<P> Mahatma Gandhi advocated panchayat raj as the foundation of India's political system . It would have been a decentralised form of government where each village would be responsible for its own affairs . The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj ("village self - governance"). Instead India developed a highly centralised form of government . However, this has been moderated by the decentralisation of several administrative functions to the local level, empowering elected gram panchayats . There are significant differences between the traditional panchayati raj system, that envisioned by Gandhi, and the system formalised in India in 1992 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In the time of the RigVeda (1700 BC), evidences suggest that self - governing village bodies called' sabhas' existed . With the passage of time, these bodies became panchayats (council of five persons). Panchayat were functional institutions of grassroots governance in almost every village . The Village Panchayat or elected council had large powers, both executive and judicial . Land was distributed by this panchayat which also collected taxes out of the produce and paid the government's share on behalf of the village . Above a number of these village councils there was a larger panchayat or council to supervise and interfere if necessary . Casteism and feudalistic system of governance under Mughal rule in the medieval period slowly eroded the self - government in villages . A new class of feudal chiefs and revenue collectors (zamindars) emerged between the ruler and the people . And, so began the stagnation and decline of self - government in villages . </P>

Short note on panchayati raj system in india