GUWAHATI, July 24 - Senior journalist DN Chakravartty today said that India would be able to avoid a likely bloody revolution for social transformation and economic empowerment of the masses in times to come if the nation was determined to implement in letter and spirit the ideals of Panchayati Raj as enunciated by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
Chakravartty, while releasing a book Panchayati Raj � A challenge to the post-independence diarchy in India authored by revolutionary social worker and thinker late Bharat Chandra Adhyapak, said that Assam could rightfully be proud of the fact that it was the pioneer in the field of formulation of Panchayati Raj as an administrative unit and an organ of social harmony and advancement as enunciated in the Panchayat Act piloted by the then Union Rural Development Minister, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
Chakravartty also stated that his personal experience of the functioning of the Panchayati Raj under the guidance of Union Minister SK Dey from 1957 to 1965 has been "satisfactory". He also mentioned about the diligent Panchayat leaders and honest members of the Assembly and Parliament of those days.
Referring to the revolutionary outlook of the author, Chakravartty said that late Adhyapak dedicated his life to the cause of the people and had established a large number of public institutions, including a couple of high schools.
Presiding over the function, Bhadra Krishna Goswami, sattradhikar and writer, said that the principle of Panchayati Raj as enshrined in the ancient scriptures was put into practice by the Indian people after Independence under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi. He added that the Panchayati Raj system should function as the bedrock of India's democratic institutions.
Dr Banikanta Sarma, Khanindra Chandra Das, Dr Devdas Bharali and Prafulla Pran Mahanta, in their speeches, dwelt at length on the functioning of the Panchayati Raj institutions after Independence and referred to the shortfalls which are now evident in the functioning of the Panchayati institutions at different levels.
They expressed concern at the absence of proper supervision on the functioning of the Gram Panchayats and Anchalik Panchayats and the crowding of politically-motivated people who are out to damage the great institution of India.
Prasanna Kumar Barthakur, organizing secretary, Baligaon Milon Chora, explained the purpose of the function and Bhargav Adhyapak, son of the author, welcomed the guests.
The author of the book, Bharat Chandra Adhyapak was a classmate of noted scholar Dr Mukunda Madhav Sarma. Dr Sarma used to take constant help from Aadhyapak in honours classes in Sanskrit when they were students in JB College.
