RAS question
The Uttaramerur inscription describes the election procedure of the:
Correct answer: (A) Chola village assembly (Sabha).
The Uttaramerur inscription describes the election procedure of the Chola-period village assembly, or Sabha.
Explanation
The Uttaramerur inscriptions are important because they record village self-government in unusually procedural detail. These 10th-century CE inscriptions from Chingleput district, Tamil Nadu, are linked to the Chola village Sabha. The live PIB source supports the core point: it says Uttaramerur has an inscription, around 1100 to 1200 years old, that functioned like a local constitution for the Gram Sabha. It covers how the assembly was to be run, the qualifications of members, the process of electing members, and even disqualification. That is why the inscription is associated with the election procedure of the Chola village assembly rather than with trade, military organisation, or a religious order.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) A Pandya trade guild would point to commercial organisation, whereas the Uttaramerur inscription belongs to the context of a Gram Sabha and its election procedure.
- (C) The Pallava army is a military institution, but the Uttaramerur inscription concerns the running, qualifications, election, and disqualification of members of a village assembly.
- (D) A Buddhist sangha is a religious monastic body, while the Uttaramerur record concerns local village self-government through the Sabha.
Concept
This tests local self-government under the Cholas, especially how inscriptions preserve administrative procedures. RAS repeatedly asks such items because inscriptions are primary evidence for ancient and medieval Indian polity.