Decentralised Democracies: A Study of Local Self-Government in India and Europe

The tall ideals of equality and liberty, amongst others, are values any democracy aims to follow. Over the course of the past few years, it has become increasingly clear that strong grassroots level administration gives impetus to administrations to develop into stronger and more robust democracies. Local Self-Government has had a long and strong history in India, and this tradition continues with the Indian Constitution also providing mandates for the furtherance and strengthening of LSG Bodies. This paper attempts to trace the journey of Local Self-Governance in India. It also states the current situation of these LSG bodies in their attempt to strengthen the democratic setup in India. A similar urge to strengthen the grassroots level administration is also evidently visible in Europe. This paper examines the features of the European Charter on Local Self-Governance and attempts to study its implementation in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Poland.