State and Government in Ancient India c11.11

c11.11

Distinction between citizens and aliens, which was almost universal in the past and is very prominent in modern times, has not been made by Hindu jurists. This need not surprise us. There was a pervading cultural unity among the different states in the sub-continent of India, and, therefore, a Gauḍa (Bengali) did not appear as an alien to a Lāṭa (Gujarati) or a Kashmirian to a Karnataki. Provincial differences were no doubt developing, but they had not yet become strong enough to induce the independent states in the different parts of the country to impose the restrictions and disabilities of aliens on the inhabitants of adjacent states. Brāhmaṇas from Mahārāshṭra received land grants from the rulers of Gujarat ; poets from Kashmir became court poets in the kingdom of Karnatak ; and soldiers from the Deccan often enlisted in the armies of the rulers of northern India. All this became possible owing to the realisation of the cultural unity of the country, inspite of its division into separate sovereign states.