RAS question
The Chola system of local self-government is known from the inscriptions at:
Correct answer: (A) Uthiramerur.
The Chola system of local self-government is known from the Uthiramerur stone inscriptions in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu.
Explanation
Uthiramerur is the correct site because its stone inscriptions preserve detailed evidence of local self-government under the Cholas. They describe village councils such as the Sabha and Ur, the qualifications expected of candidates, and the Kudavolai election method, in which council members were selected by drawing ballots bearing names from a pot. The Tamil Nadu Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department states that the state's long tradition of local self-government is evident from the Uthiramerur stone inscriptions in Kancheepuram district. It also records that village councils reached their peak in the 10th and 11th centuries under the Cholas and used the Kuda Olai Murai to elect council members. These councils levied taxes, improved community life, and administered justice within a limited area. Thus, Uthiramerur is identified as the inscriptional site associated with the Chola system of local self-government.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Mahabalipuram is mainly associated with Pallava architecture, whereas the principal inscriptional evidence for Chola village self-government comes from Uthiramerur.
- (C) Kanchipuram was mainly a Pallava capital, but the question asks for the specific inscriptional site that records Chola village self-government: Uthiramerur, not Kanchipuram district as a whole.
- (D) The Thanjavur inscriptions are associated with temple administration, whereas the village-council system of Chola local self-government is known from the Uthiramerur inscriptions.
Concept
This tests inscriptional sources for medieval South Indian administration, especially Chola village institutions. Such questions recur in RAS because understanding local self-government and election procedures requires candidates to connect a dynasty's institutions with their inscriptional evidence and with Indian administrative traditions.