UTTARAMERUR INSCRIPTION

UTTARAMERUR INSCRIPTION  I  RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching institute in Lucknow I  Current Affairs

 

Mains Examination: General Studies 1, 2

(Art and Culture, Indian Democratic System)

Context :

  • Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while discussing the democratic history of India, mentioned the Uttaramerur Rock Edict in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
  • This 1,100-year-old inscription from Tamil Nadu, produced during the reign of the Chola king Parantaka I, describes the procedures for village self-government.

Foreword :

  • India is the oldest democracy in the world, the mother of democracy. It has many historical references. An important context is Tamil Nadu. The inscription found there is like a local constitution for the Gram Sabha. It lays down how the assembly should be run, what should be the qualifications of the members, what should be the procedure for electing the members and how a member would be disqualified.
  • While Uttaramerur has several inscriptions spanning the centuries, the most famous being referred to by Modi - is from the reign of Parantaka I (907-953 AD). These provide detailed accounts of village self-governance and have been cited by historians and political leaders alike as evidence of India's history of democratic functioning.

Where is Uttaramerur?

  • Uttaramerur lies in present-day Kanchipuram district, approximately 90 km southeast of Chennai. Today, it is a small town and had a population of roughly 25,000 in the census of 2011. It is known for its historic temples built during Pallava and Chola rule.
  • The famous inscription from Parantaka I’s reign is found on the walls of the Vaikunda Perumal Temple.

What does the inscription say?

  • The inscription gives details of the functioning of the local sabha, i.e. the village assembly. A sabha was an assembly exclusively of brahmans and had specialised committees tasked with different things. The Uttaramerur inscription details how members were selected, the required qualifications, their roles and responsibilities, and even the circumstances in which they could be removed.

Appointing representatives to the sabha :

  • Describing how the sabha shall be constituted, the inscription says, “There will be 30 wards. Everyone living in these 30 wards would assemble and select one representative for the village assembly.” It then goes on to describe what the qualifications for such a representative must be. These include ownership of a certain amount of land, having a house, being between the age of 35 and 70 and “knowing mantras and Brahmanas” (from the Vedic corpus). An exception can be made on land ownership if the person has learnt at least “one Veda and four Bhashyas”. One must also be “well-versed in business” and “virtuous”.
  • The inscription then lists a number of factors which disqualify someone and their family (all the relations are systematically listed) from consideration. These include, “not having submitted accounts” while previously serving in a committee, committing any of the first four of the five ‘great sins’ (killing a brahman, drinking alcohol, theft and adultery), being associated with outcastes, and eating ‘forbidden’ dishes.
  • All those eligible and willing would write their names on palm leaf tickets following which, the representative would be chosen on the basis of an elaborate draw of lots, conducted by priests in the inner hall of the building where the assembly meets.

Detailing responsibilities :

  • The inscription describes a number of important committees within the sabha with their own distinct functions. These include, the garden committee, the tank committee, the annual committee (an executive committee which required prior experience and knowledge to be a part of), the committee for supervision of justice (for supervising appointments and wrong doing), the gold committee (in charge of all the gold in the village temple) and the five-fold committee (its role is unclear in the inscription).
  • These committee assignments would last for 360 days after which the members would have to retire. Anyone in the committee who was implicated in any wrongdoing, such as forgery or having ridden an donkey (i.e. being punished for a crime), was removed instantly. Also, the inscription emphasises upon the keeping of accounts – any discrepancy can also disqualify members of the sabha.

Is this an example of a democracy?

  • While the Uttaramerur inscription gives details of local self-governance, on closer inspection, it is far from a truly democratic system. Not only does it restrict sabha membership to a tiny subsection of land-owning brahmans, it also does not have true elections. Rather, it chooses members from the eligible pool of candidates through a draw of lots.

Summary :

  • Critics believe that this inscription should not be presented as an example for democratic working. The idea of democracy, as it is currently understood, is a fairly recent phenomenon.
  • The United States, often touted as the epitome of a liberal democracy, only granted universal adult suffrage to its population in 1965.
  • The Uttaramerur inscription details a system of local self-government outside the direct authority of the king. Furthermore, for all purposes, this inscription is like a constitution – it describes both the responsibilities of the members of the assembly as well as the limits on the authority of these members. If the rule of law (rather than rule by personal decree) is an essential component of a democracy, then the Uttaramerur inscription describes a system of government.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Mains Exam Question

Has India's local self-government been inspired by the Uttaramerur inscription? Explain.