Caste panchayat

[1] They are distinct from gram panchayats in that the latter, as statutory bodies, serve all villagers regardless of caste as a part of the Indian government, although they operate on the same principles.

[2] The term panchayat implies a body of five (Sanskrit: panch) individuals, although the number may vary in practice.

[3] Panchayats, the council of five elders, had existed since Vedic period (c. 1500 – c. 600 BCE) from the times of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Gram panchayats were legally formalised under the panchayati raj system as a decentralised grassroot form of local governance.

The issues brought before these bodies can include: managing temples and schools, property disputes, marital relations, and breaches of community rules (such as extravagant spending on weddings[13] or the eating, drinking, or killing of certain animals, such as cows).

[23] It is not affiliated with the democratically elected local assemblies that are also termed panchayat, and has no official government recognition or authority, but it can exert significant social influence within a community.