrats
and Gaventa 2000:51]. The earlier emphasis on political partici- do so indirectly by being answerable to the representatives.
pation - while giving citizens a right to vote - ignored their Moncrieffe (2001) identifies two broad dimensions of account-
capabilities in contributing effectively in designing public policy, ability: first, "ex-post" accountability, which refers to holding
and regarded that "it was up to the experts - the professionals, public officials responsible to the elections, law and other
politicians and managers - to ensure that citizens' needs are well monitoring mechanisms; second, "ex-ante" accountability, which
served" [Richardson 1983: 2-3]. With increasing pressure from suggests that representatives must know what the interests of
international development agents and donor agencies and owing citizens are, allow for deliberation and consultation about policies
to the demand from the grassroot level to be included and and keep the public informed about the policy choices. The ex-
involved, the form of participation that emerged after the 1970s post accountability ensures effective performance and proper
focused largely upon establishing consultative mechanisms, often representation, in principle, through the electioneering process,
in the form of user committees [Cornwall and Gaventa 2000]. where the citizens participate to replace unsatisfactory govern-
Citizens, therefore, got a political space in which they could ment with favourable alternatives [Manin 1997]. This form of
develop their own identities and voices [Barnes 1999], and accountability may be a derivative of the democratic system of

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governance, where elections serve as a check to hold the are interlinked elements, they also refer to separate processes each
representatives accountable to people. with their own dynamics.
The ex-post accountability, as pointed out by Moncrieffe (2001), Broadly, there are two ways in which the elected representatives
can be accomplished in a vertical or horizontal manner. The participate in the panchayats. The first is through activities in
vertical manner of accountability refers to the direct relation the panchayat meetings, in different committees of the panchayat,
between the public and their representatives, and is channelised in the gram sabhas and palli sabhas and in discussions to plan
in most cases through the process of election. Besides a popular various activities for the overall development of the gram
mandate via elections, the other institutions ensuring such vertical panchayat. The second aspect of participation of the elected
accountability are political parties, media and civil society representatives is through their interaction with their constituents,
organisations [Gloppen et al 2003, Blair 2000]. However, the which allows them to gauge the interests and needs of the
effectiveness of vertical accountability often becomes question- constituents and work towards meeting them. This view of
able owing to the fact that people may not always behave ra- participation is also closely associated withresponsiveness and
tionally and responsibly while choosing their representatives. accountability. This section, therefore, attempts to understand the
Such scepticism about vertical accountability has resulted in process of representation by assessing the above-mentioned three
the emergence of various horizontal mechanisms of accountability attributes, i e, participation, responsiveness and accountability
in most modern democracies, where certain institutions are en- of the representatives. Before going further in discussing these
trusted with the power to hold the representatives and other public attributes, it is apt to deal with the social status of the respondents.
officials accountable. These institutions include the constitution,
legislative branch of government, judiciary, auditor generals,
Caste and Representation
several monitoring commissions and anti-corruption bodies.
Lederman et al (2001 ) identified three main features to determine The four panchayats include a large number of scheduled tribe
the degree of accountability in a political system. They are the and scheduled caste representatives (40.97 per cent), with 16 and
degree of competition in the political system, the checks and 9 elected members respectively. Out of the 16 scheduled tribe
