Local Government in Ancient India c13.76

c13.76

It should be noted that committee members were expected to take an active part in the discussion of questions before the meetings. We have already seen how in an inscription from the Telugu country (see *ante*, p. 184) eloquence at committee assemblies is extolled as a special merit. The rules of debate are indicated in an inscription of the ninth century A. D., discovered in Tinnevelly, which forbids the persistent obstruction of the proceedings of the assembly by members saying ‘nay, nay’, to every proposal brought up before the assembly, and contains the further provision ‘that those who do this, together with their supporters, will pay a fine of five *kāśu* on each item in which they have so behaved’ (no. 423 of 1906).