Direct Democracy and Village Governance

Malana, a remote hamlet of district Kullu of Himachal Pradesh is an abode of distinct kind of habitation. It is known for its unique self-evolved system of governance that is successfully working since time immemorial. The people of village have indomitable faith in their traditions. The village is ascribed as a republic and oldest democracy of the world. The present study is a conscious and careful attempt to describe, analyse and examine the actual character of socio-political-economical and cultural life of the people of republic of Malana. Since the work deals with the study of direct democracy of Malana, therefore, the author set himself to discuss the genesis and development of the concept of democracy. Thereafter, the socio-cultural aspects of Malaneese life are touched upon in order to have a deeper insight and understanding of their lives. The discussion proceeds to know the economic aspects of people of Malana and then an attempt is made to examine the self-governing system of the village. This is followed by an analysis of the impact of modernity on the lives of the Malaneese. Finally, the work ends with an evaluation of the direct democracy of the Republic of Malana.