THE CONCEPT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN KAUTILYA’S ARTHASHASTRA By ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AJIT DEBNATH

 Courtesy: https://www.ijrar.org/papers/IJRAR2001377.pdf

Abstract:

In recent years, a good number of works has been done on the issues of good governance. Good governance is a term has become an agenda of almost all development institutions. Good governance has different connotations to different organizations. But Kautilys‟sArthashastra is an epochal treatise dealing with the art of government, its functionality, the duties and responsibilities of the king and his ministers and above all the concerns of his subjects. The paper aims to explore the various aspects of good governance reflected in Kautilya‟sArthashastra.

Introduction

Good governance refers to a system in which a government not only fulfils all the common aspirations of its citizens but also promotes the well-being of the entire society.In the words of Kautilya, “In the happiness of the subjects lies the happiness of the king and in what is beneficial to the subjects his own benefit. What is dear to

the king is not beneficial to him, but what is dear to the subjects is beneficial to him”.1 It is the primary concerns of the citizens of any society that the government must be good and effective. Kautilya‟sArthashastra is one of

the most comprehensive treatises ever produced on state power, its acquisition, exercise and disruption. 2. Several characters of the Arthashastrahave particularly become relevant to the present context. AmitavAcharya

notes that we are yet to see such grand theorising from Sumerian, Egyptian, Chinese or Indian pasts, stuck as we are with the idea of Kautilya being an Indian Machiavelli, rather than Machiavelli being a Euro-Mediterranean

Kautilya.3Kautilya contended that establishment of good institutions was indispensable for the attainment of prosperity since they generated conditions favourable to the full exploitation of opportunities but good

governance was essential for providing opportunities. He believed that there is an inseparable link between good governance and accumulation of knowledge.In recent years, a considerable amount of intellectual effort has been

devoted to study the nature of relationship between institutions, good governance and economic growth.4In an age of monarch and legitimised inscriptive inequality, Kautilya alone called the king a servant of the State who would harbour “no personal likes”; it would be rather the likes of the servants that would be followed by

him.”5Thus, good governance is simply something that the government can obtain by any means. Good governance hinges ona wide range of governmental actions and the involvement of a large number of citizens and organizations.

Objective of the Study

Kautilya put emphasis on the notion that institutions are a prerequisite to economic growth, goodgovernance; knowledge, ethical conduct and economic growth are interdependent. Hence the basic objective of the study is to highlight the different parameters of good governance with a special focus on the duties of the king and his functionaries toman theadministration and promote rational will and moral power of the people.

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© 2019 IJRAR April 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Review of Literature

L.N. Rangarajan(1992)- The Arthashastra is an extraordinary detailed manual on Statecraft and the Science of Living by one of classical India‟s greatest minds, Kautilya.

S. D.Chamola(2007)- KautilyaArthshastra and the Science of Management: Relevance for the Contemporary Society contains some universal truths which transcend the boundaries of time and space and indentifies solutions to the issues being faced by the economics today and to examine the Kautilian Model in the context of contemporary societies.

Roger Boesche(2002)- The first great political realist: Kautilya and his Arthashastra is a succinct and penetrating analysis of one of the ancient world‟s foremost political realists and draws out the essential realist arguments for modern political analysis.

Pradeep K Gautam(2013)- Relevance of Kautilya‟sArthasastra highlights his concepts to political theory and other fields of enquiry, such as intelligence, internal security, war, foreign policy, sociology, political psychology, law, accounting and management.

VinayVittal(2011)- Kautilya‟sArthashastra: A Timeless Grand Strategy provides an insight into the ancient Indian anthology of political wisdom, theory, and the art of statecraft and a strategic treatise that constitute a collection of timeless concepts

M.V. Krishna Rao(1958)- Studies in Kautilya is an objective and thorough examination of Kautilya‟sArthasastra from the standpoint of his own age and society.

Thomas R. Trautmann(1971)-Kautilya and the Arthasastra-A Statistical Investigation of the Authorship and the Evolution of the Text discusses about statecraft, economic policy and military strategy.

Research Methodology

This conceptual paper adapts the methodology for the exploration, understanding and interpretation of ancient textsand content analysis on various sources of information obtained from Kautilya‟s Arthashastra to examine the criterion in good governance.

Kautilya’s concept of Good Governance

According to Kautilya, good governance has three basic objectives: (a) The king should ensure provision of national security and public infrastructure, such as roads to facilitate and promote commerce The king should formulate efficient policies and their effective implementation, removal of all obstructions to economic growth and encourage capital formation,

(C) The king should ensure a fair, caring and clean administration.

