how did the village of utttarmerur elect its commite members.
Answers
It may be hard to believe that nearly 1,100 years ago, a village had a perfect electoral system and a written Constitution prescribing the mode of elections. But it was inscribed on the walls of the village assembly (grama sabha mandapa) of Uthiramerur - an ancient Chola village once known as Chaturvedimangalam, is located about 85 km from Chennai. The inscription dated around 920 A.D. in the reign of Parantaka Chola, is an outstanding document in the history of India. Even though, there was a King and council of ministers, each village was a self governing unit and this is proved by the discovery of this inscription.
The inscription also gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the qualification of candidates standing for elections, the disqualification norms, the mode of election, the constitution of committees with elected members, the functions of those committees, the power to remove the wrongdoer, etc. But that is not all. On the walls of the mandapa are inscribed a variety of secular transactions of the village, dealing with administrative, judicial, commercial, agricultural, transportation and irrigation regulations, as administered by the then village assembly, giving a vivid picture of the efficient administration of the village society in the bygone ages. The villagers even had the right to recall the elected representatives if they failed in their duty.