848 CE–1279 CE

Public Administration of the Medieval and Later Cholas

Medieval and later Chola rulers were descendants of the ancient Cholas dynasty of the Sangam age. During the middle of the 9th century CE, they rose to prominence in South India after the long eclipse of four centuries and established one of the greatest maritime empires of the world. The Medieval Cholas also known as Imperial Cholas welded the whole Tamil country into a powerful state and extended its influence along the east coast as far as Kalinga in the north. Through their naval strength, they extended their influence in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, and Maldives, thus claiming for them an imperial status. The rulers of Medieval Cholas were in continuous conflict with Eastern Chalukyas for the control of Vengi. However, both kingdoms merged into a single state under the Later Cholas.^[1] Aditya I (871 CE – 907 CE), Rajaraja I (985 CE – 1014 CE), Rajendra Chola (1014 CE – 1044 CE), and Kulottunga I (1070 CE – 1122 CE) were the greatest kings of the Cholas dynasty. Rajaraja I, in particular, is considered the greatest ruler because he organised a closely knit and efficient civil service, and recognised the importance of the navy and promotion of maritime trade. Religion, architecture, painting, and literature also flourished during his reign.^[2]

The Cholas of the early medieval period built up a highly centralised empire characterised by the superior executive strength of an efficient bureaucracy, supported by a strong army with numerous regiments and a navy with powerful ships. Their centralised bureaucratic machinery similar to the ‘secretariat’ in modern governments looked after the day-to-day administration of the state. The hierarchy of officials as representatives of the central government were posted in different administrative units of the Chola Empire with autonomies granted to village assemblies in this period.^[3]

The village administration of Cholas is widely celebrated as we find evidence of the practice of democracy in their local self-government. Uttaramerur inscription from the reign of Chola king Parantaka I (907-953 AD), recently referred to by honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, when he says “India is the world’s oldest democracy, it is the mother of democracy. There are numerous historical references to this. An important reference is Tamil Nadu. The inscription found there is like a local constitution for the gram sabha. It tells how the assembly should be run, what should be the qualification of members, what should be the process to elect the members, and how a member would be disqualified.” ^[4]

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