The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c5.19

c5.19

On the other hand, the dominant sway of agriculture made the village the unit of society and, therefore, of political organisation. A village would, of course, share in the general culture of the land. But in the ordinary routine of life, it would tend to be a world by itself. Everything would tend to intensify its group-consciousness. For fiscal and administrative purposes it would be the starting-point of all arrangements. Higher divisions of local government might be formed by grouping successively larger numbers of villages together.