State and Government in Ancient India c23.s4.29

c23.s4.29

How far the popular voice influenced the administration is a question naturally uppermost in the mind of the modern reader. As far as the administration of the villages and towns was concerned, the popular element was fairly effective. Each village in Karnāṭaka and Mahārāshṭra had a popular council on which every adult householder was represented. There were no formal elections held as in the Tamil country, but the elders of the villages (Grāma-mahājanas or Grāma-mahattaras) used informally to appoint sub-committees to manage local schools, tanks, temples and roads. They would also receive trust properties and administer them according to the conditions laid down by the donors. These sub-committees worked in close co-operation with the village headman and received a fair percentage of the village revenue for financing the various public welfare schemes. Civil suits were also decided by the village council and its decisions were enforced by the government. Towns had similar popular councils discharging similar functions.¹