South India - Vijayanagar Government

The kingdom of Viajaynagar was ruled by a monarchy, which in theory was supposed to be hereditary. However the environment during the Viajaynagar empire was very turbulent, there was significant opposition to their rule in South India as well as from the Delhi Sultanate in North India. Hence only a strong king could survive who also possessed military and diplomatic skills. Weaker kings were almost always overthrown, as is evident from the fact that the Viajaynagar empire had three different ruling dynasties.

The king ruled as an autocrat and although he was advised by a council of ministers he was not bound to consult them or to accept their recommendations. He had complete authority and even the highest minister remained in power only as long as he commanded the kings favour. There was however an administrative machinery in order to govern the large empire. A central government with a number of departments was put in place and had a well organized secretariat with its own officer. The treasury was divided into two, one through which all the states income and expenditure was routed and the other which was a reserve, to which the kings continuously added and could fall back on in times of need. The major expenditure was in

the upkeep of the palace, the maintenance of the army and the charitable activities. Revenue was still essentially based on land, with different rates charged for fertile and no so fertile pieces of land. This was achieved after a careful survey to asses the quality of the land. The tax varied from 1/6th to sometimes as high as one half. Revenue was also collected from taxes on houses, certain professions, custom duties for goods passing through the empire, income generated from providing port services and fines collected by the judicial process. In theory the income was supposed to be allocated in the following way, with respect to the chief areas of expenditure mentioned earlier. One fourth should go to the palace for its upkeep and to look after the charitable concerns, one half to the army and the remaining half to the reserve treasury. This was mentioned in theory, and the real division varied depending on the economic situation of the empire.

The Viajaynagar empire was a military state and its political organization was based on military needs, Viajaynagar maintained a large standing army consisting of infantry, elephant corps and cavalry. The military was granted certain areas from which they were supposed to collect revenue. They were then expected to use this revenue to maintain the specified size of the army. Military schools were established where students were trained for archery, swordsmanship and other basic skills to prepare them for the army.

Some form of provincial government also existed, usually the earlier system of the region was carried on. However the autonomy the villages had enjoyed under the Cholas was now reduced and they were linked to the centre through a series of officials. Each province had an officer, who was a military officer and was responsible for the security and administration of his province. A system of forts was used as the primary defence mechanism with the forts placed under trusted captains. There was also an espionage system to keep the emperor informed about the developments within and outside his empire. This helped him keep a check on even the distant corners of his empire and gave him advance warnings of threats. The police system was also fairly efficient and was able to maintain law and order. Interestingly if a house was robbed then the police would reimburse the householder for his loss, which is why the police tried their best to maintain law and order! Regular patrolling at night was done in the major towns and cities and in rural or jungle areas troops were stationed to guard the area. The Judicial system was organized into a hierarchy of courts with the emperor's court being the highest. Minor cases would be handled in the village courts itself, where all cases began. The next level was the caste/guild courts and in rare circumstances the case reached the emperor's court. Witnesses could be forced to testify, just like in the Chola period. Punishments were harsh, and in extreme cases the convicts were mutilated or thrown to elephants.

older for his loss, which is why the police tried their best to maintain law and order! Regular patrolling at night was done in the major towns and cities and in rural or jungle areas troops were stationed to guard the area. The Judicial system was organized into a hierarchy of courts with the emperor's court being the highest. Minor cases would be handled in the village courts itself, where all cases began. The next level was the caste/guild courts and in rare circumstances the case reached the emperor's court. Witnesses could be forced to testify, just like in the Chola period. Punishments were harsh, and in extreme cases the convicts were mutilated or thrown to elephants.