Local Government in Manipur: The Working of Village Authority Council

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The institutions of local government have been functioning in India since time immemorial. The village elders council or Village Panchayat as they were popularly called, were ancient institutions and were themselves functioning like a republic system of government. They exercised power in various spheres such as village court, administrative units, civic maintenance, religious function etc. Thus India in spite of being a vast country, the administrative political organisation has been well functioning right from the grass root village level since ancient days and in the political history of India, this local governance system has a distinct place, without which political system in India would have no authenticity in itself.

The present work is not a debate on the desirability of the local governance at the tribal hill areas in Manipur state. Rather it is a comparative study of the actual functioning of local government. The book presents the organisation and functioning of the local government in the ancient period among the Naga tribals in Manipur. The study is an effort to underline the importance and potential of the village authority in particular, under various administrative changes since the coming of British to Manipur and the adjacent hill areas. The book analyses the administrative and development role played by the village authority council at the rural village level. It also identifies some of the major difficulties that the Village Authority confronted and measures to strengthen the same in delivering the services at the local level.

VEMAI SHOZII SHOLOUNII POU (b. 1985) M.A., Ph.D. He has received MA and Ph.D degree from KSOU and University respectively. He has published various articles in many reputed journals and presented research papers in many seminars and workshops. Presently he is working as a faculty member in RIE, Mysore. This is his first published book.

Village in India has been a cradle place in the shaping and growth of political institutions in Indian political history since ancient period. Self-government at the local level in Indian political system is, therefore, embedded within the existent of village community lives. In the study of Indian political system, village political organisation in the ancient past continues to have its relevance in the study of present political administration and its organisation.

Parliamentary Democratic government was opted as the suitable system in accommodating this vast and diverse country when India gained independence from colonial rule. On the other hand, the aim and target for welfare state through mass participation in the development of the country was persuaded since the dawn of independence. For the sustenance of democratic governance and providing for all citizens a participatory role, local governance provides the best option. Local government is therefore, an inseparable component in the successful working of democratic governance. Manipur State is one of the earliest states in the post- independent India to have come up with a statute for the administration of local government. As the colonial rule came to end by 1940s, the state of Manipur constituted the administrative Regulations of 1947 to administer the local village level. This Regulation was however repealed in 1956 as the State was formally merged with the Indian Union in 1949. At present, the Local Government in Manipur tribal areas are administered under the Manipur Village Authority Act, 1956 and Manipur District Council Act, 1972.

The present work is not a debate on the desirability of the local governance at the tribal hill areas in Manipur state. Rather it is a comparative study of the actual functioning of local government. The book presents the organisation and functioning of the local government in the ancient period among the Naga tribals in Manipur.

Whereas India is also the cradle land in the growth and practice of different local governance system, the necessities of the laws through various statues and Acts have their relevant ground in this present democratic India. The institutions of local government have been functioning in India since time immemorial. The Village Elder's Council or Village Panchayat as they were popularly called, were ancient institutions and were themselves functioning like a republic system of government. They exercised power in various spheres such as village court, administrative units, civic maintenance, religious function, etc. Thus India in spite of being a vast country, the administrative political organisation has been well functioning right from the grassroot village level since ancient days and in the political history of India, this local governance system has a distinct place, without which political system in India would have no authenticity in itself.

Local government as it were and it is, "is valued because it is just; it safeguards and enhances the citizen's rights, and it is an important setting for political education. Local representative institutions enable a larger number of people to take an active part in democracy. Local self-government is also a part of the state through which services are brought to people in their home communities, subject to local public opinion and with the benefit of local knowledge" Globalisation has brought the worldwide local institutions to become more alike than ever. Though in many parts of the local realities have the relevancy of unwritten local traditional laws and precedent verdict necessities, the ever demand for written codified statutes has re-interpreted much of the practiced laws of the past. This comparative change has brought much impact with the wave of western democratic governmental system where the quest for mass participation at the decision-making and implementing process was accepted as the most viable options in the progress of mankind. This governmental institutional choice, especially at the higher level (the centre and state level) provides a shift at the local institutions as well. The main aims being unaltered as, to inculcate the mass citizens in the govemmental process through their active participation, to democratise the local institutions without any bias against any creed, castes and genders priority, to further enhance the development progress towards the targeted welfare goals and reach out to the beneficiaries according to the local needs.

The prevalence of different grassroots local government was in the very domain of every village though the present system has much colonial legacy. Yet the purpose and objectives of ever present self rule system in what we called the third tier stratums (the first and second been the centre and the state) have survived its decay in India ever since the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA), 1993. During the colonial period, the demand for local government was even put up in the national movement level. But in the post- independent period, the revival of this institution was put on hold for decades without much political will. Resurgent of the local institutions was recognised through the constitutional mandate since 1993 and it subsequent years. And for once and for all, it is admitted by those who believes in democratic form of government that a democratic form of rule in any country must be sustained by the system of well established local government.

**Contents and Sample Pages**