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Abstract
“Panchayat” comes from the Sanskrit “Panch” (five) word and means literally council of five. Panchayati Raj is a revolutionary concept. It is an earnest attempt to realize Ramrajya of Mahatma Gandhi’s dream. Gandhiji the father of the nation in 1946 had aptly remarked that the Indian Independence must began at the bottom and every village ought to be a republic or Panchayat having powers. Panchayati Raj implies the creation of Local Government Institutions at the village, block and district levels. The Panchayati Raj Institutions in India has been the pulse beat of our democracy since ancient time. These institutions are the custodian of Indian village corporate life. These Panchayat looked after our villages and their requirements. However, with the advent of industrialization, the village corporate life disintegrated as highly centralized. The Panchayati Raj is a unique administrative system at the grass-root level. The Panchayati Raj Institutions are not only the means of political consciousness and education but provide an important mechanism for rural development.