Author: Upendra Thakur
Publisher: Abhinav Publications
Year: 0000
Language: English
Pages: 200
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8170171717
Description
The present book portrays a very poignant and sensitive story, on the basis of a wide range of literary and archaeological materials, of some aspects of corruption in ancient India. The story unfolds the gradual evolution and growth of this social monster which is haunting the minds of politicians as well as intelligentsia of the present day.
It attempts to relate systems of thought to states of the collective conscience involved in the currents of egoism, altruism and anomy. But, in addition to its historical and methodological import, Corruption in Ancient India is of abiding significance because of the problem it treats and the sociological approach with which it is handled. Efforts have been made to seek to establish what looks like a collective phenomenon through the social structure and its ramifying functions.
Divided in five chapters, the book introduces the topic together with a comparative study of the age-old evil in the ancient world. Chapter II deals with widespread corruption in all the fields of public life including general administration. The chapter on judiciary offers a glimpse into the working of judicial administration in early days with all its virtues and vices and shows without doubt that all was not well in the State of Denma, and despite its loftiest ideas and noblest pretensions justice was very often vitiated owing to the unscrupulous behaviour and dishonest nature of the judges.
The chapter dealing with trade and commerce reveals the greedy and selfish nature of the wily traders and merchants since time immemorial who, in the words of Kalhana, could take one’s life in a moment, just as a dangerous scorpion would, which is marked in six places. The last chapter portrays the picture that emerges from various allusions relating to the state of general insecurity, and the unreliability of the king’s men to whom corruption seemed natural and reasonable as in modern times.
Contents
PREFACE
Transliteration Table
Abbreviations
Introduction
Public Life
Judiciary
Trade and Commerce
Conclusion
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX