The Hindu : National : Declaration of assets dates back to the Cholas

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Sunday, Jan 16, 2005

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National

Declaration of assets dates back to the Cholas

By T.S. Subramanian

These inscriptions in Tamil of Parantaka Chola I and Parthivendrathipathi Varman found at Pazhaiya Seevaram village in Tamil Nadu provide information on how the local assembly members had to submit a list of their assets every year. — Photo: S. Thanthoni

CHENNAI, JAN. 15. A few weeks from now, candidates contesting the Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand Assembly elections will submit a list of their assets. Newspapers will carry interesting information on the assets they have disclosed — bungalows, cars, jewellery and land — or whether they are modest in their means.

But this disclosure of assets is not just a feature of modern day elections. The newly-discovered Tamil inscriptions of Parantaka Chola and Parthivendrathipathi Varman, dating back to the 10th century A.D., in a village called Pazhaiya Seevaram, show that those elected to the local assembly (called variyam in the inscriptions) had to take the oath of office and disclose their assets every year to the assembly. Besides, the accountant of the local assembly had to give a list of his assets to the assembly.

The local assembly, or variya perumakkal, met in the centre of the village, called sirkooti ambalam, and functioned for a two-year term.

Temple renovation

These Tamil inscriptions were discovered on the base wall (adhistana) of the Sri Vaikunthanatha Perumal temple at Pazhaiya Seevaram in Kancheepuram, on the Chengalpattu-Kancheepuram highway in Tamil Nadu. Pazhaiya Seevaram is a small village on the northern banks of the confluence of the Palar, Vegavathi and Cheyyar rivers.

Of the five inscriptions, three belong to Parantaka Chola-I, and two to Parthivendrathipathi Varman. The latter was, perhaps, an independent ruler of Tondamandalam in the second half of the 10th century after Parantaka Chola-I.

The residents of Palaya Seevaram, led by S.A. Venkatachari and S. Ramaswamy, were renovating the Vaikunthanatha Perumal temple, when they discovered the inscriptions. They informed the Superintending Archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle, about their find.

Self-government

During the early Chola period, Pazhaiya Seevaram was an important centre for Saivism and Vaishnavism. It had two sectors — Sivapuram and Vinnapuram. According to S. Rajavelu, Epigraphist, ASI, the newly-discovered inscriptions refer to the village as Vinnapuram, after Vishnu.

They mention variyams such as samvatchara variyam (yearly management) and eri variyam (management of lake). The assembly accountant had to reveal his assets both when he took charge and left office. Once they completed a term, the assembly members were barred from holding office. All this information is contained in the inscriptions belonging to the fourth regnal year of Parthivendrathipathi Varman.

This system of local self-government in the villages is an important feature of the 10th century Chola administration. Uttiramerur, about 25 km. from in Kancheepuram, is famous for the inscriptions found there about its self-government, the election system based on ballots, qualifications for candidates and the subsequent relaxation of qualifications. The inscriptions at Uttiremerur of Parantaka Chola I (907-955 A.D.) were dated 917 A.D. and 921 A.D.

According to Dr. Rajavelu, the inscriptions belonging to the 15th regnal year of Parantaka Chola-I (922 A.D.) reveal that the assembly waselected through wards (kudumpu) of the village and through the Brahminical assembly (sabha). The members of the variyam received an annual payment of two kalanju of gold for their work as variya perumakkal. They were not to receive any other payments or concessions. They had to perform their variyam work and list their assets every year.The inscriptions at both Uttiramerur and Pazhaiya Seevram showed that there was an excellent system of self-government at the village level in Tamil Nadu in the 10th century A.D., the epigraphist said.

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