balances mechanisms of government and the transparency of the representatives (including women representatives) 14 (87.5 per
system.5 Downs (1957) recognises political competition as an cent) have been elected to seats reserved for them. Khandayats
important factor, which determines the efficiency of political out- are next in number with 15 (24.6 per cent) elected members
comes. Political competition, through free and fair elections, helps in these panchayats. Out of the 17 unreserved seats in these
in ensuring that politicians can be held liable to their actions four panchayats, Khandayats have occupied more than half
taken as bearers of public office [Linz and Stepan 1996; Rose- of the seats, (9), of which two are women representatives. For
Ackerman 1999]. the purpose of analysis, the representatives are divided
The checks and balances mechanisms of a government along into four different caste groups: first, forward caste, which
with the separation of power into different bodies work towards includes 15 Khandayat (traditional warrior caste), two Karana
ensuring accountability, where different agencies of government (traditional record keeper), and eight Chasa (cultivators)
control each other in the citizen's favour. The argument is, representatives; second, backward caste, which includes five
therefore, that parliamentary democracy increases accountability Teli (oil presser), three Badhei (carpenter), two Sundhi
and reduces corruption by separating executive powers from (distiller) and one Gopala (milk man) representatives; third,
legislature and allowing for a stronger and more immediate scheduled caste (nine representatives) and fourth, scheduled tribe
monitoring of the executive by the legislature [Linz 1990; Linz (16 representatives).
and Stepan 1996; Bailey and Valenzuela 1997; Persson et al 1997; The reason for such a substantial number of elected officials
Laffont and Meleu 2001]. The checks and balances mechanisms belonging to disadvantaged groups like $Cs, STs and women
during policy formulation and implementation require that policy can be attributed to the reservation policy of the 73rdConsti-
choices should not be restricted to governing members, but tutional Amendment, since the representation of these categories
extended to opposition, affected parties and groups and individu- is very minimal in tne general constituencies [see also Narayana
als who can offer special knowledge [Moncrieffe 2001]. 1998 and Aziz et al 1996]. The general constituencies are dominated
The third determinant of accountability, i e, transparency, as by representatives belonging to the Khandayat caste, which is
identified by Lederman et al (2001) increases accountability by a dominant caste in the region.
publicising right and wrong doings of the government, and
reducing the informational problem between citizens and govern-
Participation of Elected Representatives
ment Transparency, however, depends considerably upon the
freedom of press and expression. It further guards against cor- The participation of the representatives was assessed by ex-
ruption and allows the electorate more accurate perceptions of amining the way they act in regular panchayat activities. The
government policy [Moncrieffe 1998,2001; FackerandLin 1995]. activities included attendance in regular gram panchayat meet-
ings; participation in setting the agenda, which involves iden-
Functioning as Representatives tifying issues and problems of the constituencies; raising them
in panchayat meetings and participating in the discussions; and
The concept of representation in the context of panchayats is finally their involvement in the decision-making process, such
closely associated with three attributes, which are essentially as taking decisions in planning, budgeting, location of devel-
related to each other. They are first, participation of elected opmental projects, and selection of beneficiaries in the panchayats.
representatives in the functioning of the panchayats; second, Attendance in gram panchayat meetings: Attendance of elected
responsiveness towards constituents' interest; and third, being ac- representatives in regular gram panchayat meetings was found
countable to them. Although responsiveness and accountability to be very low. Majority (62.3 per cent) of them did not attend

