The institutionalisation of panchayati raj systems since the 1990s that has added greater momentum to the decentralisation process has also had deeper implications for the human rights situation in India. Even as the democratic process has been extended, changes in traditional society have involved conflict. This article argues however that as isolation of villages is forever broken by inroads of media, technology and spatial mobility, the new panchayat system will only help weave the village into the broader social fabric. It is with increasing democratisation and intervention of civil society institutions that concern for human rights will assume its rightful place alongside a vibrant democracy.