Uttaramerur inscriptions

Topic: Democracy: Forms of Government, Principles and Outcomes · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 9 "From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments"; Class 8, Ch 5 "Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System"

Meaning

The Uttaramerur inscriptions are Chola-era stone records on the walls of the Vaikuntha Perumal temple at Uttaramerur, in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu. They were carved in the reign of Parantaka I Chola (c. 919–921 CE), and the main one is dated to his 12th regnal year (919 CE). They set out the rules for choosing the village assembly (sabha) of Uttarameru-chaturvedimangalam [4].

• They work like a written "village constitution". They cover who could stand, who was barred, how members were chosen, how long they served and when they could be removed [2].
• They are the best-known Indian example of rule-based, accountable local government before modern times. They are central to the "India, Mother of Democracy" debate.

Explanation

Setting: whose assembly was it?

• Uttaramerur was a brahmadeya, a village granted to Brahmins.
• A brahmadeya's assembly was called the sabha. An ordinary village's assembly was called the ur.
• So these rules governed a Brahmin village assembly, not every village in the Chola kingdom.

Who could stand, and who could not

Feature	Rule
Constituencies	30 wards (kudumbu). Each ward put forward candidates.
Property	Must own land (about a quarter veli) and live in his own house
Age	About 35 to 70 years
Learning	Knowledge of Vedic texts and skill in business
Character	Honesty and integrity
Term	One year
Removal	Immediate removal for corruption

• Disqualified persons:
• Recent office-holders: anyone who had served on a committee in the past 3 years.
• Anyone who failed to submit accounts, and his relatives too.
• The corrupt or criminal: bribe-takers, thieves and people guilty of grave sins.

How members were chosen: the Kudavolai system

• Kudavolai (kudam = pot, olai = palm leaf) means choosing members by drawing lots. It was not voting.

• The steps, in order: 1. Each eligible person's name is written on a palm-leaf ticket. 2. The tickets of each ward are put into a sealed pot. 3. At a public meeting, a young boy draws one ticket. He was chosen because he was too young to be biased. 4. The person named on the ticket becomes the member for that ward.

• The chosen members were then divided into committees (variyams) for the year's work:

• Samvatsara variyam: the annual committee (general work and justice).
• Thotta variyam: the garden committee.
• Eri variyam: the tank committee (water tanks and irrigation).

Democratic features and their limits

• Features that look modern:
• Term limits: one year only.
• Rotation: no return to office within 3 years.
• Accountability: accounts had to be submitted.
• Rules against nepotism (favouring one's own family): relatives of defaulters were barred.

• Transparency: the draw took place in public.

• Limits:

• Only Brahmin men who owned land and had learning could take part.
• Women and the landless were left out.
• So this was a restricted, participatory system. It was not universal adult franchise (the right of every adult to vote).

In the Constitution and practice

• Article 40 is a Directive Principle (a guideline for the state that courts cannot enforce). It tells the state to organise village panchayats. This is the modern idea that the Uttaramerur sabha is often linked to.
• The 73rd Amendment, 1992 added Part IX to the Constitution and made Panchayati Raj a constitutional body.
• Article 243A gives a role to the Gram Sabha, which is made up of all registered voters of a village. Unlike the Uttaramerur sabha, it does not depend on caste, property or learning.
• Article 326 brought universal adult franchise. This was the real break from all earlier restricted assemblies.
• Use in public life:
• The Prime Minister has called the Uttaramerur inscription evidence of democratic values that are 1,100–1,200 years old [2].
• The Ministry of Culture held the "Bharat: The Mother of Democracy" exhibition at Bharat Mandapam for the G20 Summit, 8–10 September 2023. It was curated by IGNCA, and local self-governance was one of its themes [3].
• ICHR published the book India: The Mother of Democracy [5].
• The Ministry of Culture's tableau "India: Mother of Democracy" won first place at the Republic Day Parade 2024 [6].

Don't confuse with

• Kudavolai vs. voting by ballot: Kudavolai is selection by lot from eligible names in a pot. Nobody cast a vote. Exams often present it wrongly as an early "secret ballot".
• Sabha vs. ur: the sabha was the assembly of a brahmadeya (Brahmin village), as at Uttaramerur. The ur was the assembly of an ordinary village.
• Uttaramerur sabha vs. Vedic sabha: the Vedic sabha was a council of elders that advised the ruler and settled disputes. The Uttaramerur sabha was a Chola-era village body with written election rules from 919 CE [4].
• Uttaramerur sabha vs. Gram Sabha (Article 243A): the Uttaramerur body was limited to landowning, learned Brahmin men. Today's Gram Sabha includes all registered voters of the village.

Prelims Hooks

• Uttaramerur: Vaikuntha Perumal temple, Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu. Ruler: Parantaka I Chola, 12th regnal year (919 CE) [4].
• Key numbers: 30 wards, age 35–70, a 1-year term, and no return to office within 3 years.
• Kudavolai = palm-leaf tickets + sealed pot + a young boy drawing a ticket in public. It is selection by lot, not voting.
• Relatives of a member who failed to submit accounts were also disqualified. This was an early rule against nepotism.
• Committees: Eri variyam = tank, Thotta variyam = garden, Samvatsara variyam = annual committee.
• The "Bharat: The Mother of Democracy" exhibition was held at the G20 Summit (September 2023) and curated by IGNCA [3].

Mains Points

• Is Uttaramerur proof that "India is the Mother of Democracy"?
• For: written qualifications, term limits, rotation, audit of accounts and removal for corruption show an old tradition of accountable, rule-based local government.
• Against: only Brahmin men with land and learning could take part, and women and the landless were left out.

• Balanced conclusion: it is a real civilisational resource. Equal citizenship, however, came only with the Constitution (Article 326).

• Lessons for Panchayati Raj after the 73rd Amendment, 1992:

• Uttaramerur offers several ideas for panchayats today: term limits and rotation, a compulsory audit of accounts, barring defaulters and their relatives, and open, transparent selection.

• These match current reform demands: social audits, a stronger Gram Sabha (Article 243A) and action against "sarpanch-pati" (when the husband of an elected woman rules in her place).

• Accountability over elections: Uttaramerur put more weight on who is fit to hold office, and on removing the dishonest, than on choosing by popular vote. This supports today's debates on disqualifying candidates with criminal records and on ethics in local bodies.

Related concepts

• Vidatha
• Sabha
• Samiti
• Gana-sangha
• Rajadharma
• Kudavolai system

Read more

• India's democratic traditions: assemblies, republics and rajadharma