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the meetings regularly. Only 23 (37. 7 per cent) elected members themselves. They were also observed discussing with the presi-
stated that they attended panchayat meetings regularly. Even dent after the meetings outside the panchayat office. The reason
though the majority of the respondents stated that they are for this was shyness and nervousness in talking in front of others,
irregular in attending panchayat meetings, the panchayat particularly in front of the male representatives in the panchayat.
records, however, showed substantial attendance of elected The participation of representatives in panchayat discussions,
representatives. On further enquiry, it was found that participa- more so in the case of disadvantaged groups, was found to be very
tion in the panchayats has been reduced to signing the registers, minimal. On the whole, in the four panchayats, there were only
which the panchayat office bearers carried to the houses of a'few (14.7 per cent) representatives who participated frequently
representatives to collect their signatures. in discussions during the meetings. Low attendance in panchayat
Further analysis indicated that a higher proportion of repre- meetings and limited capacity to raise issues often came in the
sentatives belonging to SCs, STs and women did not attend the way of discussing the problems of the panchayat and in turn in
monthly gram panchayat meetings regularly. Out of the 25 members the process of decision-making. Simply sitting and listening to
belonging to forward castes (which includes 15 Khandayat, two the proceedings of the meetings and nodding their heads have
Karana and eight Chasa representatives), 11 (44 per cent) members been their form of participation (Tab!- 3). Active participation,
were found to be irregular in attending meetings. However, which means initiating and being involved in discussions in the
irregularity was considerably higher for SCs, STs and women meetings, was found to be very rare in the case of representatives
representatives. The attendance data of disadvantaged groups are from the disadvantaged groups, and more so among women
given below in Table 1. belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Thus, a striking fact about the panchayats in Orissa is that the Participation in decision-making: Several areas of participation
meetings are overwhelmingly a male-dominated event, in spite of in panchayat decision-making activities were identified and the
policies targeted towards empowering women by giving them one- respondents were asked to indicate how they participated in those
third representation.6 The limited attendance of elected repre-
Table 1: Attendance of Disadvantaged Groups
sentatives was found to bejuxtaposed with the ambiguous nature of in Panchayat Meetings
the meetings themselves. In most occasions panchayat meetings (Figures in absolute numbers)
were formalities to be completed and marked only in records without Attendance SC ST Women Landless
their actual occurrence. Such an observation can be substantiated by
Regular* 2 2 4 0
the fact that most meetings were called without prior and adequate
Irregular** 7 14 22 18
notice. Often, proxy meetings were held and the proceedings were Total 9 16 26 18
recorded even without the knowledge of those who attended them.
Notes: * Those attend
However, such proceedings bore the signature of all the members, in the panchayat.
including those who were absent from the meetings. ** Those attendin
panchayat.
Participation in setting the agenda: Identifying issues of the
locality, raising specific problems and issues in the meetings and Table 2: Gender and Caste Division of Representatives
discussing them are some of the important activities in the in Raising Problems
(In percentages)
functioning of the panchayats. Gender differences were observed
with regard to raising problems of the constituents in gram Raise Problems Total
Rarely Sometimes Always
panchayat meetings. None of the women respondents chose to
raise problems of their locality frequently in the meetings. The Male Forward Caste 1.6 8.2 13.2 23
Backward Caste 3.3 3.3 3.3 9.9
data further showed that members from the disadvantaged groups SC 1.6 4.9 1.6 8.1
(SC, ST and women) at very few times raised problems of their ST 9.8 6.5 - 16.3
Total (Male) 16.3 22.9 18.1 57.3
locality. Only one respondent belonging to scheduled caste, who Female Forward Caste 8:'1' 9.9 - 18
was president of one of the studied panchayats, was able to Backward Caste 6.6 1.6 - 8.2
SC 6.6 - - 6.6
identify and raise problems of his constituency for discussion ST 9.9 - - 9.9
in the panchayat meetings. The gender and caste division of Total (Female) 31.2 11.5 - 42.7
Total 47.5 34.4 18.1 100
representatives in raising problems of the locality are cross-
Note: N = 61.
tabulated and given below in Table 2.
In order to gauge the capacity of the representatives in raising Table 3: Caste and the Manner of Participation in Discussions
issues, tfie respondents were asked about the manner in which (In percentages)