Good governance refers to a political system in which the king exercises his power in utilizing the economic and social resources for the welfare of his subjects.Arthashastra states: “In the happiness of his subject lies his happiness; in their welfare his welfare; whatever pleases himself he shall not consider as good, but whatever

makes his subjects happy, he shall consider good‟‟6The work of government is threefold- that which the king sees with his own eyes, that which he knows of indirectly through reports made to him and that which he infers about work not done by knowing about work that has been done.A King is bound to ensure that the common

good (dharma) is preserved.7Thus, good governance is a framework for sustainable human development.

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© 2019 IJRAR April 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) The main duty of the King

Kautilya believed that the king should be well educated and disciplined in sciences, committed to good governance of his subjects and have the intention to work for the welfare of the people alike.According to Kautilya, King‟s maintenance of dharma in concrete terms “signified nothing but the defence of the social order

based on family, property and caste.8The king should have the ability to persuade and motivate his ministers and to act as a leader for the achievement of collectively agreed upon goals in specific time.

The objective of good governance is that the king should discharge his duties to cater to the interests and needs of his subjects.When the king possesses good qualities then minister and others dependent upon him for their

success and failure follow his behavior, for the king stands at their apex.9The king should shoulder the responsibility of children, old, childless women, diseased persons and above-all infirm who did not have any

natural guardian to protect them. In Arthashastra alone describes the king a servant of the state who would harbour no personal likes and dislikes; it would be rather the likes and dislikes of the servants that would be

followed by him.10

Appointment of Qualified Ministers

The ministers were appointed by the king on the basis of their quality and ability laid down for different posts. Besides, it is the king‟s prerogative to investigate all the qualities of the persons who were recruited for different posts. Hence, the king himself does all the important appointments on the basis of intelligence and power of experience and also being suitable for the posts.Arthashastra, thus, states that competent and qualified ministers along with highly virtuous and administratively qualified king can only provide good governance to the state.

Mehta finds Arthashastra to be more a treatise on administration than on politics and statecraft.11 Thus, in appointing the qualified and adroit ministers Kautilya wanted to establish that there was the sense of good governance at every step of administration. Kautilya proposed an ethical and sovereign state

Kautilya suggested that the king should be endowed with amicable qualities and possessed of all the elements of sovereignty. According to Kautilya, if one follow the principles reflected in Arthashastra, one must not only preserve dharma(spiritual good),artha(material well-being) andkama(aesthetic pleasure), but also destroy unrighteousness, material loss and hatred.Both Machiavelli and Kautilya have espoused the distinction between morality of the ruler and the ruled and both of them have advised the ruler to rise above the ordinary canons of morality.According to Dunning Aristotle, “never flatly proclaimed the independence of political from moral

doctrine” and in his system it was rather “an incident than an essential.”12Kautilya believed that a king should have the obligations to uphold custom and sacred law and to fulfil the requirements of rajadharma. It is the duty

of the king to protect his people justly and maintain the sovereignty of the state.Hobbes thought that the maintenance of an absolute sovereign was the necessary conditions for preserving peace and inculcating moral virtues among men and according to him it was also the only guarantee against the recurrence of the anarchic

situation as that of the state of nature when there would be no morality, no equity and no justice.13

Welfare nature of the state

Kautilya vouched for a welfare state where the prosperity and welfare of the people were given optimal priority. He was not only concerned about the material welfare of the people but also their moral welfare. “ In the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness; in their welfare his welfare, whatever pleases him he shall not

consider as good, but whatever makes his subject happy, he shall consider good.”14Kautilya maintained that a welfare state was the supreme concern of the ruler. He was not only interested in the material welfare of the people but also in their moral welfare.Aathashastra gives to the welfare of the citizens, the first place in all

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© 2019 IJRAR April 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) considerations of policy; the common good of the people and their sustained happiness are considered as main

ends for the service of which Kautilya called out an elaborate administrative system.15 The ideal of his welfare- centric state also had the provisions for the advancement of vulnerable and weaker sections of the society

Adaptation of preventive measure

The basic principles of Kautily‟s good governance were supervision and vigilance. He also considered the carrying out of preventive and punitive measures to punish corrupt officials is indicator good governance. Kautilya laid down strict rules of conduct and control. He opined that a well-considered and just punishment makes the people devoted to righteousness, wealth and enjoyment. It has often been proposed, taking clue from his theory of the Origin of State, that Kautilya considered the legally established coercive power of the king to be

the only alternative to the anarchic situation as it prevailed earlier to the establishment of a political order.16 According to Kautilya, punishment if exercised impartially in proportion to the guilt is bound to protect the

world and the next. The king should be alert that the laws breakers be punished. Dandaniti similar to our modern notion of politics as this is necessary for the security and wellbeing of that too much or too little punishment defeats imposes severe punishment exasperates people is defeated. Hence danda or punishment should

