National Consultation on Bridging Research and Practice on Strengthening Dalit Leadership in Local Governance

In an effort to share and develop new knowledge, concepts and insights for institutionalisation of social inclusion through strengthening of Dalit leadership in Panchayats, PRIA organised a national consultation at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, 23--24 February.

Addressing the participants at the consultation, Shri. B. S. Baswan, Director, IIPA, said, the 73rd constitutional amendment is largely a toothless Act due to the reluctance of the state governments to devolve power to the Panchayats. He added that efforts should be made towards bridging the gap between suggestion, public opinion and policy formulation. Dr. Rajesh Tandon, President, PRIA, opined that “There is a disconnect between the academic discourse in the country and the emerging political leadership at the local level”. Prof. Sushma Yadav, Dr Ambedkar Chair in Social Justice, IIPA, expressed hope that the handholding between the civil society and academia will produce positive results at the grassroots level.

The consultation generated pertinent issues and suggestions on how resources and manpower can be utilised to the optimum level to improve the condition of the Dalits. Participants suggested the need for a study to gauge the results of reservation and a monitoring committee to supervise the work of elected representatives of Panchayats.

The consultation also discussed the frontiers of collaboration of 24 academic institutions to work together on Dalit issues. Some of the institutions included the Ambedkar Chairs in educational institutions, UGC Centres in Universities for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Ambedkar Study Centres, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, G B Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad, and TATA Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Organised in collaboration with the Dr. Ambedkar Chair in Social Justice at the IIPA, the two-day national consultation brought together academic researchers, practitioners and civil society organisations from Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh