CHOLA KINGDOM ADMINISTRATION Discuss the main features of Chola administration. How did it work at the village level? After the decline of the Gupta Empire, the main kingdoms vying for control over southern India were the Pallavas, Pandayas and the Cholas. The Cholas after years of bitter struggle emerged as the dominant force and set up a southern empire. The Chola dynasty, began in 950, was one of the most popular dynasties of South India which ruled over Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka with Tanjore as its capital. Chola history can be reconstructed in considerable detail because of the vast number of inscriptions issued not only by the royal family but also by temple authorities, village councils and guilds. Chola Polity and administration In the Chola administration, the Emperor was the axle on which the state’s machinery revolved. He governed the state with the advice and help of his council of ministers and other important officers and state dignitaries. The Chola inscriptions prove that the system of administration was highly organised on highly efficient lines. The verbal orders of the Emperor were drafted by the Royal or private Secretary. The system of hereditary succession to the throne was occasionally modified by the ruling king’s choice in the matter, as a younger prince, or a yuvraj could well be preferred over his seniors. The princes were associated with the ruling sovereigns and were actively involved in state affairs. The absolutism of monarchy was supported both by a ministerial council and by an organised administrative staff. The head of each department was in close contact with the king, and often consulted by him. Royal tours contributed to the efficiency of the administration and the officers were paid land assignments, and honoured and encouraged by the bestowal of important titles. Administrative activities, as well as military and trade movements, were facilitated by the construction of trunk roads. Village Assemblies
The village was the primary unit of society and polity in the Chola kingdom. Burton Stein has pointed out that the idea of a village being a self-sufficient unit was a myth. Groups of villages formed larger units called nadus. The village administration gradually grew from comprising a simple group of people to the more elaborate and complicated machinery of committees and officials that have been described in the Chola inscriptions of the 10th and 11th centuries. Public revenue was derived mainly from land and collected in kind, or in cash, or in both, by village assemblies. Land was possessed by individuals and communities. Agricultural prosperity was ensured by the special attention given to the field of irrigation by the government as well as by local authorities. Village assemblies supervised the maintenance of tanks and were also entrusted with the task of reclaiming forests and wastelands. The autonomous village level organs of power were of 3 types: Ur It was an assembly of all landholders in the village. It was evidently a village assembly of a commoner kind, where land was held by all classes of people who were entitled to membership in the local assembly. It consisted of the tax-paying inhabits of an ordinary village. It was open to all the taxpaying adults of the village, but in effect, the older members played a prominent role by forming a small executive body called alunganam, whose numerical strength and the manner of the appointment of its members was not clear. Sabha They were functional only in exclusively Brahmin-inhabited villages. It had more complex machinery, as it functioned largely through committees called Variyams. It possessed proprietary rights over communal land that was either jointly held or was a group or community possession. Privately owned land also came under the jurisdiction of the Sabha. The Sabha was also concerned with the reclamation of forest and wastelands. The collection of land revenue was one of the most important tasks entrusted to Sabha. Each Sabha had a small staff of paid servants, who assisted the committees of the Sabha in their work and maintained the records of the village.
Nagaram It consisted of local traders and merchants. They were found more commonly in cities and towns which were important centres of trade. The assemblies had various tasks at hand: To collect the land revenue To levy additional taxes for specific purposes To settle agrarian disputes over duration of tenure and irrigation rights To maintain records pertaining to donations and taxes To maintain tanks and reclaim forest and wastelands. Revenue The state’s demand of land revenue was fixed at 1/3rd of the production after an elaborate land survey made in the time of Rajaraja I. There were periodical revisions of the irrigation taxes. In order to ensure agricultural prosperity special attention was given to providing people with better irrigation facilities by the state as well as by the local authorities. The Cholas spent huge amounts on building canals, tanks, dams, and wells. Rajendra I dug an artificial lake near his new capital called Gangaikondacholapuram. Army The Chola army had a very strong navy. According to Sastri, the central government concerned itself with matters like: External defence The maintenance of peace and order Ensuring the general prosperity and cultural progress of the empire Most other matters were left to smaller village assemblies, with the central government intervening only in the matters of conflict or exceptionally difficult or trying situations. To conclude, the administration of villages was well organised on popular lines conducive to the progress and prosperity of their inhabitants.
