How were the Panchayats formed during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? Explain their functions and authorities.

Formation of Panchayats during sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

(i)    The village panchayat was an assembly of elders, usually important people of the village with hereditary rights over their property. In mixed-caste villages, the panchayat was usually a heterogeneous body. An oligarchy, the panchayat represented various castes and communities in the villages, though the village menial-cum-agricultural worker was unlikely to be represented there.

(ii)    Functions of the Panchayat : One important function of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities inhabiting the village were upheld. In eastern India all marriages were held in the presence of the mandal. In other words one of the duties of the village headman was to oversee the conduct of the members of the village community “chiefly to prevent any offence against their caste”.

(iii)    Authority of the Panchayat : The panchayat was headed by a headman known as Muqaddam or Mandal. Some sources suggest that the headman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, and that this choice had to be ratified by the zamindar.

Panchayats also had the authority to levy fines and inflict more serious forms of punishment like expulsion from the community.