Capturing Grassroots Voices in the Information Society and Sustainable Development The Policy Dialogue in India

Given that agriculture has long been the mainstay of the Indian economy and thus a prime concern of Indian policy-makers (and the association of agriculture with the Sustainable Development framework), there is an emphasis of environmental concerns in the rural development context. The paper discusses how grassroots views can be captured in the national policy formulation processes using mechanisms from the domain of the Information Society. The authors analyze the use of the “village Panchayat model, ” which has been modified and integrated into the structure of the Indian government. They note that, while in theory, grassroots voices can be heard and included in the policy debate, in practice, peoples ’ participation remains affected by political considerations and realities of marginalisation on grounds of caste, gender, class, etc. A Developing Connection 129 The environment as a concern cuts across the sub-themes of sustainable development, such as “poverty eradication, “ “changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production ” and “protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development.