proportion to the gravity of the offence.17

Political stability and sagacity of the king

Kautilya‟sArthashastra holds a unique position among the available texts of this genre and in Hindu literature on polity.Kautilya‟s views on politics were largely based on secular politics. He believes that politics must be considered as an independence science. An Indian scholar observes: “of all the schools of ancient Indian political

thought the most note-worthy is that of Kautilya”.18According to Kautilya, knowledge and intelligence was the most important factors in maintaining the kingdom. The pre-eminence which Kautilya occupies among the

ancient Indian political thinkers is also due to his views on politics and ethics. Based on anvikshaki, i.e., reason and logic and past experience, his analysis of the relationship of politics and ethics may be said to reflect the

most enlightened view-point of one of the most distinguished political thinkers of ancient India.19Artha is an imposing element in this world and politics is also related to it. This idea is amply similar to materialist

philosophy of Marx, according to which foregoes the political power.Kautilya held out the contention that political stability was a prerequisite for the growth in knowledge and knowledge was necessary for economic growth and strengthening national security and morality. His Arthashastra is “ truly an anthology of political wisdom and theory and art of statecraft, scattered in pre-Kautilyan writings, streamlined and re-interpreted by

Kautilya in his attempt to construct a separate and distinct science of statecraft.‟‟20Thus Kautilyadeclared that politics was the supreme art and supreme science. The prosperity and utility of all sciences hinged on the well- being politics.

Kautilya’s view on economic growth

Kautilya opined that wealth and wealth alone is important, so far as charity and desire depend upon wealth for their realisation.If the people are prosperous, even a leaderless state can be governed. Prosperity depends on the

intellect. Intellect depends on education.21 Kautilya‟s view is that good government promoted economic growth which, in turn, strengthened national security, ethical conduct, and helped in financing public infrastructure

through higher tax revenues.Kautilya‟s views on economy highlight the modern day‟s core concepts of economics of demand and supply and its combined effect on determination of price. without taking due consideration of demand and supply, price cannot be determined on an equal footing which in turn maintain equally the welfare of consumers and producers.He strongly believed that a king could win public support only

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© 2019 IJRAR April 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) by raising people‟s standard of living. He devised a comprehensive package of economic policies to stimulate economic growth.

Kautilyanoted,„‟Hence the king shall be ever active in the management of the economy. The root of wealth is economic activity and lack of it brings material distress. In the absence of fruitful economic activity, both current prosperity and future growth are in danger of destruction. A king can achieve the desired objectives and

abundance of riches by undertaking productive economic activity‟‟.22Kautilya envisaged that foreign trade could increase the economic prosperity of the trading countries.Kautilya believed that the aim of economic knowledge was to “create and preserve” artha(material well-being). According to

Alfred Marshall, such a role to economic knowledge gave to economics its modern aim of seeking after such

knowledge as may help to raise quality of human life.23Thus, Kautilya applied his economic philosophy not only for upholding the economic status of the state, but also for managing state activities.

Conclusion

Kautilya reiterated that government could generate good institutions and could stipulate good governance but it could not instil desire among the people to take advantage of the existing opportunities. He considered that good policies were designed to create opportunities and fair institutions were needed to utilize those opportunities. However, elements of good governance are not solely dependent on the function of the government itself, but it equally hinges on the mutual cooperation, understanding and involvement of the majority of the citizens and organisations.

References ;

1. Bandopadya,N.C.,Development of Hindu Polity and Political Theories(MunshiramManoharlal, New Delhi), 1980.

2. Rangarajan, L. N. TherapieArthashastra, trans.; Penguin: New Delhi 1992.

3. Acharya, A. Dialogue and Discovery: In Search of International Relations Theories Beyond the West. Millennium 2011, 39 (3), 619–637.

4. Sihag, B. S. Kautilya on Institutions, Governance, Knowledge, Ethics and Prosperity. Humanomics 2007, 23 (1), 5–28.

5. “Presented in a Symposium on „Stability and Good Governance” Organized at A. N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna on Aug 18, 1998.

6. Arthashastra, Chapter x1x; Bk. 1, p 39.

7. Diwedi, O. P. Common Good and Good Governance: Administrative Theology- Dharma of Public Officials. Indian J. Public Admin. 1990, 36 (3, Jul–Sept.), 261.

8. Sharma, R. S., Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, 11th (Ed); Delhi, 1959, p 62.

9. Aiyangar, K. V. R., Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Polity; Madras University Press: Madras, 1935, pp 53–54.

10. Shamasastry, R.; Kautilya‟s Arthashastra, W. Mission Press, Mysore, 1992, P. 39.

12. Mehta, V. R., Foundations of Indian Political Thought, Manohar, New Delhi, 1992 (reprint 1999), pp 94–95.Dunning, W. A., A History of Political Theories: Ancient and Medieval (New York, 1961), p298.

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© 2019 IJRAR April 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) 13. Book, A.; Vol. 1, p 39, Chapter XIX.

