Public Administration in Ancient India c23.18

c23.18

It was a popular body consisting of the elders of the village (grāma-vṛddhāḥ). There was no fixed number of members, and the attendance varied according to the nature of the business that was to be transacted. The members were not elected, but chosen by a sort of natural selection. They were usually men who, by their age, character, and attainments acquired the confidence of the villagers, and their opinions were supposed to represent the collective wisdom of the village. These village elders not only decided administrative matters, but formed a court of justice for the decision of small civil suits, such as the boundaries of lands, and for the trial of petty criminal cases like larceny and assault. They also looked after public property, e.g. that of temples, and the interests of infants, and attended to the question of poor-relief.¹ Decisions of the village assembly were, as a rule, unanimous; but when any difference of opinion arose, the matter was decided in accordance with the view of the majority, provided the majority consisted of honest persons.² Disputes about the boundaries of two villages were decided by the elders of the neighbouring villages.