Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India

by Ram Sharan Sharma

The present work discusses different views on the origin and nature of the state in ancient India. It also deals with stages and processes of the state formation and examines the relevance of caste and kin based collectivities to the construction of polity. The Vedic assemblies are studied in some detail, and developments in political organization are presented in relation to their changing social and economic background. The book also shows how religion and rituals were brought in the service of the ruling class.

About the Author:

Ram Sharan Sharma is Emeritus Professor of History in Patna University. He also taught in Toronto and Delhi Universities. He was the first chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research. The Indian History Congress gave him the V.K. Rajwade Award for his lifelong service and contribution to Indian History. His books include Sudras in Ancient India, Ancient India, Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India, Indian Feudalism, Urban Decay in India, Early Medieval Indian Society. Sharma’s publications appear in fifteen languages, Indian and foreign.