Power to People in Meghalaya (Sixth Schedule and the 73rd Amendment)

Contents: Introduction. 1. The sixth schedule and the 73rd amendment: an analysis/L.S. Gassab. 2. The Seventy Third Amendment Act, 1992 and the state of Meghalaya/B. Datta Ray. 3. How effective are Autonomous District Councils?/C. Changsan. 4. Social change and traditional tribal political systems in Meghalaya/Gurudas Das. 5. Paragraph 12A of the sixth schedule and Meghalaya politics/L.S. Gassab. 6. Women in Meghalaya and the Constitution 73rd Amendment Act, 1992: problems and expectations/M.P.R. Lyngdob. 7. Panchayati Raj and traditional Khasi institutions: a comparison/Juanita War. 8. Critical assessment on the working of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council in Meghalaya/Erbanoris Jyrwa. 9. The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and the 73rd constitution amendment/Pascall Malngiang. 10. The working of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council/P.M. Passah. 11. A critical assessment of the role and functions of the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council/L.S. Gassah. 12. Working of the Garo Hills, Autonomous District Council (an overall view)/M.S. Sangma. 13. Critical assessment of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council/Kshirode Marak. 14. Cultural identity in the global village/D. Bandopadhyay. 15. Valedictory address/S.C. Marak, Chief Minister of Meghalaya. Annexure: The Constitution 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 on the Panchayats.

"The Panchayati Raj system has been acclaimed as an essential element of Indian democracy. The historic 73rd amendment which has given a constitutional status to panchayats in the country is a major development in the post-independent India. This 73rd constitutional amendment has given the Panchayat system not only identity and legitimacy but has made it a true instrument of self-government. Now it is in a position to involve itself in active process of decentralised planning.

"This book Power to People in Meghalaya: Sixth Schedule and the 73rd Amendment, contains a collection of research papers contributed by various scholars and activists drawn from different disciplines of social sciences which were presented in a sub-regional workshop sponsored by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi, during October 1995.

"The book offers detailed information about the Sixth Schedule and the 73rd amendment, critical assessment of the working of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills, Autonomous District Councils in Meghalaya and also on women in Meghalaya .

"This book will be of great help to the students, research scholars, administrators, planners, policy makers and to the public in general."