participatory democracy program

Roles and Responsibilities of Members of the Legislative Assembly

The Catalyst of Change: Participation of Women in Politics

Women in most countries remain under-represented in policymaking. Female representation in Indian politics thus remains conflicted and suffers from deep structural and systemic difficulties.

Democracy: An in-depth look

The word democracy comes from the combination of 2 Greek words ‘Demos’ meaning people ‘Kratos’ meaning power or rule. It first came into existence in the Greek capital, Athens, where they followed a direct form of government. The simple idea of democracy is the rule of the people or where the people of the country have all the right to […]

Embracing democracy and its imperfections

Democracy is far from perfect. But I believe that fair value judgments of any system of government can only be made when it is accepted that there is no such thing as a perfect system. With this as the starting point, it is my opinion that it is only in a democracy that we can even hope to achieve perfection. […]

What democracy represents

Democracy, the great experiment of the west. Not a perfect system, but the next best thing. For any functioning democracy, the four pillars that hold it up must gleam in the light of this new dawn. They must propel our vision of democracy into the heavenly skies and out of reach of the knifing humans that seek to bring it down. But what is our vision of […]

What Defines Good Political Leadership?

The world is brimming with ambitious political leaders, but sadly very few matchups to the traits of good leadership. In fact, many political leaders appear to be severely lacking in some of the most essential qualities of a good leader, such as integrity and accountability. It’s no coincidence that the word “politician” has many negative connotations. But experience tells us […]

The Future of Youth Vote in India

Property Tax Collection in Bengaluru

Property Tax is arguably the most important source of revenue for local municipal bodies. It is the only major source of revenue for such governing bodies and the only one which has the potential to grow as the city grows. The justification for charging a hefty property tax is based on two reasons.  One pays property tax because they have […]

BBMP Ward Committees

Ward Committees are an effective concept for citizen engagement at the ward level and critical to our local self-governance in the municipalities. They help in the decentralization of functions and provide better supervision for Ward governance.  Composition and functions of a Ward Committee are outlined in the 74th Constitutional amendment to ensure that there is equal representation for all sections […]

She the Law-Maker

Millions of Women Elected Representatives in Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) since 1993, yet we have fewer women in Assemblies and Parliament, while many men who were Elected in Panchayat or ULBs have made it to the Assemblies and Parliament, the Women are left far behind, making it a fit case to analyze why the women reservation is actually […]