they raised issues in the panchayat meetings. Capacity to raise Manner of Participation in Discussions Total
issues in the panchayat meetings was found to be low among Sit and Listen Passive* Active**

scheduled caste, scheduled tribes, women and especially among Male Forward caste 1.6 9.8 11.5 22.9
women belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Backward caste 1.6 1.6 6.6 9.8
SC 5 1.6 1.6 8.2
Elected members coming from the disadvantaged groups, in ST 8.2 6.6 1.6 16.4
majority of the cases, did not raise problem of their locality Total (Male) 16.4 19.6 21.3 57.3
Female Forward caste 5 9.8 3.3 18.1
themselves, rather they took the help of other members to do so. Backward caste 5 1.6 1.6 8.2
During the course of a panchayat meeting, a scheduled caste SC 6.6 - - 6.6
ST 9.8 - - 9.8
woman representative was observed taking the help of others to
Total (Female) 26.4 11.4 4.9 42.7
make her point explicit. In most cases, the lower caste and women Total 42.8 31 26.2 100
representatives preferred to tell the president or any other member in
Note: N=61.
advance about the problem of their locality, expecting that they *Participate in discussions initiated by others, ** Initiate the discussion himself/
will speak on their behalf, rather than speaking in the meetings herself.

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areas. Participation of representatives was found to be low in Economic compulsion is observed as a third cause of low
important decision-making activities like "where should a de- participation in panchayat activities. Out of the 61 representatives
velopmental project be located", "whom to give benefits from interviewed, 25 belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes,
a developmental programme" and "whom to give contracts". out of which 18 are landless and the remaining seven possess
Only a few panchayat members took the important decisions on land less than 2.5 acres. The main source of income for them
these matters. Participation of members in areas such as planning is either manual or daily labour and attendance in gram panchayat
and development work was found to be comparatively higher than meetings often comes in the way of their livelihood. Respondents
the previously mentioned areas. However, the overall participa- were very straightforward in this regard and stated that they could
tion of the majority of respondents was very insignificant (Table 4). not afford to miss a day's income, and hence regular attendance
Even though some of the representatives stated that they was difficult if not impossible.
participated sometimes in these areas of decision-making, in Implications of affirmative action and participation: The above
reality, they were found to be less aware about these activities. analysis of the participation of elected members opens up several
They were just asked to put their signatures once the decision issues for discussion on the concept of representation, in general
was taken by certain members of the panchayats. Members of and those of disadvantaged categories, in particular. The basic
disadvantaged groups knew some of the key terms like "plan- rationale, with which the institutions of local governance were
ning", "budgeting", "developmental work", etc, without knowing established, was that they would bring government closer to
the importance of these terms in the functioning of the panchayats. people, so that people from all walks of life could participate
Factors contributing to the limited participation in panchayats:
in politics. Democratic local governance ensures that citizens will
Several factor contributed towards low attendance of members be voting for elected officials, which in turn, will increase local
inpanchayat meetings as well as low participation inthepanchayat
interest in political process. Combined with popular participa-
decision-making process. Among other factors, social restric- tion, the policies of affirmative action in local governance strived
tions, economic compulsions and household work were found to ensure "proper representation".
to be major reasons for irregular attendance in monthly meetings Taking cue from the theoretical discussion on representation
by the representatives belonging to disadvantaged categories. and drawing inferences from the empirical analysis of partici-
Social restriction is an important cause which hinders thepation of elected representatives. we may derive some implica-
effective participation of SCs, STs and women representatives tions. We perceived representation as involving the articulation
in the panchayats [see also Inbanathan 2001]. Even among the of views and desires of the citizens, and involvement of repre-
women representatives, social restriction for SCs and STs was sentatives' own judgment while taking decisions in the activities
found to be different from the upper caste women representatives.
of the panchayats. Effective representation entails meaningful
As stated by the upper caste women representatives, restrictionsparticipation of elected representatives in panchayat activities in
on mobility and interaction with male representatives are imposed
order to articulate the interests of the constituents. The irregularity
by their own family members, which affect their participation of elected members in attending the panchayat meetings - in most
in the panchayats. There are cases, where the husbands opposed cases not attending meetings at all - limited efforts in identifying
their wives' active participation in panchayat activities, though
and raising issues of the locality and low participation in dis-
they were instrumental in bringing their wives into politics.7cussions of the constituents' problems, necessarily results in
Though moving out of the house was not a major problem for their inability to articulate the views and desires of the con-
the lower caste women representatives, they suffered severe stituents. The various issues of the locality and the views of the
constituents, in most cases, did not reach the elected women
restrictions due to their caste positions. It was observed during
the course of a meeting in the panchayat that the seating patternmembers in order to be articulated in the panchayat meetings,
was determined according to the caste position of the members. as the husbands of these women and other local elites minimised
The scheduled caste women members sat together and the other women's role in panchayats by exerting control over them and
members including women of other castes hesitated to come acting as de facto members.
closer to them. It was revealed by means of separate interviews The other manifestation of representation is the involvement
with the lower caste women that even though reservation has of judgment of representatives while taking decisions on behalf
been successful in bringing them to the office of the panchayat,
of their constituents.9 The elected representatives in the gram
they are treated differently inside it. panchayats in Orissa, more so those belonging to disadvantaged
Household work and distance to the gram panchayat office aregroups, also performed very minimally in this regard. In most
found to be other reasons for low participation of women. In cases, they (the SCs, STs and women representatives) could not
all the cases, women hardly got time for panchayat activities after
reflect the views and requirements of their constituents and failed
fulfilling their household responsibilities of cooking and child
to use their own judgment in panchayat decision-making process.
rearing. This-makes it difficult to attend panchayat meetings,Such a claim can be substantiated by the following example.
which can take several hours, especially if they take place in
another village. Further, they have to depend upon their husbands Table 4: Participation in Decision-Making
or other male members of the family to escort them to the gram (In per cent)

