A History of Agriculture in India v1.c38.s2.3

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.