A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c17.115

c17.115

The details, of the organization of provincial government depended on the historical antecedents of each locality. In the extreme south and on the west coast, the older rulers of the land were allowed to carry on in a subordinate capacity, paying tribute and submitting to the general supervision of a high official of the empire, usually a prince of the blood-royal; such were the Pāndyas, the Tiruvaḍis, and the chiefs of Gersoppa, Karkal and other places. In the Tamil districts the ancient Chola territorial divisions, together with the deeply-rooted system of autonomous village assemblies, were allowed to continue and no attempt was made to impose arrangements perfected by the Rāyas elsewhere in the Telugu and Kannada areas. The autonomy of villages, however, suffered considerable abridgement in this period as their officials came to be linked up more and more closely with the central government and its representatives. The names of divisions and offices differed with the locality; but everywhere the provincial governor appointed from the centre was more the military commander of a strategic fort than an ordinary civil servant of the crown. The boundaries of provinces, or rājyas, were changed from time to time to suit immediate administrative needs; and some territories, especially in the northern sections of the empire which constantly passed to and fro between Vijayanagar and its Muslim enemies, must have experienced many changes in their rule. These governors and nāyaks were allowed to rule their fiefs by deputy and therefore appointed and maintained their agents in the capital when they were not present in person. A regular system of espionage performed the duties of the modern intelligence service and kept the emperor informed of the doings of his subordinates all over the empire as well as of the designs and movements of neighbouring rulers. Captains of fortresses at the frontiers were generally very trustworthy men who were specially exempted from attendance at the capital.