The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c9.s4.t3.2

c9.s4.t3.2

In the first place, *śreṇîs* were monopolistic organizations anxious to maintain in tact their economic autonomy. We learn from Nârada that the gilds were indeed open to more than one socio-religious group or caste.¹ But generally speaking, their regulations were as exclusive in spirit as the ordinances, say, of the English hatters’ craft in the fourteenth century.² They sought to regulate the number of apprentices and also the hours of labor.³ On festive occasions, in street processions, and at social gatherings each *śreṇî* was represented by its own banners and buntings bearing on them the implements and emblems of the respective crafts.