Uthiramerur is situated in Kancheepuram district, about 90 km from
Chennai. It has a 1,250-year history. There are three important temples.
The three temples have a large number of inscriptions, notably those from the reigns of Raja Raja Chola (985-1014 A.D.), his son Rajendra Chola, and the Vijayanagar emperor Krishnadeva Raya. The three temples have a large
number of inscriptions, notably those from the reigns of Raja Raja Chola
(985-1014 A.D.), his son Rajendra Chola, and the Vijayanagar emperor
Krishnadeva Raya. During the period of Parantaka Chola [907-955 A.D.] The village administration was honed into a perfect system through elections.
In fact, inscriptions on temple walls in several parts of Tamil Nadu refer
to village assemblies. "But it is at Uthiramerur on the walls of the
village assembly (mandapa) itself that we have the earliest inscriptions
with complete information about how the elected village assembly
functioned," says R. Sivanandam, epigraphist at the Tamil Nadu Department
of Archaeology.
It testifies to the historical fact that nearly 1,100 years ago, a village
had an elaborate and highly refined electoral system and even a written
constitution prescribing the mode if elections. The details of this system
of elective village, democracy are inscribed on the walls of the village
assembly (grama sabha mandapa), a rectangular structure made of granite
slabs "It is an outstanding document in the history of India. It is a the veritable written constitution of the village assembly that functioned
1,000 years ago," says Dr. Nagaswamy famous archeologist. The inscription,
gives astonishing details about the constitution of wards, the
qualification of candidates standing for elections, the disqualification
norms, the mode of election, the constitution of committees with elected
members, the functions of those committees, the power to remove the
wrongdoer, etc…". The villagers even had the right to recall the elected
representatives if they failed in their duty.
What were the salient features? The village was divided into 30 wards, with one representative elected for each. Those who want to contest must be above 35 years of age and below 70. Only those who owned land that attracted tax could contest elections. Such owners should possess a house built on a legally owned site (not on public poromboke). A person serving in any of the committees could not contest again for the next three terms,
each term lasting a year. Elected members who accepted bribes,
misappropriated others' property, committed incest, or acted against the public interest suffered disqualification. The entire village, including infants, had to be present at the village assembly mandapa when elections were held. Only the sick and those who had gone on a pilgrimage were exempt.
4I first came to know about these not from our history books, not from my teachers in school and college but from a book of Paramacharya that contains his teachings. In fact, T.N Sheshan former election commissioner was a bit dejected when he was appointed as Chief Election commissioner.
Met Paramacharya. Paramacharya, who was 97 when a visibly disappointed
Seshan came to meet Him, immediately sensed the cause of his disappointment , and counseled him to treat the transfer as an opportunity granted by God to serve the Indian public. He had suggested that Seshan visit the Uthiramerur
temple and read through the details of electoral regulations prevalent in
India about 1000 years ago, including qualifications of candidates that can contest elections.
In the words of Sree. Seshan, 'The credit for Electoral reforms must go to
Kanchi Mahaswami, but for who this would not have been possible. At 97, He had such clarity and described minute details of the electoral rules embossed on the northern walls of the Uthiramerur temple. And mentioned to me that even implementing a tenth of these reforms, would be a great service to India". The rest is history. In the words of columnist TJS
George, "Seshan showed what one man could do to ensure that democracy did not become a hydra-headed monster. In time Seshan retired. And the monster
was set free."
I doubt how many of the politicians in TN will know this. It was wonderful that our PM had shared this on the national stage so that everyone across the country will know the richness of our culture. The Vishnu temple in Uthiramerur is very unique since the same was built by Viswa Karma and it's the first Ashtanga vimana to be constructed. The vimana in
Ashtalakshmi temple in Besant Nagar, Chennai was designed and built copying this vimana only. Certainly, a place to visit to know and understand our richness.
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