Ending proxy leadership in Panchayati Raj is a necessary step towards true grassroots democracy. Comment. (Answer in 150 words)

- Ending proxy leadership in Panchayati Raj is a necessary step towards true grassroots democracy. Comment. (Answer in 150 words)
Introduction
Ending sarpanch pati rule is necessary, because a proxy signature cannot be a mandate. It is not sufficient, since proxying is a symptom of incomplete devolution as much as of patriarchy.

Body
1. The scale of the promise: Article 243D of the 73rd Amendment reserves a third of seats and chairperson posts for women; most states now reserve half, seating about 1.4 million women.
2. The distortion: husbands attend meetings and sign files, turning a constitutional office into a household proxy, a practice the Ministry of Panchayati Raj condemned in 2024.
3. Yet reservation already works: Chattopadhyay and Duflo found women pradhans investing more in drinking water, and Beaman and Pande found exposure to women leaders raised girls' aspirations.
4. Structural causes: rotation of reserved seats destroys the incentive to build a career, and the Eleventh Schedule remains undevolved.
5. What would end it: disqualification provisions, capacity building, and transparency through e-GramSwaraj and social audit.

Conclusion
Grassroots democracy requires that the person elected is the person who governs. Without devolution, though, the reform merely moves a powerless office from a man to a woman.