panchayat meetings. On certain occasions, the male escorts of

Areas of Participation Never Sometimes Always Total
these women representatives prompted them on what to say in thePlanning 41 36 23 100
meeting hall. Though the role of the husbands and other male Development work 44.3 34.4 21.3 100
Budgeting 57.4 21.3 21.3 100
relatives as escorts was appreciated by the women representatives,Location of the projects 73.8 14.8 11.4 100
owing to the distance to the panchayat office, which they cannotSelection of beneficiaries 78.7 9.8 11.5 100
Awarding contracts 80.4 9.8 9.8 100
cover alone, they also admitted that their attendance definitely
depended on the presence of these male members.8 Note:N =61.

4758 Economic and Political Weekly October 29, 2005

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 After the 1999 cyclone in Orissa, the state government came representation may be identified. First, to represent the particular
out with programmes to rehabilitate the cyclone affected people section from which they have come, and second, the interest of the
by rebuilding their houses through the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) entire constituency. The representatives belonging to disadvan-
scheme, to be administered by the panchayats. The houses most taged groups have the dual responsibility of fulfilling the general
affected by the calamity belonged to those of SCs and STs (as interests of all the members of the constituency and second to
they were the "kacha" thatched roof houses), and their require- those belonging to the groups from which they come. This further
ment for benefits from government schemes was higher com- calls for making a distinction, if it exists at all, between interests of
pared to others. However, the representatives belonging to these the disadvantaged groups, whose representation the amendment
sections failed to articulate these needs of their constituents in the act wants to ensure, and the interests of the entire constituency.
decisions that were taken, even though some of them emphasised Turning back to the empirical data, it may be stated that the
during the interview that they were able to identify the needs. interests that were identified by the representatives were broader
Further, they could not put forward their judgment, considered in nature, and were not exactly related to any particular section
opinion or way of thinking towards the panchayat's decisions of society. The representatives had very little awareness about
of beneficiary selection. The SCs and STs required assistance the existence of specific interests of any particular group. Even
for the construction of their houses, but did not receive it as their the SC and ST representatives talked about wider interests such
representatives were unable to articulate their requirements. This as road, water and education. Mostly they were not able to identify
became evident from the fact that in one panchayat (Beltikiri) group specific interests and distinguish them from the general
financial assistance was given to a household belonging to a interests of the constituency. However, this does not mean that
Karana caste (a forward caste in Orissa) to rebuild his damaged disadvantaged groups did not have any interests which were
cattleshed. where as there were many scheduled caste and tribal specific to their group: On further inquiry about the living
households in the panchayat, who failed to get any financial conditions of the SCs and STs in general and their day to day
assistance from the government schemes through the panchayat. problems in the village, we could observe that these groups
Such an instance reveals the lack of putting forward the judgment suffered from problems like social restrictions, poor housing, lack
of elected representatives in the functioning of the panchayats. of employment, lack of community halls for them to observe their
The above two activities of the elected members, i e, lack of specific ceremonies, festivals and discuss community affairs.
proper articulation of citizens' interest and inability to use their Even though the SC and ST representatives felt the need for these,
judgment in panchayat decision-making, question the very notion they did not bring these into the panchayat discussions and failed
of "representation of marginalised groups" through affirmative to address them in a responsive manner.
action. Even though affirmative action has ensured that the weaker On whether their caste/community members came to the rep-
sections of society are represented in the rural political institutions, resentatives with their problems and expected them to work upon
proper and effective representation of interests of these groups is yet these, most panchayat members belonging to disadvantaged
to take place, upon which the empowerment of these sections rests. categories replied in negative. On the other hand, some of the
representatives belonging to forward castes, who had some
Interests and Responsiveness influence in the panchayats, stated that individuals of the SCs
and STs frequently approached them with their needs and re-
One of the important theoretical considerations of represen- quirements like sanctioning of loans and getting benefits from
tation, as discussed in the previous section, is that representatives different schemes. Similar was the case with the interests of
are expected not only to articulate the interest of the constituents, women in general. Hardly any women representatives said that
but also to work towards fulfilling those interests in a responsive they took up women-specific issues in the panchayats. and neither
manner. While analysing the representatives' responsiveness did the women constituents approach them to take up their issues.
towards constituents' interests, we need to address several Women-specific issues like obtaining pensions for widows and
questions: what are the interests of the constituents that the the aged, "anganwadi" activities got less priority in the panchayats
representatives are expected to fulfill? Whose interests do the and women representatives did not consider it their job to pay
representatives represent? Are they the interests of that particular special attention to these issues.
group from which they come, for example, caste, ethnic groups, Minimal capacity to articulate interests of the constituents and
gender, or certain sections of society? Or are they the interests lack of priority to group specific interests affected the respon-
of the entire constituency? siveness. The idea of representatives acting to further the interests
In order to understand the interests of the citizens, the rep- of their constituents in a responsive manner becomes question-
resentatives were asked to state the expectations that people have able in a context where the majority of them did not cherish any
from them and how they were able to perceive those expectations. political aspirations or ambitions and were elected because of
In a response to such a question, the representatives spelled out the influence or persuasion of others. Therefore, we may suggest
needs like constructing village roads and connectivity of the that only political equality and a right to participate may not
village to the main road, putting up tube-wells, sanitation, building necessarily lead to responsive governance at the local level in
schools, providing electricity to the villages. The representatives the presence of gross social and economic inequalities and
further opined that being a member of the same locality they could persisting ignorance about their rights and interests.
easily identify the interests of the constituency.
Affirmative action policies have resulted in bringing a new
Accountability in Panchayats
set of representatives into the gram panchayats, whose represen-
tational status is inevitably related to their caste and/or gender Accountability in panchayats involves a relationship between
position. In such a context, where the representatives belong to the citizens and the elected representatives, which is strengthened
particular sections of society, two separate, but interrelated ways of by frequent interactions and communication between them. In

