The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c5.13

c5.13

The most striking resemblance between the North of India and the rest of the country lies in the domain of economic life. Agriculture has been the predominant occupation of the whole country. The methods of agriculture have been practically the same everywhere and for the whole of recorded history. The conservatism which the pursuit of agriculture tends to produce has therefore been a common feature. Owing to the absence of any serious economic change, the framework of social and political life has not altered much. Besides giving the institutions a remarkable fixity, the dominance of agriculture has partly determined their form and character. The vast majority