The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c9.s4.t2.1

c9.s4.t2.1

But not all unions, companies or associations are "corporations". How far, therefore, it may be asked, were these *śreṇîs* (often identified with *gaṇas* and *pûgas*) of the Indian socio-economic system real gilds? To what extent did these *samûha* organizations come to be conceived and recognized by Hindus themselves as "artificial civic bodies", i. e. "aggregate individuals" with "natural corporate existence"? The book of Brihaspati (Ch. XVII) furnishes an answer to these queries. The juridical concept of a corporate person or one-in-the-many as pertaining to *śreṇîs* is quite manifest in the particulars he lays down regarding the constitution and rights and duties of *samûhas*. The older Yâjna-valkya and his mediæval commentators also leave no doubt on the point.