Economic and Political Weekly October 29, 2005 4759

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a panchayat, the villagers interact between themselves informally, Gloppen 2003]. The notion of healthy political interaction among
and communicate more frequently in a face-to-face manner. the opposing groups was found to be missing in the panchayats.
There are several ways in which this face-to-face communication Even though strong political rivalry exists in rural Orissa, in no
takes place in rural communities, starting from informal gath- way has it contributed towards accountability in local government.
erings in community halls, meetings in tea shops, in the agri- In most cases, the panchayat presidents did not bother to make the
cultural fields, near the river banks or village ponds, to formal opposition leaders part of the panchayat decision-making process.
meetings in grama sabhas. Therefore, the degree of accountabil- The checks and balances mechanisms and transparency of
ity, at least in principle, should be more explicit and well panchayat activities suffered a lot because of the lack of a proper
established in such a context. However, our empirical observa- institutional structure for them. Even though the decentralisation
tions suggest otherwise. In contrast to the general principle, the policies provide for the existence of grama sabhas, these grama
informal and face-to-face interactions have not resulted in strength- sabhas were hardly held. And if they took place in some cases,
ening the accountability of elected representatives. they were small meetings involving the representatives, influ-
The interactions among the villagers one mostly non-political ential local elites and very few villagers who always support the
in nature. In meetings at tea shops, in the agricultural fields, elites for some kind of benefit or the other.
community halls and other such informal places, people are more The accountability of representatives in local governance in
concerned about seasonal rain failure, differential market prices Orissa has suffered most because of elites' involvement in
for agricultural produce, harvesting, an incurable disease to one's panchayat affairs. The representatives in a majority of cases were
family member and about other personal matters than politics. answerable to these elites and remained under their control rather
The women's informal gatherings near river banks and at than exhibiting any kind of accountability to the citizens at large.
neighbourhoods focus on family issues. But it is not always that The de facto representation of these influential elites and the
political issues are ignored and not talked about in the village "proxy politics" in the panchayats has created a situation where
public space. In the discussions, including the ones on political these elites - who either actually take decisions on behalf of the
issues, village residents are less assertive about their interests representatives, or substantially influence the decisions - are not
and rights, since at most times the interaction between citizens answerable to the people, as they do not hold any political
and representatives does not entail a relationship between a bearer position. Those who hold formal political authority (the repre-
of rights and agents, the latter being expected to fulfil rights and sentatives) do not function independently. In this sense, the
be accountable to them. representatives are found to be more accountable to the de facto
One of the important ways by which the representatives representatives
can than to the people.
be accountable to the constituent is through deliberating over
the issues that concern citizens, engaging in consultation and Conclusion
providing explanations for the decisions taken [Moncrieffe 2001 ].
Public deliberation over issues of common concern involves From the above analysis of four panchayats, we can conc
exchange of ideas, values, proposals and reasons aimed at affirmative action in decentralisation has not been succes
that
evaluating alternative course of action to be undertaken byin the
ensuring "proper and effective representation" of the d
representatives [Hunold 2001:152]. The decisions taken through
vantaged groups. This is with respect to participation of ele
a deliberative process are also much valued because of their high
