It has been almost a year since unprecedented violence took place in West Bengal after the Assembly election results were announced. Why Bengal has been suffering violence (both West Bengal and Bangladesh)? What was the original demographic composition of Bengal and how it has changed; and how this has affected the socio-political milieu in this region? This multi-part series would attempt to trace the origin of socio-political trends in the larger Bengal region (state of West Bengal and Bangladesh) over the last several decades. These trends are related to the evolution of Bengal over the last 4000 years. It’s a long journey and unfortunately most part of it has been forgotten.
In the first two articles in this multi-part series, we have discussed the prosperous and glorious cultural heritage of Bengal from ancient times till third century AD under the Mauryan empire. From third century AD till the Turkish invasion of Bengal in 13th century, Bengal carried forward its prosperous journey under Gupta, Pala and Sena dynasties in addition to some intermittent minor dynasties including Sasanka, the Gauda king, which played an important role in unifying Bengal politically in seventh century AD.
The account of Bengal provided by Chinese traveller Fa-Hien, who came to Bharat at the beginning of fifth century AD, gives a glimpse into how Bengal was a land of abundance. Fa-Hien stayed in Gupta empire for many years. He sailed back to China via the port of Tamralipta (Tamluk), which was a famous trade centre. Before sailing back, he had spent considerable time at several learning centres which were the highlight of Bengal and Bharat at that time. This included Nalanda, one of the greatest seats of learning. Fa-Hien had spent at least two years in Nalanda and took back copies of many ancient scriptures which were in the famous library of Nalanda. He had himself made copies of these scriptures; he also copied several painting images. His accounts, along with several other inscriptions of that time, clearly show that Bengal was a hub of Sanskritic learning and ancient Bharatiya culture was flourishing there.
The tradition of nurturing seats of learning was carried forward by all these Hindu dynasties with equal zeal. A special mention should be made of the Pala dynasty (eighth century AD to 10th century AD) which patronised universities like Nalanda and Vikramasila like its predecessors. Both these universities had acquired international recognition and students from all over the world came to study there.
In this context, the reign of Mahipala I (988-1038 AD) must be mentioned here. Nitish Sengupta writes in Land of Two Rivers (pp 46), “During Mahipala’s reign a new invader appeared on the western horizon of the subcontinent viz Sultan Mahmood of Ghazni, who carried out many raids over north India…. Mahipala restored the Bodhi temple at Bodhgaya and constructed and renovated some temples at Sarnath. This definitely indicates that his influence extended in the west up to Varanasi. He also repaired and restored the Nalanda university. Local traditions have preserved the name of Mahipala with the construction of a large number of tanks and towns in north Bengal, among them the magnificent buildings at Paharpur in Rajshahi district. Also, his name still figures in popular ballads … in Bengal… .”
A Perfect Model of Governance
From Mauryan empire up to the Pala dynasty, the administrative structure of Bengal had a permanent continuity. The institutional set-up was quite strong and more importantly, there was a well-defined local government structure and institutions that were carried forward by all Hindu Kings. The rulers might have changed but the principles of governance remained largely the same. It also shows that Bengal’s administrative structure was quite decentralised and probably much ahead of its times.
According to R.C. Majumdar and Radha Govinda Basak (The History of Bengal, Vol. I, pp 265), “The imperial territory in Bengal under the administration of emperors was organised into a series of well-defined administrative units. The biggest division was called bhukti, which was again sub-divided into Vishayas, Mandalas, Vithis and gramas, occasionally perhaps with other minor sub-divisions … The bhukti, vishaya, and other administrative units such as vithi had each an adhikarna (office) of its own at its respective headquarters.”
The Governor of a bhukti was appointed directly by the emperor. He was called Uparika Maharaja while the officer in-charge of Vishaya was called Vishayapati.
According to various inscriptions found in Bihar and Bengal, there were well-defined guilds and associations of bankers, merchants and artisans and their representatives served in the adhikarna of Vishayapati.
In fact, this brilliant administrative structure of Bengal can trace its roots back to thousands of years reflecting how advance our civilisation was in terms of governance models. Majumdar and Basak observed (pp 267), “The adhikarna of the district as described above, evidently belong to the type mentioned in the old Sanskrit drama, the Mrichakatika. The famous trial scene in the ninth Act of the drama refers to the adhikarna or court sitting in a mandapa or assembly hall. The trial is conducted jointly by the adhikarnika, a sresthin (president of a guild) and kayastha (the chief or senior scribe who was a state official at the rank of secretary). This drama shows that the adhikarnas which included at least two members (of the guilds/associations mentioned above) served as a court of justice for the trial of criminal cases. This only supports what has been stated above that the adhikarna formed a general administrative body in charge of many kinds of administrative work of the district.”
Multiple checks and balances were incorporated in this administrative structure to ensure transparency, nipping corruption in the bud. Modern governance systems can surely learn a lot from this ancient Bharatiya administrative structure. Take, for example, the case of purchase of land. Even in ancient times and till the Hindus ruled in Bengal, common people could purchase land from the government. Whenever someone wanted to buy the land from the government, they had to approach the adhikarna. The latter referred the matter to three record-keepers known as pustapalas. After clearance from them, the price for the land was paid and the land was handed over to the buyer. Several copper plates have been found with inscriptions in this region by archaeologists which turned out to be the sale deeds for such transactions. They were used as documents by the buyer to claim his or her right over the land duly purchased from the government.
During the reign of the Pala dynasty, the administrative system had further advanced. In the contemporary accounts, there is a mention that the emperor’s court not only had a prime minister but also several powerful ministers. One of the inscriptions of that era states that a minister named Darbhapani had kept the emperor Devapala waiting at his door.
By 10th century AD, the central administration of Bengal was run by the Palas according to principles of Kautilya’s Arthashastra. The administration was divided into several departments. Taxation was quite well-defined; there were different classes of officers for collecting revenue from different sources. There was a land survey department. The other departments included: military, accounts and record keeping, judicial, revenue and police. The list of officials mentioned in the inscriptions related to land grants of the Pala kings had officials from 48 different categories, indicating how advanced and well-defined the administrative structure of Bengal was.
This all came crashing down after 13th century with the onslaught of the Turkish invaders in Bengal. As Hindu dynasties were replaced by Islamic invaders, one of the biggest casualties was this great cultural heritage and administrative legacy which had been nurtured since Vedic times and which had made Bengal a truly prosperous land.
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The writer, an author and columnist, has written several books. One of his latest books is ‘The Forgotten History of India’. The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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