The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c11.t13.1

c11.t13.1

Census and cadastral survey were thus normal processes in the Hindu machinery of imperial nationalism. Among the agencies by which the civil service contributed to the establishment of *pax sârva-bhaumica* (peace of the world-empire) we must also mention the roads, both strategic and commercial. These were deliberately laid out by the bureaucracy in order to bring the different parts of the empire within easy reach of one another. One such imperial thoroughfare was the grand trunk road all along the Coromandel coast (Eastern) covering about 1200 miles from the banks of the Mahânadî in Orissa to Kottaru near Cape Comorin at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.² It was constructed by Kulot-tûnga (1070—1118) specifically for the extensive campaigns that he undertook in the north and the south. As bulwarks of his vast empire he, moreover, planted agricultural colonies along this road. Really of a military character were these plantations, as the territories were allotted to the army officers who occupied the settlements at the head of the forces at their command.³