State and Government in Ancient India c4: Preface to the First Edition
State and Government in Ancient India c4
- Language
- English
Preface to the First Edition
c4.1
There are a number of books already in the field, dealing with some of the aspects of Ancient Indian Polity, but a comprehensive work, explaining succinctly the Hindu political ideas, theories and ideals and describing the different features and aspects of the ancient Indian administration in its numerous branches is still a desideratum. The present work attempts to supply this need. It may not be inopportune to draw the reader's attention to some of its special features. It is based not merely on a study of the different Smṛiti books and Arthaśāstra works in Sanskrit, which give us the theoretical picture, but it also utilises fully all the data bearing on the subject available in Vedic and classical literature, Buddhist and Jain works, ancient books on history and accounts of foreign travellers and historians. Rich material supplied by inscriptions has been fully tapped and the discerning critic will not be unwilling to concede that no previous work on the subject attempts to give such a comprehensive synthesis of the divergent data supplied by theoretical and literary works on the one hand and by inscriptions and purely historical records on the other. The material has been arranged chronologically and also province-wise, whenever it was possible to do so. In each chapter, attempt has been made to trace the development of political theories and institutions from age to age, though the material in some cases was not quite sufficient to do so.
c4.2
The opening chapter gives a survey of the Literature on Polity, tries to settle the chronology of the principal works of this branch and seeks to account for the relative paucity of books of real merit in later times. The next two chapters (Chap. II and III) deal with the origin of the State, describe its different types and takes a stock of the ancient Indian speculations about the nature, aims and functions of the State. Wherever possible comparison is made with similar theories advocated in the West in ancient, medieval and modern times. The question as to how far the State of ancient India can be called theocratic has also been discussed at some length. The next chapter, Chap. IV, discusses the relationship between the State and the Citizen. How far the foreigners were differentiated from the citizens, how far the latter formed a homogenous group, how far there existed equality of all before the law, are some of the questions discussed in this chapter.
c4.3
After thus discussing the main political theories in Chaps. II-IV, the book proceeds to describe the structure of the administration in ancient India. Chapter V deals with the Kingship; it describes its evolution from prehistoric times, discusses when and how far it was elective and when, how, why and to what extent divinity began to be associated with it. The different checks upon the king’s powers are enumerated and their adequacy is critically examined.
c4.4
Chapter VI deals with the Republics in Ancient India. When, how and where they came in existence, how far they were democratic in the modern sense of the term, what were the different types of their constitution, what were the relations between the Executive and the Central Assembly, when and why the republics declined and disappeared are some of the topics dealt with in this chapter. It is hoped that the reader will find a good deal of this chapter substantially new.
c4.5
Chapter VII deals with the powers and functions of the Central Assembly or Popular Parliament. It shows how this institution existed in the Vedic times and gradually disappeared in the later period, when the state began to become more and more extensive. It is shown at the end that the Pauras and the Jānapadas mentioned in the literature and inscriptions of the post-Mauryan period do not denote any popular assemblies or parliaments.
c4.6
Chapters VIII and IX deal with the machinery of the Central Executive. Chapter VIII deals with the evolution of the Ministry and the powers it exercised in the administration. Chapter IX describes the working of the Secretariat and of the various departments of the Central Government. Data scattered over a number of *Nīti* works and inscriptions have been corelated in order to give a detailed and synthetic account which will be found to be substantially new and original.
c4.7
Chapters X and XI describe the Provincial, Divisional, District, Town and Village Government. Here also the evidence of the theoretical works is checked and supplimented with that of inscriptions scattered over the different provinces. As far as possible, an attempt is made to give developments in their chronological order; where possible, as in the case of the village councils, provincial variations in their constitution and functions are also indicated.
c4.8
Chapter XII deals with Revenue and Expenditure. Principles of taxation have been discussed and the various aspects of the land tax have been extensively considered. The question of the ownership of land has been critically examined. Taxes on commerce and industry have also been considered. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the items of State expenditure. Epigraphical sources have supplied rich material for this chapter.
c4.9
Chapter XIII deals with the Inter-State Relations both in times of peace and war and also discusses in details the relations between the suzerain and his feudatories.
c4.10
The various chapters of the book isolate the different links of the administrative machinery like the king, the ministry, the secretariat and discuss their origin and trace their development during the different periods. This treatment is no doubt very useful and it enables the reader to trace the origin and development of the different institutions very clearly. It however does not give the picture of the whole administrative machinery from age to age.
c4.11
This is attempted in the concluding chapter, which first gives a survey of the administration from age to age and then gives a general estimate of ancient Indian polity and its achievements. Lessons suggested by this general survey and the critical estimate are also stated at the end, so that they may be useful to us for the present as well.
c4.12
The book is mainly a research work, which documents all important statements it makes and seeks to throw fresh light on several important and obscure points. The subject matter, however, has been presented in a manner calculated to be attractive and intelligible to the general reader as well. It is therefore hoped that the book will appeal both to the general reader and the scholar, as was the case with my books on *Education in Ancient India*, and *Position of Women in Hindu Civilization*.
c4.13
The book is supplied with a detailed bibliography in Appendix I. Appendix II gives a chronological table of authors, kings and dynasties arranged alphabetically with a view to help the general reader. Appendix III gives an exhaustive Index.
c4.14
Banaras Hindu University,