A History of Agriculture in India v1.c38.s2: The Different Parts of a Village
A History of Agriculture in India v1.c38.s2
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The Different Parts of a Village
v1.c38.s2.1
The lands attached to a village were carefully classified for the purpose of taxation, and every detail was entered into the village register (*pottagam*).
v1.c38.s2.2
All land was carefully surveyed and classified into the tax-bearing and non-taxable lands. The taxable lands were graded according to their natural fertility and the nature of the crops raised. Immunities in favour of the individuals and institutions were common and carefully recorded. The village was assessed as a whole for the land tax, and the work of collection sometimes involved harsh processes. The right of cultivating the lands of defaulters of revenue was sold by the village assemblies to realize the arrears payable to the State. The people made a common cause in resisting arbitrary and unusual imposts. Revenue was payable in cash or in kind.
v1.c38.s2.3
The most remarkable feature of the administration of the time was the self-government of the villagers. The village assemblies were autonomous institutions which functioned with unexampled vigour and efficiency. A highly developed committee system (*variyams*) for the executive of the assemblies came into existence. The *sabha* of Uttaramerur is a good example of a large number of similar attempts throughout South India to evolve arrangements suited to local conditions in the light of experience. Justice was administered by the village courts, caste *panchayats*, and the king's courts (dharmasanas). For the purpose of revenue administration, the village was divided into four parts—cultivated lands yielding a share of the produce; lands paying a fixed money tax; waste or uncultivated lands, which were divided into cultivable waste, and immemorial waste; and poramboke, viz. lands set apart for various communal purposes, e.g. village-site, temple-site and crematorium. The cultivated land was classified into wetlands and drylands.