Gaon Panchayat, Tribal Women and Their Participation: A Case of Tiwas of Assam

Abstract

Panchayati Raj Institutions, the three-tier institutions of local self-governing institutions that stand at the bottom, are found in rural areas in all states of India except in the Sixth Schedule areas formed under the Indian Constitution. The genesis of India’s local governance can be traced back to ancient times. However, these institutions got their present shape and structure after a series of reform studies resulted in several Acts and constitutional amendments. In this article, an attempt has been made to understand and analyse the impact of tribal women’s participation in the local governing institutions among the Tiwas of Assam.