[ noun ] British dominion over India (1757-1947) <noun.state>
Raj \Raj\ (r[aum]j), n. [See {Rajah}.] Reign; rule. [India]
Gandhi and his Congress Party billed panchayati raj as a power-to-the-people program, but the opposition maintained it was actually designed to strip state governments of their power and extend federal control to local levels.