23 Jan 21 In Mahatma Gandhi’s conception of India as a nation of ‘Village Republics’ (Gram Swaraj), the panchayat had the same prestige as parliament. Sadly, that is not how democracy evolved in independent India. Panchayats (self-government bodies at the village level) were progressively disempowered. Power got increasingly centralized at higher levels. Now, in Narendra Modi’s government, we have witnessed unprecedented concentration of power at the centre. Even state governments are complaining that the powers granted to them under the constitution have been usurped by an “imperial” centre.