14. Blackstone, W. T., Political Philosophy: An Introduction (New York, 1973), pp 50–53.

15. Sharan, P., Ancient Indian Political Thought and Institution, Meenakshi Prakashan, Meerut, 1978, p 186.

16. Kautilya, S. K. Studies (Delhi 1975), 25.

17. Brown, D.M., Indian Political Thought: From Manu to Gandhi, Jaico Publishing House 1964, 59.

18. Sciatore, B. A., Ancient Indian Political Thought and Institutions (Bombay, 1963), p 60.

19. RangaswamiAiyangar, K. V., Considerations on Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Polity (Madras, 1916), p 35.

20. Ramaswamy, T. N., Essentials of Indian Statecraft (Bombay, 1962), p 1.

21. Kautilya, V. C. [4th Century BCE] 2000b, Maxims of Chanakya, (Subramanian, V. K., Malik, S., trans.); Abhinav Publications: New Delhi.

22. Ballard, C. L.; Fullerton, D. Distortionary Taxes and the Provision of Public Goods. J. Econ. Perspectives. 1992, 6 (3), 117–131.

23. Marshall, A., Principles of Economics, 8th(Ed); Macmillan: London, 1920.

Kautilya Arthashastra and its relevance to Urban Planning Studies - Sameer M. Deshkar

 Courtesy: https://www.itpi.org.in/uploads/journalfiles/jan8_10.pdf

Abstract

The knowledge of the traditional practices is being highlighted for resolving many issues in the present day context related with the survival of human settlements. There exist very few records and testimonies of urban planning practices in India and the ones, which are available, need to be properly understood. This article is an attempt to appraise one such master treaty, the Arthashastra, and bring forth some of its salient features pertaining to urban planning policies in ancient times in India.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Hindu philosophy prescribes four great aims of human life viz. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha which encode the essence of moral well being, material well being, achieving worldly pleasures and attaining salvation. While all these fundamentals are relative and hold relevance at various stages of one’s life, the nitis based on these fundamentals acted as references for design and development of the ancient Indian cities, which were epitome of Hindu culture. A lot has been recorded and written about these fundamentals through various Nitis and Shastras but hardly few are understood really in the modern day context. Secondly, the study of history of Indian city planning is restricted to few marvels and their design features. Very less is available and studied about ancient policies in terms of the town planning norms, social structure, economic status and general regulations for various aspects related with urban life. While there are numerous treatises such as Manusmruti, Shukra Niti, Vaastu Shastra, etc., which dictate the forms of shelters and towns, Kautilya’s Arthashastra is considered to be a comprehensive treaty and addresses those entire essential fundamentals specific to the practices of design and development of human settlements.

The inferences derived at various points in this paper are not very exclusive and the article is an attempt towards developing some understanding regarding the policies for growth of urban locations during the historic times in India.

2. THE ARTHASHASTRA

Of various scriptures from ancient times in India, the Kautilya’s Arthashastra is one such treatise which elaborates the elemental features of a sovereign society. As quoted by many scholars it is a very comprehensive compilation of various other Hindu treatises relating to the social, economic and spiritual growth of human kind. There are around four distinct schools of thought and thirteen individual

Sameer M. Deshkar, is Lecturer in Department of Architecture and Planning, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. He is Associate Member of Institute of Town Planners, India (AITPI). Email: sdeshkar@gmail.com

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teachers referred to the complete compilation of the masterly work by Kautilya. However, these references on various occasions in the Arthashastra are either to derive a new approach or to defy their significance against the newly derived ones.

Written by Kautilya, also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta, around 350 B.C., Arthashastra literally means ‘Scripture of Wealth’. To Chanakya, the source of livelihood of man is wealth and that for a nation the wealth is in the form of both the territory of the state and its inhabitants with variety of occupations. No wonder the scripture also prescribes measures to protect this wealth from various calamities, natural as well as manmade. It places a great emphasis on the welfare of the people and delegates the ethics and morality of urban living. Through number of verses, the Arthashastra also dictate measures for environmental protection and animal welfare.

The treatise is a masterpiece which covers a wide range of topics like statecraft, politics, military warfare, law, accounting systems, taxation, fiscal policies, civil rules, internal and foreign trade, etc. Subjects including medicine, gemology, metallurgy, measures of length, tables of weights and divisions of time etc. are also highlighted along with many others. Often referred to as a guide to Political Sciences and Fundamentals of Management, the treatise also throws light on the evolution of urban studies in ancient India. Although less has been explored in this direction, it provides an insight into assessing and enhancing the capacities of the states in managing the adverse and disastrous situations due to natural or manmade reasons.

