MPPSC 2021 Prelims Paper-I · Question 98 of 100

Correct — B, Chola. The Cholas developed the most elaborate system of local self-government in early medieval South India: villages ran their own affairs through assemblies — the ur (general village assembly) and sabha/mahasabha (assembly of a Brahmadeya/agrahara village) — which managed irrigation tanks, temple endowments, and local justice through specialised committees (variyams). The Uttaramerur inscriptions, from Parantaka I's reign, record a detailed procedure for electing these committee members.

• (a)Cher — The Chera administrative system is comparatively less documented for this kind of detailed, inscribed village self-government.
• (c)Pandyas — A contemporaneous Tamil dynasty with its own local assemblies, but the celebrated, richly-inscribed model of village autonomy belongs to the Cholas, not the Pandyas.
• (d)Pallavas — The Pallavas preceded the Cholas in the Tamil region and pioneered early Brahmadeya land grants, but the fully-developed village self-governance system is remembered as a Chola-era hallmark.

Chola village administration operated at multiple levels — ur (assembly of an ordinary village), sabha (assembly of a Brahmadeya/agrahara village), and nagaram (assembly of merchants in a trade town) — each running local affairs (irrigation, temple management, taxation, justice) through elected committees called variyams.

This is grouped under 'ancient/medieval local self-government' in exams, usually invoking the Uttaramerur inscriptions and the kudavolai (pot-ticket) system of selecting committee members. The trap is picking any South Indian dynasty (Pandya, Pallava, Chera) rather than the one specifically credited with this administrative hallmark.

• Village assemblies: ur (general) and sabha/mahasabha (Brahmadeya village)
• Uttaramerur inscriptions, from the reign of Parantaka I, detail committee-election procedures
• Specialised committees (variyams) managed irrigation tanks, gardens, and justice
• Considered the most developed model of local self-government in early medieval India

• Picking Pallava or Pandya because they too are South Indian dynasties with some local assemblies
• Assuming 'village autonomy' is a Mauryan or Gupta-era feature — it is a Chola hallmark

Usually direct ('which dynasty's administration is known for village autonomy/local self-government'), or via the Uttaramerur inscription/kudavolai system as a fact-check.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Uttaramerur inscriptions, describing a detailed procedure for electing village committee members, belong to which dynasty?

  • (a)Chola
  • (b)Pallava
  • (c)Pandya
  • (d)Chalukya

  Answer(a) Chola — recorded during the reign of Parantaka I.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In Chola village administration, the assembly of a Brahmadeya (land-grant) village was called:

  • (a)Ur
  • (b)Sabha
  • (c)Nagaram
  • (d)Variyam

  Answer(b) Sabha — the ur was the general village assembly, and nagaram the assembly of a merchant town.