Administrative System of the Marathas c23.s5.10

c23.s5.10

The antiquity of the Indian village communities has been established beyond doubt. References to their constitution, regulations and bye-laws, have been made by Kautilya, Manu, Vishnu, Brihaspati, Narada, and other Indian law-givers of old. Village affairs have not unfrequently been described in Buddhist Jataka stories. The subject has been very ably and exhaustively treated by Dr. R. C. Majumdar and all that I should do here is to refer my readers to his "Corporate Life in Ancient India," and confine myself to an enquiry about the antiquity of rights and perquisites of village officers as well as their duties.