DAMIAN O’SULLIVAN JULY 9, 2015 Marginalized Groups in Mysore’s Panchayati Raj Institutions

Decentralization Increasingly common response worldwide for development purposes Intended to make government more responsive, accountable, and efficient Converse is lower economies of scale and “elite- capture” Empirical support for advantages but it depends on area-specific factors

PRI’s in Indian History Traced back to Rig Veda 1880’s British-led decentralization Gandhi's idea of Village Swaraj Omission from Constitution State efforts followed but were limited by Constitution Asoka Mehta Committee recommendation for development purposes

73 rd Amendment Panchayats are “institutions of self-government” Tasked with economic development and social justice objectives 3-tier system of village, block, and district levels Direct election for 5-year terms Reservation of seats for women and scheduled groups

Political Reservation Long-standing idea in India 1980’s at state level Objective is dual-purposed  Reduce inequality  Improve governance by including marginalized Different policy preferences for women Preferences may not impact results

Political Patronage Patron-client relationships develop Disproportionate resource allocation to elites Weakened accountability to constituents “Big men of the village” Hampers empowerment of marginalized

Nominal Officials Women compelled to run by husbands, families, and elites Different reported motivations for contesting elections Elected officials versus de facto officials Hesitance to devolve power from traditionally powerful groups

Extra-legal Bodies and Culture Informal governance bodies are overlooked Often interact with formal bodies Structured around caste Reinforce traditional norms  Antithetical to family  Accept representation but resist participation

Method of Study Sample of 512 Mysore residents 3 types of questions  Personal  Knowledge of government activities  Knowledge of government personnel Assess empowerment through knowledge

Findings on Women in PRI Significant disparity in knowledge Less likely to know about Gram Sabha  Lower disparity in knowledge of activities Less likely to know about MGNREGA Less likely to know or have met each official

Findings on Scheduled Groups in PRI Knowledge gap exists for scheduled castes and tribes  Less than that between men and women Less likely to know about Gram Sabha Less likely to know about MGNREGA Equally likely to know government personnel

Field Visit Community meeting with women’s group, youth group, hospital patients  Illustrated grassroots emphasis of GRAAM Met with newly elected Gram Panchayat Members  Learned resource constraints  Evidence of gender gap in practice

Closing Remarks on Experience Sharpened research skills Exposed to new work environment Learned importance of research beginning at grassroots level Discovered different methods of analyzing policy gaps

Questions?