RAVI S. DHAVAN, J.

( 1 ) A generation of young citizens or may be not so young, has grown up without experiencing or participating in civic elections. Millions of School children are taught the illusion of civic rights in a subject called civics in their course books which speaks of the Parliament, the State legislatures and the civic bodies, but they do not know what the latter is. They are taught to be a citizen without experience of being one. This generation has not seen, effectively, and has yet to see what local government is, and until they experience it, local government will remain an illusion out of the text books they are taught. This is what these casts are about. There are a number of them, but the issues are common. In some petitions citizens seek a direction that civic elections be held, in others they question the right of the local bodies to impose afresh or enhance taxes on the principle that there will be no taxation without representation. Then, there are petitions and arguments which have been addressed seriously that the power which permits the functioning of the local bodies to be superseded be declared as ultra vires. Thus, the presence of the then learned A

Click Here to Read the rest of this document