3. THE COUNTRY OF KAUTILYA

From the point of understanding the economic policies and a social structure advocated by Kautilya, it is important to know the size of the country he envisaged. During the period, which can be ascribed to Arthashastra, i.e. between 4th century B.C. and 150 A.D., there were empires and kingdoms that were ruled by an oligarchy of chiefs or a King. Obviously, therefore, the protection of one’s territory and the wealth was the key factor in deciding the extent of territorial boundaries and their nature. At the same time for the rulers to have a complete administrative control over the territory was equally important. Therefore, the extent of the territories was governed mainly by the abilities of the rulers to defend it.

But as history tells us, Chanakya was a revolutionary thinker who did not conceive mere kingdoms but instead a complete nation. This makes it critical to exactly visualize the Kautilyan country. Also the hierarchical terms like Janapada, Maha- Janapada, Gana-rajya and Rashtra are often reflected in the Chanakya’s vocabulary on territories. Since these terminologies are referred differently in different contexts, this makes it further difficult to precisely define the extent of the country.

Kautilya envisaged natural features like mountains, valleys, plains, deserts, forests, lakes and rivers as the frontier regions, which provided the oppor-tunities to defend

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(Source: Wikipedia)

Fig.1 The Maha-janapadas in India during 600 B.C.

the country at the times of war or any such circumstances1. Since a smaller region cannot have all these features together, it can be inferred that the geographical extent of the Kautilyan country was of larger size. Secondly, the policies on foreign relations of a state defined on the basis of theory of mandala indicate the existence of at least dozen states situated with close peripheries within the borders of India. Therefore, the state visualized in Arthashastra can be supposed to be as large

as a modern state in present day India. The scale of salaries laid down for various state servants also supports this proposition.

The country thus defined was divided into four provinces with a town as the headquarters of each province. The main city was fortified and located in the central part of the country (Fig. 2) with perennial source of water. The countryside was marked with villages located amidst pasture lands and lands for agriculture. Water from rivers and lakes was impounded for agriculture with the help of dams and embanked. Forests for recreation and for economic benefits were grown adjoining to the countryside. The frontier regions in the Kautilyan country were marked with elephant forests and untamed jungles. The jungles were inhabited by the tribes who possessed the knowledge of Regional Geography and its use in warfare. These tribes were given certain special rights and were not completely under the control of the king. Since Kautilya also prescribed some impingent regulations for environmental and animal welfare, the tribes could have also been given the rights over the natural resources in areas they inhabited. The frontiers were protected by the forts built especially on the trade routes to other countries.

1 Such considerations were also evident during ages that followed and were used in the strategic planning of Fort Cities in India by various rulers.

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4. ON URBANISATION AND URBAN MANAGEMENT

Fig. 2 Hypothetical Sketch of the State as Conceived by Kautilya

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From the perspective of
understanding the principles
of design, development and
management of settlements,
Kautilya prescribed that it is
important to know the kind of
urbanization he conceptu-
alized. He mentions a well
defined hierarchy of the
urban centers and the
administrative divisions. These
divisions were based mainly on
the size of population and
were influenced by the
resources available in the
region and opportunities for
economic development. The
smallest division was a village
consisting of each not less than
a hundred families and not
more than five hundred
families of agricultural people
with boundaries extending as
far as a krósa (2,250 yards).
Apparently Kautilya also
envisioned certain quality of
life for the inhabitants by
specifying population density
and kind of physical
developments in various parts
of the town. Further, in his
policies on urbanization,
Kautilya encourages migration
to the countryside in order to
prevent overcrowding into
the cities. This ensured a
control over population as well as building densities and thus also reduced the hazard risks in city centers. The policy might also have been implied on widely spreading out the population across the nation, not just concentration in particular cities or national capitals thus supporting integrated and comprehensive growth of the regions. However, such outward regions were essentially with well developed agrarian economy.

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Fig.3 Administrative Divisions Based on the Size of Population

Kautilya encouraged and invited people from other places to come and settle down in the countryside. He also advocated the formation of thickly populated places either on new sites or on old ruins thus building up a human capital and advancing economic generation through trade. He suggested taking measures to induce foreigners to immigrate to the kingdom for developing human resources and knowledge sharing.

However, the arrangement of various settlements within a region was essentially based on the resource profile of that region and their strategic positions for defense. The order of the settlements was also guided by the criticality of their position with respect to the defense policy of the ruler. From the perspective of managing the divisions, Kautilya adopted clustered approach with each cluster

comprising of certain number of villages. A cluster of around eight hundred villages was to be centered by a stháníya a (a fortress of that name), four hundred villages by a drónamukha, two hundred villages by a khárvátika and sangrahana in the midst of a collection of ten villages. These centers acted as town halls or probably like the hierarchical local governing authorities supporting the administrative functioning of the state. Kautilya further states the structure and duties of various cadres in the said centers and details out the likely punishments for not following the duties.

