State and Government in Ancient India c18.s1.117

c18.s1.117

A few words are necessary about the procedure followed at the meetings of the Primary Village Assemblies and their Executive Councils or Panchāyats and their sub-committees. The meeting place of the Primary Assemblies varied according to local conditions ; sometimes it was the hall of the Assembly, sometimes the pavilion of the local temple, sometimes even a tamarind or a banyan tree. All respectable householders were entitled to attend ; in actual practice about 200 or 300 persons generally participated in the meetings. The Primary Assemblies used to meet when the Village Council had to be constituted. In the Agrahāra villages of Tamil country the executive committees were usually constituted by drawing lots; in other places probably names were previously discussed informally by the leading residents, and when it was felt that they were generally acceptable, they were formally proposed in the Primary Assemblies and accepted by them. It is very unlikely that there was any regular voting as in modern times.