The Constitution and Social Change

Written and reviewed by Subhra Gupta, Humanities faculty at UniDrill (M.A. Sociology, University of Delhi · 7 years teaching Humanities). Based on NCERT Sociology Class XII (Social Change and Development in India), Chapter 3.

Why is there a notice board outside the panchayat office?

Walk up to a gram panchayat office and you may see a painted board listing the money the panchayat received and how it was spent. That board is not decoration. It exists so that ordinary villagers can scrutinise allocation of funds and ask why decisions were taken. A law and a constitutional change stand behind that simple board. This chapter asks how a document written in the 1940s keeps changing everyday life, and what happens when its promises meet a society that has long been unequal.

The Constitution is more than a list of do's and don'ts

The Constitution is based on the basic norms of social justice, and it can extend the meaning of social justice. The chapter's example: the Directive Principle on Village Panchayats was moved as an amendment in the Constituent Assembly by K. Santhanam. After more than forty years it became a constitutional requirement through the 73rd Amendment in 1992. Social movements also help courts and authorities interpret rights and principles in line with contemporary ideas of justice.

Law and justice are not the same

A law functions through a hierarchy of authorities, and the Constitution is the basis of all rules and authorities. The Indian Constitution is India's basic norm. All other laws are made as the Constitution prescribes, by the authorities it specifies. A hierarchy of courts, themselves created by the Constitution, interprets the laws in a dispute. The Supreme Court is the highest court and the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution.

How the Supreme Court has widened rights

The Court has enhanced the substance of Fundamental Rights in important ways.

The principle is that a Fundamental Right includes all that is incidental to it. Its short words can carry a great deal once interpreted.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: Article 21's terse wording has been interpreted to cover livelihood, health, shelter, education and dignity. In reality: the Court's reading of Article 21 broadened especially after the 1978 decision in Maneka Gandhi v Union of India, which held that the procedure restricting life and liberty must itself be fair, just and reasonable. Why it matters: it shows how interpretation, and not only amendment, changes what a right means in daily life.

Pause and predict: an agricultural labourer is paid less than another worker doing the same work. Which Fundamental Right can the Court read the Directive Principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work into?

Check your answer: the Right to Equality under Article 14. The Court read the Directive Principle into it and gave relief to many plantation and agricultural labourers.

Panchayati Raj and rural social transformation

Ideals. Panchayati Raj literally means "governance by five individuals". Its idea is a functioning democracy at the village or grass root level. Grass root democracy is not an alien import, but in a society with sharp inequalities, participation is hindered by gender, caste and class. Caste panchayats existed in villages for long, but they usually represented dominant groups, often held conservative views and continue to take decisions against democratic norms and procedures.

Different leaders, different worries. When the Constitution was being drafted, panchayats were not mentioned, and several members expressed disappointment.

It was only in 1992 that grass root democracy was ushered in by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, which gave constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

Two views. For the exam: the Constitution makers differed on panchayats: Ambedkar feared that local elites would dominate, and Gandhi saw the village as a self sufficient unit. Another reading: later debates about decentralisation echo both concerns. Supporters stress participation near the citizen; others stress that local power can reproduce local inequality unless safeguards exist. The textbook's own discussion of democratisation and inequality supports both points.

The 73rd Amendment: what it did

Women in local bodies. The 73rd and 74th Amendments together ensured that one third of the total seats in all elected offices of local bodies, rural and urban, are reserved for women. These include gram and village panchayats, municipalities, city corporations and district boards. For the first time women were brought into elected bodies with decision making powers. The 1993 to 94 elections soon after the amendment brought 800,000 women into the political process in a single election.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: a three tier system with a Gram Sabha at the base. In reality: the 73rd Amendment inserted Part IX into the Constitution and added the Eleventh Schedule, which lists 29 subjects on which panchayats can be given powers, and the Directive Principle on village panchayats that the chapter mentions is Article 40. Why it matters: it explains what "constitutional status" means: panchayats are no longer left entirely to a State's choice.