4.1 On Land Use and Built Form

In building up the state, Kautilya regarded land with rich environmental resources such as forests, soils for agriculture, minerals, etc; as very valuable commodities. Depending upon the productivity of the soil, he demarcated suitable uses for such lands. For example the pasture grounds were to be provided only on the uncultivable tracts. There is also an elaborate description of the classification of land based on the rainfall it receives. Kautilya further suggests the crop patterns to be raised on each of such categorized lands. However, to realize the maximum value out of land, Kautilya notes the importance of human exertion more than the actual quality of land. ‘The value of land is what man makes out of it.’

The chapter on land use further details out the type of plantations to be raised corresponding to a specific category of land use. Land suitable for sóma plantation and with forest having delicious fruit trees, bushes, bowers, and thorn less trees, safe from the dangers from animate or inanimate objects was to be denoted for

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Fig 4: Classification of Landuses

Landuses

Crown Land

Productive

Arable

Private Land Forests

Pastures

Non-Productive
Reserved for Ascetics

For Produce Elephant Forests

Reservoirs

Mines

Other

For Recreation

Wild Life Sanctuaries

Crown Property

Private Property

Leased to Private Operators

Crown Operated

Land Suitable for Settlement

Waste Land

Source: Kautilya The Arthashastra by L.N.Rangarajan

institutions for religious learning and for the performance of penance by the Brahmanas. The recreational spaces with huge water bodies having harmless animals and surrounded by plantations were to be developed separately for the royal family and for common public but on the periphery of the settlement.

However, any building (sáláh) intended for sports and play was not permitted in the village. Areas for performances by various entertainers like drummers, dancers,

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buffoons and bards were also not encouraged and their performances in village were restricted as they might distract and disturb the people working in the village.

Boundaries of settlements were to be denoted either by a river, a mountain, forests, bulbous plants (grishti), caves, artificial buildings (sétubandha), or by trees such as sálmali (silk cotton tree), samí (Acacia Suma), and kshíravriksha (milky trees). The units for manufacturing goods based on forest products were set up in the proximity of forests usually on the outskirts of the settlement. But the forests with elephants were to be protected and were to be separated from wild tracts as well as the timber forests, specifically designated for exploiting timber resources and for procuring all kinds of forest-produce.

While anticipating the social as well as safety concerns arising from rise in population, Kautilya prescribed a set of regulations for settlement layout and building byelaws. Adhering to some extent to the ancient treatises and traditional knowledge systems, he promoted the principles of Vastushastra pertaining to the form and layout of settlements. Although Kautilya mocks the belief in planetary positions as means of leading a prosperous life and gaining wealth, he recommends the traditional settlement layout based on Vastushastra to exploit social beliefs and gullible people. Of all descriptions on building construction methods, the one on defense structures is well elaborated. Buildings of residential use were specified to be built of wood. Since the region Magadha was prone to earthquakes, wood must have been specified mainly to minimize the risk of casualties during earthquake.

The fort had three roads running East-West and three running North-South with twelve gates provided with both land and water-way kept secret for approach and exit. The width of various roads varied depending upon the land use they connected and the characteristics of the users.

5. ON CALAMITIES

According to Kautilya, a variety of calamities can afflict the population of a state as most people lived in the countryside outside the fortified town. Town or the fort was usually well planned compared to the outer settlements. The sufferings of the people could be due to acts of god or men. Acts of god are mentioned in the text in a number of chapters (4.3, 8.4, 9.7) out of which 4.3 (fire) has most extensive treatment.

Calamities by men are numerous and include depredations of armies, internal strife, and decadence, harassment by queen, mistresses, princes, important ministers, rebellious guilds or chiefs, dangers from forests especially from one with elephants.

Calamities due to acts of god are fire, floods, diseases and epidemics and feminine. Other calamities could include ‘divine origins’ like rats, wild animals, snakes and evil spirits. In the following sections the corresponding deities (most of which are natural forms) are mentioned for worshiping in the advent of these calamities. This

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refers to the philosophy rooted in Hindu religion on environmental conservation and the ‘five elements’ or Pancha Mahabhootas.

Deliberating on the relative seriousness of the calamities, scholars opine that fire is more dangerous as destruction by fire is irremediable and that one can escape floods by wooden planks or swimming and damages can be reduced. But Chanakya considers floods more serious than fire as floods may destroy hundreds of villages whereas fire destroys only one village or a part of it. He further mentions that during the rainy seasons the villagers living near the river banks shall move to higher grounds and shall keep a collection of wooden planks, bamboo and boats. Making a note on the civic responsibility he points out that persons carried away by floods shall be rescued using gourds, skin bags, tree trunks, canoes, boats and thick ropes. Owners of canoes shall be punished if they do not try to save someone in danger.

