A sarpanch is a democratically elected head of a village level statutory institution of local self-Government called the Gram (village) Panchayat in India. He, together with other elected Panches (members), constitute the Gram Panchayat.The Sarpanch is the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community. It is an elected position. Recently, there have been proposals to give Sarpanches small judicial powers under Panchayati Raj. // The Panchayat (पंचायत in Devanagiri) is an Indian political system that groups five villages in a quincunx (four peripheral villages around a central one were laid out as the 5 side of a die). ...

Although Panchayats have been in existence in India since times immemorial, in the post-Independence India, most of the rural development and community development projects have been sought to be executed through the Gram Panchayats. In the federal Indian polity, difference states had different laws governing the powers of the Gram Panchayats and Sarpanches. In many states, elections were not held for decades and instead of the elected Sarpanches, the Gram panchayats were run by bureaucratically appointed administrators. However, with the passage of 72nd and 73rd Constitutional amendments in 1992, a number of safe-guards have been built in, including those pertaining to regular elections. However, even the constitutionally mandated devolution of the functions of 29 core subjects remains a distant dream in most states of India. "Power to the people" remains more of a rhetorical slogan than an actual practice.

A Sarpanchni is a Sarpanch's assistant, and helps settle any matters of conflict within the "pind" or village. A notoriously famous Sarpanchni is Balbir Kaur, who goes by the name of Balbeer-O.