SINCE 1828
panchayat
noun
pan·cha·yat
variants:
or less commonly panchayet
or punchayet \ (ˌ)pənˈchäyət , -chīət \
plural -s
Definition of panchayat
1
: a village council in India:
a
: a former group of five influential older men acknowledged by the community as its governing body
b
: an elective council of about five members organized in the republic of India as an organ of village self-government
2
: a Parsi council of six dasturs and ten mobeds regulating secular affairs
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