Introduction. I. The conceptual dimensions 1. Panchayati Raj Gandhian perspective/Ramashray Roy. 2. Democratic decentralisation and the Panchayati Raj in India the Gandhian paradigm/Saroj Malik. 3. Panchayati Raj a conceptual analysis/Brahmananda Satapathy. 4. Genesis and development of the concept of Gram Sabha/Surat Singh. 5. Conceptualization and operationalisation of Panchayati Raj System some observations/S. Kaushil. 6. Behavioural aspects of empowerment/Rajbir Singh. 7. Community development decentralization and Panchayati Raj/Swati Jha. 8. Genesis and development of the concept of Panchayati Raj/Ranbir Singh. II. The national dimensions 9. Community development and Panchayati Raj/R.P. Kapoor. 10. Looking beyond despair reinterpreting the 73 (Amendment) Act/Girish Kumar. 11. Devolution or delusion an evaluation of the status of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in India/Amit Jha and Mahi Pal. 12. Working of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India issues and challenges/Mohinder Singh. 13. The Hoax of Panchayati Raj and the dream of rural development/Shahir Hasan. 14. Decentralisation and institution building for participatory development a review of Indian experience/S.C. Srivastava. 15. Local Government Institutions in India new dimension and agenda for future reforms/S.S. Tiwana. 16. Panchayati Raj some observations/Anil K. Singh. III. Women and weaker sections 17. Women and Panchayati Raj in Haryana a review article/Nisha Garg and Neera Verma. 18. Impact of the 73 Amendment on women Panchayati Raj Leadership in Haryana/Parmod Chand. 19. The impact of 73 amendment on women's political empowerment a study of Punjab/Prabhjot Kaur Kahlon. 20. The empowerment of Dalits in the Panchayati Raj Institutions the Himachal Pradesh experience/Satish K. Sharma. 21. Scheduled caste women in the PRIs experiences and approaches for betterment/A.N. Singh and B.S. Bahmani. 22. Strategies for capacity building of women representatives in Panchayats/Neha Tyagi. IV. Capacity building 23. Strategies for strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions/George Mathew. 24. Strengthening Gram Sabha a pre condition for the success of Panchayati Raj/S.V. Saran. 25. Capacity building of Gram Panchayats for effective management of rural development/S.P. Singh. 26. Training of Panchayati Raj functionaries in Haryana/K.K. Mor. 27. Capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions/R.P. Singh and Nasib Singh. V. The experiences in states 28. Working of Panchayati Raj in Rajasthan a review/Arun Chaturvedi. 29. Panchayati Raj in Rajasthan retrospect and prospect/Om Mahla. 30. Kerala model of decentralization an analysis/Oommen John. 31. Functional devolution on Panchayats in Kerala/S.K. Singh. 32. Planning decentralisation the case of Panchayats in West Bengal/D.K. Ghosh. 33. Perception of the elected representatives of PRIs on Poverty Alleviation Programmes some lessons from Manipur/Sujit K. Dutta. 34. Impact of the 73 Amendment on the Panchayati Raj in Himachal Pradesh/Mirdula Sharda. 35. Interface between the Panchayat health services providers and the people a study of Himachal Pradesh/Niranjana Bhandari. 36. People's participation in Panchayats and village development committees in Himachal Pradesh/Dalip K. Gosain. 37. Devolution of powers and functions to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in Haryana/Amit Jha. 38. Working of Gram Sabha the Haryana experience/Surat Singh. 39. Panchayats and management of common property resources in Haryana/K.K. Mor. 40. Strengthening PRIs in Haryana a politico legal perspective/Raj Singh and Chander Bhan. 41. Strengthening Panchayats in Haryana challenges to be met/D.P. Singh Mor. 42. Panchayati Raj system in Haryana an evaluation/S.S. Malik. 43. Agribusiness role of Panchayats in Haryana/Nasib Singh and R.P. Singh. 44. Development at Micro level the role of village development committees in Haryana