sarpanch
{{short description|Title of the elected head of a village in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}A sarpanch, gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the gram sabha (village government) in India.{{cite book |last1=Misra |first1=Suresh |last2=Dhaka |first2=Rajvir S. |title=Grassroots Democracy in Action: A Study of Working of PRIs in Haryana |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |year=2004 |page=116 |access-date=2010-12-29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3MbwdXsDLT8C&q=Sarpanch+female |isbn=9788180691072}} The sarpanch, together with other elected panchayat members (referred to as ward panch or ward member), constitute gram panchayats and zilla panchayats. The sarpanch is the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community and retains power for five years. The term used to refer to the sarpanch can vary across different states of India. There are many commonly used terms for sarpanch in various states: panchayat president, gram pramukh, gram pradhan, gram adhyaksha, gaon panchayat president, gram panchayat president, etc.{{Cite web |title=East Eleri: Congress loses panchayat president post again as official faction mutates into rebels now |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2023/04/04/east-eleri-congress-loses-panchayat-president-post-again-as-official-faction-mutates-into-rebels-now.html |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=OnManorama}}{{Cite web |title=Presidents of Gaon Panchayat {{!}} Dhubri District {{!}} Government Of Assam, India |url=https://dhubri.assam.gov.in/information-and-services-level-three/presidents-gaon-panchayat/panchayat-election-2018-2019/people-representatives |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=dhubri.assam.gov.in}}
Meaning of ''sarpanch''
Sar, meaning head, and panch, meaning five, gives the meaning head of the five decision-makers of the gram panchayat of the village. In the state of West Bengal, a sarpanch is called a panchayat pradhan ("chief"), and the deputy is a panchyat upa-pradhan.{{cite web |url=https://www.pria.org/panchayathub/panchayat_text_view.php |title=What is a Panchayat? |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date=2022-07-24 |quote=Panchayati Raj is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent. Panchayati Raj Institutions as units of local government have been in existence in India for a long time, in different permutations and combinations. However, it was only in 1992 that it was officially established by the Indian Constitution as the third level of India’s federal democracy through the 73rd Amendment Act. The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) consists of three levels: Gram Panchayat at the village level, Block Panchayat or Panchayat Samiti at the intermediate level, Zilla Panchayat at the district level. The word Panchayat means assembly (ayat) of five (panch) and raj means: rule.}}
= Nomenclature =
A sarpanch is a term used to refer to the elected head of a village-level statutory institution called the Gram Panchayat/Village Panchayat/Gram Parishad.
However, the term used to refer to the sarpanch can vary across different states of India.{{Cite web |title=Elected Representative Report |url=https://egramswaraj.gov.in/ElectedRepresentativeReport.do |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=egramswaraj.gov.in}} Here are some of the commonly used terms for sarpanch in various states:
:Gram Pradhan -
::Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and some parts of Haryana, Punjab.
:Sarpanch -
::Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha.
::
:Panchayat President -
::Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.
:Mandal Praja Parishad President -
::Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
::
::Mukhiya- Bihar, Jharkhand.
:Gaon Panchayat President -
::Assam.
::
::
Roles and responsibilities
A sarpanch performs a number of administrative duties.{{cite news |title=sarpanches to get district collectors powers to fight against covid 19 in odisha- |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/sarpanches-to-get-district-collector-s-powers-to-fight-against-covid-19-odisha-cm-11587307323122.html |access-date=23 May 2022 |publisher=livemint.com |date=19 April 2020}}
Eligibility
A sarpanch must be a citizen of at least 21 years of age, and have no legal convictions, among other requirements.{{cite news |title=Uttar Pradesh Gram Panchayat Election 2021: Minimum Qualifications For Holding Office Of Pradhan |url=https://www.india.com/news/india/uttar-pradesh-up-gram-panchayat-panchayat-chunav-2021-reservation-aarakshan-seat-list-minimum-qualifications-for-holding-office-of-pradhan-citizen-of-india-age-limit-documents-required-4469348/ |access-date=23 May 2022 |publisher=www.india.com |date=7 March 2021}}{{cite news |title=Minimum qualification set as Haryana passes Panchayati Raj Bill |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Minimum-qualification-set-as-Haryana-passes-Panchayati-Raj-Bill/article60210639.ece |access-date=23 May 2022 |publisher=thehindu.com |date=16 November 2021}}
Tenure
The tenure of sarpanch in India is five years.{{cite news |last1=Bhandare |first1=Namita |title=What has education got to do with panchayat politics? |url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/Qpd0yXsMHvlmGDN3foOALM/What-has-education-got-to-do-with-panchayat-politics.html |access-date=23 May 2022 |publisher=livemint.com |date=10 February 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Jaggi |first1=Harleen Kaur |title=Panchayati Raj: Powers, Functions, Duties Role and Responsibilities of Sarpanch or Panchayati Raj Head |url=https://www.jagrantv.com/en-show/panchayati-raj-powers-functions-duties-role-and-responsibilities-of-sarpanch-or-panchayati-raj-head-rc1017084 |access-date=23 May 2022 |publisher=jagrantv.com |date=24 April 2021}}
Panchayati raj
India's federal structure of governance means that different states have different laws governing the powers of the gram panchayats and sarpanches.{{cite web |url=https://uttarakhand.pscnotes.com/main-notes/paper-ii/medival-history/sangam-age/ |title=Sangam Age |last= |first= |date= 16 September 2018|website=uttarakhand.pscnotes |publisher= |access-date=2022-07-24 |quote=}}
= Panchayat elections =
In many states, elections were not held for decades and instead of elected sarpanches, the gram panchayats were run by bureaucratically appointed administrators. With the passage of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments in 1992, a number of safeguards have been built in, including those pertaining to regular elections.
= Reservation for women =
Article 243D(3) of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment requires one-third of seats in panchayats and one-third of panchayat chairperson positions be reserved for women, across all three levels of the panchayati raj system.{{Cite book|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India/Part_IX|title=Constitution of India|publisher=Government of India}}{{cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Kumud |year=1998 |title=Transformative Politics: Dimensions of Women's Participation in Panchayati Raj |journal=Indian Journal of Gender Studies |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=23–47 |doi=10.1177/097152159800500103|pmid=12321579 |s2cid=36735582 }}{{rp|24}} This amendment followed various state-level legislative reforms in which reservations were set for panchayat positions to be held by women.{{rp|32}}
References
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Local government in India}}
{{Uttarakhand}}
Category:Hindi words and phrases
Category:Panchayati raj (India)