Informal local governance institutions (ILGIs) were not expected to withstand the advent of democracy and the forces of modernisation in rural India. How have ILGIs adapted to interact with their newer formal counterparts – the elected government institutions? This paper, compiled for the Institute of Development Studies, presents a holistic view of ILGIs that considers their progressive role in village governance and service delivery. It presents a framework to explain why ILGIs are more likely to survive in India than in other countries in the South.
ILGIs consist of a core membership, representing mainly the leaders of major village caste groups. Meetings take place as and when required in the presence of ordinary male villagers to ensure community endorsement of decisions. ILGIs perform a range of useful, collective functions, some of which are the direct result of the two-way interaction that has emerged between the informal and formal local government institutions (FLGIs):
- Establishing and reinforcing social networks within and between neighbouring villages by collecting funds for religious activities.
- ILGIs are a swift, affordable and accessible channel for dispute resolution in non-criminal cases, although decisions reached are enforceable only through social pressure.
- ILGIs also play an important support role within the community, for instance, arranging funeral rites for destitute people, organising mass marriages for the poor and helping impoverished accident victims.
- ILGIs play a key role in influencing nominations for formal elections, broadly providing a ‘gatekeeper’ function which serves to promote an element of overlap at ILGI and FLGI leadership level.
- Beneficiaries of FLGI-funded anti-poverty and other community programmes are invariably selected by ILGIs, which often mobilise additional resources for development projects requiring ‘top-up’ funding through donations and fines.
Overall, the influence of ILGIs in India is neglected in research literature and misrepresented in the media. Despite their lack of official recognition or sponsorship, ILGIs continue to command a high level of legitimacy. This is principally because ILGIs have adapted to ‘nest’ neatly into the FLGI structure that was believed to be displacing them:
- In many poor Southern countries, governance and bureaucracy were not extended down to the local level by colonial authorities, who preferred instead to use powerful local individuals to exercise ‘traditional authority’.
- Unlike ‘traditional leaders’ in some other Southern countries, ILGIs in India, with its long history of democracy, do not vehemently oppose or resist contemporary values.
- Informal local governance is likely to retain importance in India where there is a stable rural population that the state is limited in reaching.
- The relationship between ILGIs and FLGIs reflects a neat dovetailing of different levels of jurisdiction, creating scope for positive, synergistic interactions between the two.
- Understanding the dynamics of ILGI interaction with FLGIs would allow donor agencies and political and social movements to better comprehend local governance processes and ensure effective intervention in the interests of the poor and disadvantaged.