What panchayats do

The Constitution requires State governments to give panchayats the powers and authority to function as institutions of self government.

Money and transparency. The main income is from taxes on property, profession, animals and vehicles, a cess on land revenue and rentals, plus grants through the Zilla Panchayat. Panchayat offices are expected to put up boards outside listing the funds received and how they were used. This was done so grass root citizens would have the right to information: to scrutinise allocation of money and ask reasons for decisions on welfare and development.

Nyaya Panchayats. Some States have constituted them. They can hear some petty civil and criminal cases and can impose fines but cannot award a sentence. These village courts have often succeeded in getting contending parties to agree, and have been particularly effective in punishing men who harass women for dowry or commit violence against them.

Stories of panchayats at work

Panchayati Raj in tribal areas

Many tribal areas have a rich tradition of grass root democratic functioning. In Meghalaya, the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos each have traditional political institutions that have existed for hundreds of years, working at village, clan and State level. In the traditional Khasi system, each clan has a council called the Durbar Kur, presided over by the clan headman. A large part of tribal areas lies outside the provisions of the 73rd Amendment, possibly because policymakers did not wish to interfere with traditional tribal institutions.

The sociologist Tiplut Nongbri adds a caution about the Bhuria Committee's concern for these institutions: while it is appreciable, it overlooks complexity. Tribal societies have a strong egalitarian ethos, but stratification is not absent, and the position of women in some of these institutions remains a concern. Social change has also introduced distortions, so it is hard to tell which part is traditional. This again shows the changing nature of tradition.

Pause and predict: why might a society with a long grass root tradition still be left out of a new panchayat law?

Check your answer: because lawmakers may not want to interfere with traditional institutions that already work. But, as the sociologist's caution shows, an old institution is not automatically democratic, so each case needs careful judgement.

Democratisation and inequality

Democratisation is difficult in a society with a long history of inequality based on caste, community and gender. In many cases members of particular groups are not included or informed about meetings and activities. Gram Sabha members are often controlled by a small coterie of rich landlords, usually from the upper castes or landed peasantry, who make decisions on development and allocate funds, leaving the silent majority as onlookers.

Political parties, pressure groups and interest groups

Newspapers show many groups trying to make their voices heard. Industrialists form associations such as FICCI and ASSOCHAM. Workers form trade unions such as INTUC and CITU. Farmers form unions such as the Shetkari Sangathan, and agricultural labourers have their own unions.

In a democracy, parties represent the interests of different groups and take up their cases. Interest groups work to influence parties. When groups feel their interests are neglected, they may form an alternative party or a pressure group.

A pre-budget example. Each February the Finance Minister presents the Budget to Parliament. In the days before, newspapers report on meetings between the Finance Ministry and industry confederations, trade unions, farmers and more recently women's groups.

Not all voices are equal. Groups do not have the same access or the same ability to pressure the government. Some argue that the concept of pressure groups underestimates the power of dominant social groups such as class, caste or gender, and that it is more accurate to say that dominant classes control the state. The textbook adds that this does not deny the continuing importance of social movements and pressure groups in a democracy.

Two views. For the exam: pressure groups and interest groups are routes by which different sections influence government. Another reading: critics say that they favour groups with more resources and access, so the picture of equal competition is misleading. Max Weber's distinction helps: classes belong to the economic order, status groups to the social order, and parties live in a "house of power", acting in a planned way towards a goal, which may be a cause or something personal like power and honour.

Exam traps

60-second revision

Where this chapter connects

• Previous: Cultural Change shows the reform and nationalist ideas of equality that the Constitution later made into law.
• Next: Change and Development in Rural Society gives the rural social structure that panchayats operate in.
• Related: Social Movements takes up the movements mentioned here, and The Challenges of Cultural Diversity covers the Right to Information as civil society in action.