RAS question
The Chola village assembly of Brahmins was called:
Correct answer: (A) Sabha.
In the Chola administrative system, the village assembly of Brahmin landholders was called the Sabha.
Explanation
The answer is Sabha because Chola inscriptions distinguish Brahmin settlements and their local assemblies from other village and urban bodies. The NCERT chapter explains that brahmadeya land was land gifted to Brahmanas, and that each such Brahmana settlement was looked after by an assembly of prominent Brahmana landholders. The Sabha, also called Mahasabha, operated in agrahara villages and had committees, or variyams, for particular functions. The term is therefore not a generic label for all Chola local government: it specifically points to the corporate body of Brahmin landholders in Brahmin-grant villages, while Ur and Nagaram refer to different social and economic settings.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Nadu was a larger territorial or administrative unit, not the village assembly of Brahmin landholders.
- (C) Ur referred to the general village assembly of non-Brahmin landholders, so it does not identify the Brahmin assembly in agrahara or brahmadeya settlements.
- (D) Nagaram was associated with merchants and traders, not with the Brahmin landholding assembly described for Chola Brahmin settlements.
Concept
This tests Chola local self-government, especially the distinction between Sabha, Ur and Nagaram. It recurs in RAS because medieval South Indian administration is often tested through precise institutional terms rather than broad narrative history.