The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c21.99

c21.99

It may be desirable to indicate the broad generalisations which emerge from a study of the administrative data of ancient India. It is clear that in spite of some fundamental similarities and identical details, the administrations of the North and the South develop on independent and different lines. Northern imperialism like that of the Mauryas and Guptas or southern imperialism like that of the Āndhras and Rāṣṭrakūṭas occasionally linked the political fortunes of the north and the south together but the peculiarities of the administrative system in either region were not obliterated. The most striking difference lies in the sphere of local government. The south developed regular organs of local self-government, while the north was generally content with the informal association of elders with officers. Guilds also developed more in the