write a note on the agrarian expression in Tamilnadu by the Chola
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This study by S. Raghavan of agrarian relations in a fertile region of South India about 1000 years ago assumes contemporary importance in the context of ongoing controversies over the acquisition of agricultural land for industry and other private businesses today. It is being serialised in two parts.
Part I
When taking up any aspect of ancient Tamil history, most historians tend to look at the “pre-Aryan” or “Dravidian” influences and the “Aryan” influences as two separate and parallel trends, often contradicting and nullifying each other. However, in the light of several recent archaeological discoveries of Harappan remnants in Tamil Nadu and the growing evidence that the Aryans are not exogenous to India including South India, an attempt is made to look at all the developments during the Chola regime without colouring them as Aryan and Dravidian.
The Cholas re-emerged as a major power in south India around the 9th century AD. Over a period of two centuries they consolidated a system of rule that was extensive in its range of functions(1). The Chola state is believed to have had an elaborate administrative structure, which dealt with a large number of autonomous lower level political units such as the mandala (province), valanadu (district) and nadu (group of villages). There are plenty of recorded inscriptions to prove that both at the level of nadu and at the individual village level, local and group assemblies were considerably active in the social and political life of the kingdom, especially in matters such as rural administration and justice.
There are differing opinions about characterising the overall nature of the Chola state. Some historians such as Nilakanta Sastri describe the Chola Empire as having a “Byzantine royalty” and liken South Indian villages to the Roman cities of Gaul(2). Others such as Burton Stein argue that the Chola state was a ‘segmentary’ state with its central, intermediate and peripheral zones, with further segmented internal divisions. According to this view, effective territorial sovereignty of the Cholas was confined to the fertile, prosperous core of the Cauvery Delta(3).
The tradition of a strong local government and of active participation of the predominantly rural population in social and political matters was not a development of the Chola period alone. The merit of the Cholas was to strengthen these features and record them properly. Much earlier, in the period when the Pallavas reigned supreme from the end of the sixth century AD, the basis for an agrarian economy had been laid. Large tracts of land were cleared and cultivation extended. Large-scale tank irrigation works were built. A land revenue system was developed. The income from land served to meet the expenses of the expanding state apparatus, the army and navy. The Pallava period saw the emergence of relatively autonomous organs of government at the level of villages.
The autonomous village level organs of power were of three types: the ur, was an assembly of all landholders in the village; the sabha was believed to be an exclusively Brahmin, or learned men’s assembly; and the nagaram consisted of local traders and merchants. Besides these, there are records of assemblies which cut across villages and were based on occupations, such as guilds of merchants, craftsmen and artisans. While there are numerous records of sabhas, since the Brahmin villages were centres of learning, it appears that all these organs were guided by the same rules and principles of governance, and the ur and sabhas carried out such functions as land control, irrigation, administration of justice and maintenance of records.
Part I
When taking up any aspect of ancient Tamil history, most historians tend to look at the “pre-Aryan” or “Dravidian” influences and the “Aryan” influences as two separate and parallel trends, often contradicting and nullifying each other. However, in the light of several recent archaeological discoveries of Harappan remnants in Tamil Nadu and the growing evidence that the Aryans are not exogenous to India including South India, an attempt is made to look at all the developments during the Chola regime without colouring them as Aryan and Dravidian.
The Cholas re-emerged as a major power in south India around the 9th century AD. Over a period of two centuries they consolidated a system of rule that was extensive in its range of functions(1). The Chola state is believed to have had an elaborate administrative structure, which dealt with a large number of autonomous lower level political units such as the mandala (province), valanadu (district) and nadu (group of villages). There are plenty of recorded inscriptions to prove that both at the level of nadu and at the individual village level, local and group assemblies were considerably active in the social and political life of the kingdom, especially in matters such as rural administration and justice.
There are differing opinions about characterising the overall nature of the Chola state. Some historians such as Nilakanta Sastri describe the Chola Empire as having a “Byzantine royalty” and liken South Indian villages to the Roman cities of Gaul(2). Others such as Burton Stein argue that the Chola state was a ‘segmentary’ state with its central, intermediate and peripheral zones, with further segmented internal divisions. According to this view, effective territorial sovereignty of the Cholas was confined to the fertile, prosperous core of the Cauvery Delta(3).
The tradition of a strong local government and of active participation of the predominantly rural population in social and political matters was not a development of the Chola period alone. The merit of the Cholas was to strengthen these features and record them properly. Much earlier, in the period when the Pallavas reigned supreme from the end of the sixth century AD, the basis for an agrarian economy had been laid. Large tracts of land were cleared and cultivation extended. Large-scale tank irrigation works were built. A land revenue system was developed. The income from land served to meet the expenses of the expanding state apparatus, the army and navy. The Pallava period saw the emergence of relatively autonomous organs of government at the level of villages.
The autonomous village level organs of power were of three types: the ur, was an assembly of all landholders in the village; the sabha was believed to be an exclusively Brahmin, or learned men’s assembly; and the nagaram consisted of local traders and merchants. Besides these, there are records of assemblies which cut across villages and were based on occupations, such as guilds of merchants, craftsmen and artisans. While there are numerous records of sabhas, since the Brahmin villages were centres of learning, it appears that all these organs were guided by the same rules and principles of governance, and the ur and sabhas carried out such functions as land control, irrigation, administration of justice and maintenance of records.
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