ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book tries to rediscover Mahatma Gandhi's vision of decentralised democracy and makes a critical review of the evolution and the working of the present system of local governance in India, generally called the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), from a Gandhian perspective. In evolving the present PRIs in India, Gandhi's vision, the historical background of PRIs and the views of contemporary eminent thinkers have a played a contributory role. The book focuses on decentralised democracy, both in principle, as in Gandhi's vision and in practice, as it has historically evolved in India up to the present and as it is functioning now. It explains how decentralised democracy in India had to come to terms with Gandhi's philosophy, on the one hand, and with the practical problems of politics and governance, on the other. The book emphasizes the need for certain constitutional reforms.
