State and Government in Ancient India c13.132

c13.132

The big republics like those of the Yaudheyas and the Kshudrakas had a number of cities which had full internal autonomy. How were their councils usually elected, we do not know. It is not unlikely that not only the privileged Kshatriya class but also trades, industries and professions were represented on these bodies. This was the practice in the monarchical states,¹ and there is no reason to think why it should not have been followed in the republics. Only future discoveries can show how the city councils were controlled by the central executive, and whether they had any representation in the Central Assembly.