The Vakataka–Gupta Age (circa 200–550 A.D.) c15.s19: 15. General Review
The Vākāṭaka–Gupta Age (circa 200–550 A.D.) c15.s19
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15. General Review
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We shall conclude this chapter with a general review of the administration and its achievements. In the small kingdoms of our period, like those of the Kadambas or the Gangas, the administrative machinery was no doubt simple, but it was fairly complex and well developed in larger states, like those of the Pallavas or the Guptas. We possess fairly detailed information about the Gupta government and its achievements and can well conclude that it was very well organised, both at the centre and in provinces. The central secretariat worked efficiently and could keep itself well informed about the happenings in districts and villages. Orders of kings, when oral, were noted by their private secretaries and communicated to the central secretariat for proper recording. Many of the plates of our period show that they were verified by government authorities after they were engraved. Lands were carefully measured by a specially trained staff and detailed records were kept about their boundaries and ownership in the headquarters of the village and district.
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Government could secure safety to its subjects both from foreign invasions and internal disturbances for a long time. It did not however put any restrictions in the movements of people, unless they were undertaken for the fraudulent purpose of avoiding taxation.¹ In the administration of criminal law there was a happy combination of justice and humanity; criminals were punished promptly, but the punishments were not inhuman. The police and C. I. D. were quite efficient in detecting crimes and bringing the delinquents before the law.
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¹ *EI.* XXV, 52; Fa-hien, p. 43.
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The maintenance of law and order however was not the sole concern of government. It was anxious to develop the resources of the country as well. Its trade department no doubt collected octroi duties, but also promoted commerce by securing safety of roads and establishing a gold currency of international standard. Mines and forests were developed. Agriculture was promoted by the construction and repairs of tanks and reservoirs, and the state afforded facilities for bringing waste lands under cultivation.
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Government, however, was not content merely with promoting material prosperity of its citizens; it tried to promote their moral and spiritual welfare also by appointing special religious inspectors. Donees of *Brahmadeya* villages were particularly required to set high moral standards, so as to become an example to others. State extended its patronage impartially to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
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There was no central parliament to control the king and ministers, but traditional rules about the duties of kings and ministers and the high ideals that were placed before them in semi-religious works were sufficiently effective to curb tyrannical tendencies. Government, moreover, was remarkably decentralised, and most of its functions were transferred to district administration. In the district headquarters, the officers of the central government were assisted and controlled by popular councils of *Mahattaras*, whose sanction was necessary even if the state wanted to sell the waste land of its own. Villages had their own councils, which functioned as corporate bodies and administered all the branches of its administration, including the settlement of disputes and the collection of taxes.
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People were virtuous, rich and prosperous; cities were teeming with population. The poor and sick were offered free relief and medicine in hospitals and charitable institutions. Peace and prosperity secured by the government led to a rich and remarkable development of art, literature, philosophy and science, as will be shown in later chapters. We may, therefore, be well proud of the Gupta administrative system, which served as the ideal for contemporary and later states.