This book is one of the outcomes of the project entitled 'Strengthening Panchayati Raj System" of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, funded by the Ford Foundation, New Delhi. The papers in the book are written by outstanding authorities on the subject. These papers record the experiences and thinking of these authorities on some of the newer issues that confront the Panchayati Raj System in India. Assessment of the current situation in Panchayats, particularly relating to participation of women in the process of local governance; the story of implementation and deviations of 73rd Constitutional Amendment; analyses of the role of new community-based institutions such as Self-Help Groups in rural development; analyses of the tactics adopted by the legislators, bureaucracy and the rich to appropriate power to themselves, against the letter and spirit of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment; ways and means to integrate community-based organizations with the Panchayati Raj System and several "Dos and Donts" have all been included in the book. The book will be an invaluable guide to serious students of Panchayati Raj System in India, to administrators and researchers.