Page 72 - SocialHarmony

76 Social Harmony

Shri Jayprakash Narayan had envisioned a Gram Panchayat
which would have public activeness as its base. The concept of
“Samras Gram Yojna,” was an attempt to fulfil the dream of
harmonious villages as seen by these legends. During my
experience of public life, I have seen that villages are not majorly
affected by Parliament or Legislative Assembly elections, but
the Panchayat elections can wreak havoc in villages, even
leading to situations where married girls are forced to leave
their homes and return to their parents.

Political parties may have their own agendas for competing
at the state or national level elections. They may project their
own goals and values during these elections, which is quite
acceptable. However, our panchayats, which are the mainstay
of our ancient culture, should be kept away from political biases.
It is obvious that we need local partnership in order to achieve
progress for our villages and provide them with modern
infrastructure, but this can be done by keeping villages away
from politics. The Rikhavdas Shah Committee has also
supported the view that political parties should be kept away
from panchayat elections and indicated that practical measures
for doing this should be conceived. Some people consider the
Samras Gram Yojna, to be against democracy; however if seen
neutrally and in a practical manner, this would turn out to be
an inspiring and enthusiastic model.

Dialogue Instead of Debate
The basis of democracy is decision making based on

majority. However, our concept of a harmonious village expects
decisions based on consensus arrived at after in-depth
deliberation. The idea of consensus is definitely more desirable
than that of majority because decisions so taken carry the
strength of the entire group. The Samras Gram entails villagers
choosing their representatives based on consensus. Many people
inspire others by choosing to sacrifice their current achievement
for the welfare of the village. The entire process emphasizes
dialogue, not by debate.

I would like to congratulate those villages which have opted
for consensus-based elections for sarpanch. I respect those who