Responsibilities of the municipal administration and the citizens for preventing the fire outbreaks in more crowded cities are given in detail and the verses even mention subsequent punishments in cases of failing to follow the respective responsibilities. A sense of prevention and early warning system is enforced through these responsibilities applicable to all. It also stresses the importance of structurally sound houses and states that no one shall cause injury to others by the collapse of a rickety dwelling or an unsupported pillar or beam. With a view to warding off the evil consequences of rain, the top of the roof shall be covered with a broad mat, not to be blown by the wind. Neither shall the roof be such as it easily bends or breaks. Violation of this rule shall be punished.

Kautilya suggests that no land prone to famine conditions be taken over for any development. However, the king may encourage any person trying to improve the conditions through various means such as developing forests or by not imposing any tax over such measures. During famine, the king shall show favor to his people by providing them with seeds and provision (bíjabhaktopagráham). He may either do such works as are usually resorted to in calamities. He may show favors by distributing either his own collection of provisions or the hoarded income of the rich among the people or by seeking help from his friends among kings. Or the king with his subjects may emigrate to another kingdom with abundant harvest or seashores or to the banks of rivers or lakes. He may cause his subjects to grow grains, vegetables, roots, and fruits wherever water is available. He may, by hunting and fishing on a large scale, provide the people with wild beasts, birds, elephants, tigers or fish.

While describing the sector plans for the town he mentions that those who work by fire (blacksmiths) shall all together live in a single locality. Further Chanakya proposes that vessels filled with water shall be kept in thousands in a row without confusion not only in big streets and at places where four roads meet but also in front of the royal buildings for ensuring the quick response to the situation of any fire in the

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town. However, a strict regulation was imposed for prohibiting the movement of people during the interval between six nálikas (2 2/5 hours) after the fall of night and six nálikas before the dawn. But movement to extinguish the outbreak of fire shall not be interrupted or arrested.

Talking of the responsibilities of the townsmen in the prevention of fire, Chanakya says that in the summer citizens shall take appropriate precautions against fire. They shall not light fires during the two middle quarters of the day. If the food has to be cooked during this period, it shall be done outside the house. Chanakya’s emergency equipments included five water pots, a big jar, a through ladder, an axe for chopping down pillars and beams, a winnowing basket for fanning away the fire, a hook to pull away burning parts, hooked rake for pulling away thatch and a skin bag. He advocates this as a regulation for every householder failing which there are fines and punishments in the form of panas or currency. At the same time he gives importance to the peoples’ capacity as ‘first respondents’ when he mentions that if a house catches fire, every occupant, owner or tenant, shall take immediate steps to put it out. To avoid the casualties and for ease of evacuation, Chanakya advices householders to stay near the front doors of their houses during night and do not collect together. To minimize the risk by fire he suggests that the citizens should have a common fireplace. While describing the building regulations he even mentions that the places for fire shall be at least 1 aratni or 1 pada (about a foot and half) from the nearing wall should have a water jar. Moreover, fines for not hastening to protect a house from fire as well as letting house catch fire through negligence are imposed. Chanakya takes a hard stand in the case of Arson (deliberately setting fire) and mentions a subsequent punishment of death by fire.

6. CONCLUSIONS

How much do we alter the policies for growth of the human settlements, the basic principles are bound to remain constant so long as they address a wholesome development of the human kind. What do we learn from the past surely depends on how we look at it. Kautilya Arthashastra, also commonly known as the Kuta-niti, has been referred mainly for its significance in the political history of India. Hence there is a common misconception that it deals only with the tricks and tactics pertaining to the state politics. Secondly, with the changing face of politics in the modern times it is seen as a great document only for all those in the field of public vote capturing. The few principles discussed above may seem very general but the way they are proposed to be implemented follows the principles for making a cohesive society.

REFERENCES

Rangarajan, L.N. (1992) Kautilya, the Arthashastra, Penguin Classics, New Delhi. Kangle, R.P. (1965) The Kautilya Arthashastra, Part III, M.B. Publishers, Delhi. Nehru, J.L. (2004) The Discovery of India, Penguin Classics, New Delhi.

KAUTILYA’S ARTHA-SASTRA, AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, COMMODITY TRADE etc. – FEATURES OF VILLAGE

 Courtesy: http://eagri.org/eagri50/AGRO102/lec05.pdf

Kautilya (also known as Vishnugupta or Chanakya) (321-296 BC) was a great scholar of time. He wrote a treatise titled, Artha-sastra, which deals with the management of resources. During Kautilya’s time agriculture, cattle breeding and trade were grouped into a science called varta. Kautilya gave great importance to agriculture and suggested a separate post of head of agriculture and named it as Sitadhakashya. Agriculture today receives prime importance, by policy and administrative support from government officials. eg. i) Supply of good seeds and other inputs ii) Provision of irrigation water iii) prediction of rainfall by IMD iv) Assistance in purchase of machineries v) Marketing and safe storage. All the important aspects are mentioned by kautilya in his book. He suggested many important aspects in agriculture which are highly relevant today.

