Participatory development and bottom-up social change are widely celebrated as transformative alternatives to centralised and technocratic development paradigms. However, claims of empowerment, transparency, and community liberation often remain insufficiently interrogated and unevenly grounded in contemporary scholarship. This article explicitly repositions itself as a conceptual and theoretical review that synthesises classical participation theory with contemporary debates on decentralisation and empowerment, while critically engaging with documented evidence from India—particularly Kerala. Through analysis of the People’s Plan Campaign, Kudumbashree Mission, and tribal development initiatives, the paper examines both emancipatory potentials and structural constraints within participatory governance. Rather than treating participation as inherently liberatory, the review highlights persistent power asymmetries, elite capture, bureaucratic mediation, gendered hierarchies, and political-economic limitations. The analysis argues that community liberation depends not merely on participatory mechanisms but on institutional depth, redistributive commitment, and sustained civic mobilisation. By situating Kerala’s experiences within broader theoretical debates, the article contributes a critical and contemporary perspective to postgraduate-level social work and development discourse.

Jithin Michael is a final-year Master of Social Work student at LISSAH College, Kozhikode. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and is currently pursuing an MA in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University. His academic interests include social work research, mental health, community development, and social policy. He has completed two research dissertations and engages in field-based research and academic writing.

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