RAS question
Rajasthan became the first state in India to implement the Panchayati Raj system on:
Correct answer: (B) October 2, 1959.
Rajasthan became the first state in India to implement the Panchayati Raj system on October 2, 1959, when the democratic decentralisation scheme was inaugurated at Nagaur.
Explanation
Rajasthan was the pioneer in introducing Panchayati Raj because it put the three-tier structure of representative bodies at the village, block and district levels into operation first. The official Finance Department report records that on October 2, 1959, Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the scheme of democratic decentralisation at Nagaur, making Rajasthan the first state to light the lamp of Panchayati Raj. The Rajasthan Panchayat Samities and Zila Parishads Act, 1959 provided the institutional basis by enabling Panchayat Samities at the block level and Zila Parishads at the district level, while existing village Panchayats completed the three-tier scheme. The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee's recommendations had paved the way for this representative rural governance model.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) January 26, 1950 marks India's Republic Day, while Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj launch took place at Nagaur on October 2, 1959.
- (C) April 24, 1993 relates to the later national constitutional framework, whereas Rajasthan had already begun its three-tier Panchayati Raj scheme on October 2, 1959.
- (D) November 1, 1956 concerns state reorganisation, not the Nagaur inauguration of Rajasthan's Panchayati Raj system on October 2, 1959.
Concept
This tests the evolution of local self-government in Rajasthan, especially the shift from community development to democratic decentralisation. It recurs in RAS because Panchayati Raj links Rajasthan polity, rural administration and post-Independence institutional history.