About me
Prof. G. Palanithurai, Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies, Gandhigram Rural University, South India, is an academic activist. He is specializing in Grassroots Democracy, Decentralized Governance and Development Management. He is a member of many committees of both the state and the federal government. He engages in Action Research in Grassroots Democracy and Development Management. His action research activities are supported by the Ford Foundation, Swiss Development and Cooperation, The Hunger Project, Population Foundation of India, DANIDA, Action Aid International, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, Toolkit Foundation, Netherlands, UNDP, State Planning Commission and a few other agencies in India and abroad. He has trained nearly 5500 Gram Panchayat leaders of them 2200 are women and Dalit presidents with the support of various agencies. He has developed a leadership school in Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies. He has created a support structure for the Elected Women Representatives and Elected Dalit Representatives of the Local Bodies. 'Federation of Elected Women Leaders' and 'Federation of Elected Dalit Leaders' are the support structures facilitated by him.
To support the activities of the Panchayat leaders, he has created another forum “Tamil Nadu Campaign for Panchayati Raj” with the support of NGOs. He has worked for the preparation of 10th and 11th Five year plan for Tamil Nadu through State Planning Commission. He worked for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd State Finance Commissions and for which he conducted a number of studies related to panchayat finance. In collaboration with a popular Tamil daily “Dinamalar” (with 5 lakh circulation) a special supplement of one full page on Grassroots democracy entitled ‘Panchayat Malar’ had been published for one year. In the same model, in collaboration with All India Radio, a programme on ‘Good Governance through Local Governance’ was broadcasted every Monday between 7.30 to 8.00 pm though out Tamil Nadu.
