Government launches campaign against ‘Sapanch Pati’ practice

New Delhi: The government on Sunday launched a social media campaign to draw attention to the practices of ‘Sapanch Pati’. The Ministry of Interior announces the “No to Agent Sarpanch” campaign panchayat raj (MoPR) said the aim is to empower women sarpanch by calling on citizens to join the movement, celebrate the real sarpanch and share their feelings about the “sarpanchpati culture” in their villages.Coinciding with International Women’s Day, the campaign, aimed at addressing the issue of acting leadership of Gram Panchayat, has been launched by the People’s Public Relations Department in collaboration with all stakeholders and Panchayat level staff of the state Panchayati Raj department and will run till March 18.“This social media campaign aims to raise awareness across the country about the practice of proxy representation, in which elected female sarpanchs are marginalized while male relatives, often referred to as ‘sarpanch patis’ or ‘pradhan patis’, exercise power in their names,” the ministry said.Through the campaign, the Ministry seeks to identify and critique agency governance and encourage communities to uphold the democratic authority of elected women representatives.By amplifying village voices and celebrating genuine grassroots leadership, the ministry is seeking to engage citizens in national discussions that not only spark debate but encourage behavioral change that respects the democratic mandate of women leaders in local governance.It is worth pointing out that in order to curb the practice of proxy participation in panchayat by husbands and other male relatives (popularly known as ‘Sarpanch patis’, ‘Mukhiya Patis’ and ‘Pradhan Patis’) in place of elected female ‘pradhans’, an advisory committee set up by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) in its report last year recommended that “exemplary penalties” should be imposed on proven cases of proxy leadership.The committee also recommended the establishment of robust reporting mechanisms through helplines and women’s oversight committees to handle confidential complaints about acting leaders, as well as whistleblower rewards for verified cases.The report titled “Transforming the representation and role of women in the review system and institutions: Efforts to eliminate proxy participation” submitted to the ministry secretary recommends a detailed roadmap for future interventions ranging from behavioral change to capacity building and mentoring, as well as the establishment of a monitoring framework from the grassroots to the top.The ministry set up the advisory committee in September 2023 following the Supreme Court’s July order on the issue. In addition to a study of existing literature and extensive consultations with state governments, the report is based on interactions at four intensive regional workshops involving 14 states.