Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c3.3

c3.3

Dr. J. P. Sharma has met this need most ably, as far as the Vedic republics and those of the period of the Buddha are concerned. He has surveyed the relevant sources with a minuteness such as has not been applied to them hitherto, and has brought to bear scholarly and critical judgment on the data which they provide. Moreover, he has made many valuable comparisons with similar political institutions in other parts of the ancient and mediaeval world, and thus he has thrown light on many obscure aspects of the subject. Though in the course of his research he has found it necessary to reject some of the views which have in the past prevailed, and to cast doubt on many passages in his sources which have hitherto been accepted as giving authentic data, he has nevertheless greatly deepened our knowledge of the subject. Among positive contributions, he is particularly to be commended for his detailed analysis of the data on the *sabhā* and *samiti* and on the origin of the republican tribes of eastern India.