representatives, their responsiveness towards citizens' inte
degree of democratic legitimacy [Barber 1984; Hunold 2001;
and accountability in the local government. This also h
Young 2001]. Such public deliberation, which legitimises bearing
the on the empowerment of weaker sections of soci
democratic decision-making process as well as paves the towards
way whom the policies are aimed. However, local govern
for accountability, was mostly absent in the functioning of theample scope for the inclusion of hitherto excluded sect
has
panchayats in Orissa. Decision-making in the panchayats of was
society in making decisions and formulating programmes
not observed as a process, which involves consultations wouldand affect their lives. It is also unreasonable, to some ex
discussions with citizens. Rather, representatives were observed
to expect the disadvantaged groups to break the dependent
to engage in consultation with the elites and influential individu-
patriarchal relations, which have excluded their public par
als of the panchayat. Lack of deliberation, even thoughpation since generations. Besides, most of the representa
decentralised governance meant to be such, in the panchayats
were also first generation politicians for whom this was the f
of Orissa may be attributed to two factors. First, in the decentralised
public exposure. There definitely exist scope for change am
structure, grama sabha is the only political institution, where these
such representatives, who with time and experience will be
public deliberation can take place. However, irregularity to in
effectively represent their constituency. [Im
conducting grama sabhas has affected the deliberation process
Email: pratyusna@yahoo.com
in panchayats. Second, a deliberative process of decision-making
requires several normative ideas for the representatives and
citizens, such as equality, inclusion, reasonableness, and free and Notes
open exchange of information [Bohman 1996; Hunold 2001; 1 According to the 73rd Amendment Act, while Article 243G o
Young 2001]. The social exclusion of weaker sections and Constitution empowers the state legislatures to endow the panchayats
prevailing socio-economic inequalities often prevent sufficient such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to funct
as institutions of self-government, the provision of reservation for sche
deliberation in panchayats, despites policies of political inclusion
castes, scheduled tribes and women (Article 243D) has given the
and equality of opportunity. opportunity to hold formal positions of power and, in turn, partic
Other mechanisms to ensure accountability at the democratic in the decision-making process.
local governance are competition, existence of checks and balances, 2 Sartori's categorisation corresponds with Birch's (1964, 1971) usa
the term "representative". He discusses three different usag
transparency, answerability and controllability [Ledermanetal 2001, representative: "delegated representative" - to denote an agent, who

4760 Economic and Political Weekly October 29, 2005

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 on behalf of his principal; "representative in the microcosmic sense" - Gloppen, S, L Ranker and A Tostensen (2003): 'Responsiveness to the
to indicate that a person shares some of the characteristics of a class of Concerns of the Poor and Accountability to the Commitment to Poverty
persons; and "representation in the symbolic sense" - to indicate that Reduction', Working Paper 2003: 9, Chr Michelsen Institute, Norway.
a person symbolises the identity or qualities of a class of persons. Gould, C (1998): Rethinking Democracy: Freedom and Social Cooperation
3 Representation by promising, thus, uses a forward-looking concept of in Politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
power, where the power relation from constituent to representative runs Grazia, A de (1968): 'Representation: Theory' in International Encyclopaedia
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and Towers, September 3-6, 1998.
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Laffont, J J and M Meleu (2001): 'Separation of Power and Development',
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Linz, J and A Stepan (1996): 'Towards Consolidated Democracies', Journal
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