Functioning of Panchayat Raj in India has been a matter of debate and speculation about its performance and impact. In almost all states, two or three rounds of elections for Panchayats have been completed. The sizeable presence of underprivileged and poor in the grassroots political institutions is a landmark development in the rural politics of the country. India has a chequered history of panchayati raj starting from a self-sufficient and self-governing village communities that survived the rise and fall of empires in the past to the modern legalized institutions of governance at the third tier provided with Constitutional support. Panchayati Raj Institutions " the grassroots units of self-government " have been proclaimed as the vehicles of socio-economic transformation in rural India. Effective and meaningful functioning of these bodies would depend on active involvement, contribution and participation of its citizens both male and female. This book contains the fundamental and basic information of this subject.