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• n  a village council in India or southern Pakistan

• The next day, Shakoor's uncle tried to get him released by proposing a formal panchayat.
• What emerged was a political system based on the ancient institution of the village panchayat (council of elders).

• panchayet
• punchayet

News & Articles

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• India Ink: Amid Violence, Hamlet Joins Electoral Politics in Bengal
  Former Maoists rebels join electoral politics in West Bengal’s Panchayat elections.        
  July 24, 2013 - New York Times

Quotes

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• Buddhadeb Bhattacharya in NewKerala.com
  Even today 84 percent of total agricultural land in West Bengal belongs to the poor people. The panchayat is also in their control and now we have achieved the first position in agricultural production in the country,Bhattacharya said.
• Manmohan Singh in Economic Times
  A proper accounting system for funds received and spent by panchayat institutions will be critical to making decentralisation a success,Singh said at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here.