Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c8.27

c8.27

These were what a modern student would call the constituent functions of the state. But they formed only the fringe of Hindu state-activity. Kautalya has a section on the Removal of Thorns. The expression reminds one of Kant's Hindrance of Hindrances. But Kautalya's whole conception of the duties of the state is much more positive. The state should strive to dispel the misfortunes which afflict the people. It must grapple with floods and famines, rats and locusts, tigers and serpents. It must see that population was evenly distributed; that precautions were taken against fire; that capitalistic selfishness did not raise the price of commodities. More, the state must regulate and try to improve every aspect of social life—marriage, family life, the organisation of guilds, and so on. The state, in fact, was commensurate with society.³