Public Administration in Ancient India c5.44

c5.44

The third important feature of the early Indian society was the village system. The village was in ancient times—as it is still to some extent—the basis of the social structure of the country. A village was an aggregation of families, and was composed of various classes following divers occupations. The bond, which united the villagers together, were some or all of the following: common blood, common property, common production and distribution, common institutions, or merely common interest. The villagers did not necessarily trace their lineage from a common ancestor, and, very often, the connections of the villagers outstripped the limits of the village. The village lands were held in private ownership, but pastures, plains, and forests were enjoyed in common. Transfers of property to outsiders were permitted, but only with the consent, explicit or implied, of the villagers.¹ All fines went to the common fund of the village, and every person was bound to co-operate in all works tending to the common benefit of the villagers and in the getting up of public amusements. The village thus had a sort of corporate life in the times of Manu and Chānakya, but it seems that it was not until a much later date that village communities, such as they existed at the time of the rise of the British power, came into existence.