The Hindu Editorial Analysis
3 November 2025
The Vision of Model Youth Gram Sabhas
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)
Topic : GS Paper II: Panchayati Raj Institutions | GS Paper IV: Civic Ethics, Leadership
Context
India’s democratic structure rests on three pillars — Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, and Gram Sabha. While the first two attract public attention, the Gram Sabha, the cornerstone of grassroots democracy under Article 243A (73rd Amendment Act, 1992), often remains neglected. To revive this participatory spirit, the Model Youth Gram Sabha (MYGS) was launched in 2025 by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with the Ministry of Tribal Welfare and the Aspirational Bharat Collaborative.
Why Gram Sabhas Need Revitalisation
- Despite being a constitutional forum for every voter to deliberate on budgets, development plans, and priorities, participation remains minimal.
- Schools and universities focus more on national institutions (Lok Sabha, UN Model), ignoring local governance structures.
- As a result, youth associate democracy with elections, not with everyday decision-making.
Objectives of Model Youth Gram Sabhas
The MYGS seeks to make democracy experiential by simulating real Gram Sabha processes in schools and colleges.
- Students play the roles of Sarpanch, ward members, teachers, and villagers, debating local issues like sanitation, water, and education.
- The initiative bridges civic education and lived governance, transforming civics from rote learning into participatory engagement.
- It aims to embed “Panchayati democracy” within the spirit of Viksit Bharat, making local self-governance aspirational.
Implementation and Scale
- Phase I (2025): Launched in over 1,000 schools across 28 States and 8 UTs, including Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Eklavya Model Schools.
- Over 1,238 teachers trained so far, with sessions in progress nationwide.
- The programme is expanding to Zilla Parishad and central schools in Phase II.
- It includes teacher training, incentives, and certification to promote wider participation.
From Simulation to Transformation
The Model Youth Gram Sabha inculcates:
- Civic pride and local leadership.
- Understanding of rights and responsibilities in local governance.
- Practical exposure to consensus-building, debate, and resolution-passing.
By institutionalising this model in schools, the programme transforms civic education into a living democratic experience, preparing students to become informed voters and community leaders.
Significance
- Strengthens the bottom-up democratic process envisioned in the 73rd Amendment.
- Bridges the gap between citizenship education and governance practice.
- Encourages youth to view local governance as a noble civic duty, not merely a bureaucratic function.
- Builds future-ready citizens for a participatory democracy.
Conclusion
The Model Youth Gram Sabha rekindles the democratic spirit at the grassroots level by cultivating civic consciousness among youth. It moves democracy from abstraction to lived practice — empowering citizens to co-own governance.
“When children debate like Sarpanchs in schools, they learn that democracy is not a spectacle but a shared civic habit.”