Dare to catch those forty winks.

Bapoda is a village in Hansi. There is nothing spectacular about the village, no eventful history, no geographical wonder, no pilgrim/cultural spot,  no famous resident, not even a great eatery that can find a mention in some travel magazine. However, it should be on the list of anybody who wishes to see the "real India". Why, you ask. Here is why. Bapoda has no Panchayat! It is a village and it has no Panchayat. India, the world's largest democracy is merely so on paper and we are all aware of its many failings. This was one.

Steering away from the topic, I would first like to throw a little light on what role the Panchayat has in a democracy. Once this is clear, the curious case of Bapoda will strike just as unnatural to you as it does to me now. Primarily, Panchayati Raj was not a system formed with an idea of laying foundations for a "participating democracy". It was the best possible measure for our policy planners to obtain the public's fullest cooperation in the development programmes. India, rural or urban, minus the rising shrill voices of the "civil society", has been a participating democracy only during times of elections. Most of the voting population is unaware of its elected representative at the Municipal Corporation, Panchayat or at the Assemblies. The participation ceases with the ink on the nail and the daily dose of news one gets from the media. In an ideal case, this is just what the citizen ordered for. Reality, sadly, is a nothing but a greater irony. Constant PILs, RTI applications and "sting operations" are the many ways that we choose to watch over the government. It is the need of the hour because in India today, if the citizen sleeps, the government cheats. When we wish that the government stays awake to watch over its citizens, the government only puts the citizens under surveillance. Draconian acts on freedom of expression, restrictions on the Right To Information and a Big-Brother attitude have simply killed the spirit of democracy. It is here that the Panchayati Raj acts as a breath of relief to over seventy percent of India's inhabitants, the rural folk.

The village panchayat is the first level of a three-tier Panchayati Raj system. At the base of the three tier is the village. A cluster of villages come under a block, many blocks constitute a district. The Block Samiti and the Zila Parishad are the block and district level governance bodies. The fundamental purpose of the village panchayat is to look into the village's everyday affairs- problems, social evils, development works, public welfare. The Panchayat must also hold mandatory Gram Sabha meetings for all of its voting population in an open, public space. In Haryana, it is atleast three such meetings in a year. In Rajasthan, it is mandatory to hold four meetings. It may vary across the different states of the country. Keeping in line with the age old depiction of the gram panchayat meetings, it is a gathering of the villagers where anyone can raise any issue, debate over it and/or seek information about development works in the village. There must be atleast ten department officials present in the meetings. This includes government appointed officials like the Anganwadi worker, Nurse, School Teacher, Public Works Department worker, amongst others. So, there lies the beauty of this system. You have a problem with the elected class monitor, question him when the class convenes, with the teacher presiding over the matter. He has to give justified answers to keep his post, otherwise an appeal can be made for his suspension or expulsion from the post. That is how democracy functions. Ideally.

When several of us, mostly urban, citizens take to the net to oppose our government or smirk over satirical jokes delivered through SMS, we can not participate in the state assemblies and question the MLA in the well of the house. (Ward sabhas do happen. Where and when are some of life's unanswered questions.) In a Panchayat, the Gram Sabha gives the villager an opportunity to do just that!! How wonderful is that for "participative democracy"! Unfortunately, in many villages Gram Sabha meetings do not happen. Sadly, in many others the population does not turn up for the meetings. Lastly, in Bapoda a Panchayat does not even exist. No Sarpanch, no Panch, no Panchayat Secretary. Nobody to answer the villagers. Nobody to look after the NREGA programme, nobody to get the drain repaired. Nobody to monitor polio vaccination, nobody to check on the school's mid-day meal menu. If anybody has a problem, they write to the Block Development Officer. If he has the time or if the applicant has the money, the matter will be looked into. Law functions just by existence on paper, there is no government at the local level.

Bapoda's ineffective democracy (or the lack of it) stems just not from the government's absence, but also from the citizens' indifference towards the system. Caste politics have led to multiple coups and no Sarpanch in the last ten years could complete a term. To avoid all the chaos and anarchy, Bapoda decided not to elect a Panchayat at all. The old man, the young chap and the busy mother all have the same one reaction when asked about the Panchayat- a careless shrug. "If the conscious political elements of our country cannot grasp the significance of the Panchayati Raj, much less the people at large." And Jayaprakash Narayan's words seem true even four decades after he made his point, even after the 73rd amendment was introduced nearly two decades ago. Bapoda puts forth that very important question in a democracy. 

Who sleeps peacefully while the other watches over? Who can afford those elusive forty winks? Citizen or government??

"And the truth is, there is something wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into the mirror."

V in 'V for Vendetta'

I saw Bapoda. I saw myself in the mirror. I have the faith, I am gaining  the strength. Time for transformation. Time to see the REAL India.