What was the original status of local government in the Indian Constitution?

It was assigned to the States and mentioned in the Directive Principles of State Policy.

The correct answer is Option 3- It was assigned to the States and mentioned in the Directive Principles of State Policy.

The local government was assigned to the States and mentioned in the Directive Principles as a policy directive, making it non-justiciable and advisory.

When the Constitution was prepared, the subject of local government was assigned to the States. It was also mentioned in the Directive Principles as one of the policy directives to all governments in the country. Being a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, this provision of the Constitution was non-justiciable and primarily advisory in its nature. It is felt that the subject of local government including panchayats did not receive adequate importance in the Constitution.

Do you know why this happened? A few reasons can be advanced here. Firstly, the turmoil due to the Partition resulted in a strong unitary inclination in the Constitution. Nehru himself looked upon extreme localism as a threat to unity and integration of the nation. Secondly, there was a powerful voice in the Constituent Assembly led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar which felt that the faction and caste-ridden nature of rural society would defeat the noble purpose of local government at the rural level. However, nobody denied the importance of people’s participation in development planning. Many members of the Constituent Assembly wanted Village Panchayats to be the basis of democracy in India but they were concerned about factionalism and many other ills present in the villages.