1. The superintendent of agriculture should be a person who is knowledgeable in agriculture and horticulture. There was a provision to appoint a person who was not an expert but he was assisted by other knowledgeable person. This is applicable even today, appointment of the directors of agriculture, horticulture are sometimes civil servants assisted by technical persons.

2. Anticipation of labours by land owners before sowing. Slaves and prisoners were organised to sow the seeds in time. He also emphasized that thorough ploughing provides good soil texture required for a particular crop. Even today farmers in Punjab hire labours from Bihar at times of heavy demand period.

3. Timely sowing is very important for high yield particularly for rainfed sowing for which, all the implements and accessories have to be kept ready. Any delay in these arrangements received punitive action.

4. Kautilya suggested that for getting good yield of rainfed crop, a rainfall of 16 dronas (one drona=40 mm to 50 mm) was essential and 4 dronas rainfall is sufficient for rice. It is very significant to note that rain gauge was used during Kautilya’s period. It was apparently a circular vessel (20 fingers width, 8 fingers width depth) and the unit to measure rain was adhaka (1 adhaka=12 mm approx.)

5. He also stressed the optimum distribution of rainfall during crop growing season one third of the required quantity of rainfall falls both in the commencement and closing months of rainy season (July/Aug; October/Dec) and 2/3 of rainfall in the middle (August/ Sept.; October) is considered as very even. This concept is applicable even today i.e. even distribution is essential for rainfed crop.

6. The crops should be sown according to the change in the season. eg. Sali (transplant rice), Virlu (direct sown rice), till (Sesame), millets should be sown at the commencement of rain. Pulses to be sown in the middle of season. Safflower, linseed mustard, barley, wheat to be sown later. It is clear that even today our scientific results prove that cereals, millets were sown early and oilseeds, wheat, barley require less water which could be sown at last or as post rainy season.

7. He also stressed that rice crop require less labour expense vegetables are intermediate, and sugarcane is worst as it requires more attention and expenditure. It is true even today after 2000 years the situation has never changed that sugarcane requires heavy labour and expenditure.

8. The crops like cucurbits are well suited to banks of rivers, Long-peper, sugarcane and grapes do well where the soil profile is well charged with water. Vegetable require frequent irrigation, borders of field suited for cultivation of medicinal plants. Even today the practice of growing cucurbit (Watermelon, pumpkin) on river banks continue from river Ganges north to Pamba river in south. This is an outstanding example of sustained practice, which ensures utilization of moisture available in river bank.

9. Some of the biocontrol practices suggested by Kautilya has got relevance even today. They are:

a) Practice of exposing seeds to mist and heat for seven nights. These practices are followed even now in wheat to prevent smut diseases. Soaking of seed in water to activate fungal mycelia and drying the seed under hot sun to kill the fungal.

b) Cut ends of sugarcane are plastered with the mixture of honey, ghee and cowdung. Recently evidences proved that honey has widely an antimicrobial property. Ghee could seal off the cut ends prevent loss of moisture and cowdung facilitated biocontrol of potential pathogens.

10. He also suggested that harvesting should be done at proper time and nothing should be left in the field not even chaff. The harvested produce should be properly processed and safely stored. The above ground crop residues were also removed from fields and fed to cattle.

Trade and Marketing (Economic policies)

All the industries were categorized into two groups according to their ownership. One group of key industry was covered by state and another group by private.It is interesting to note that this policy resembles today’s model mixed economy. The production, distribution and consumption of agricultural produces were well controlled by the king. Agriculture was placed in the category of privately owned industries. The state Government should control and regulate all the economic aspects and evade the influence of market forces and private interests.

These practices suggested by Kautilya were followed by Indian farmers for over centuries which are more sustainable and relevance to scientific agriculture.

Corruption in Administration: Evaluating the Kautilyan Antecedents -Tarun Kumar

 Courtesy: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/153890/IB_CorruptioninAdministrationEvaluatingtheKautilyanAntecedents_TarunKumar_121012.pdf

The Arthashastra of Kautilya thus shows that the ancient system of governance and administration was quite contemporary in operational guidelines when dealing with corruption. It also quite convincingly demonstrates that corruption is not an exclusive feature of modern times alone. The fact that the menace has survived and thrived through the ages speaks volumes about its endurance. Governments of all historical eras have recognised its illegality and devised legal instruments to tackle the problem, but they have not been able to overcome its spread as well as acceptability in society. If corruption has persisted through centuries, what is it that has stopped administrative systems from eradicating it?

Corruption is not a recent phenomenon. It has precisely been defined as a deviant human behaviour, associated with the motivation of private gain at public expense1 and, as such, has persisted for centuries. Corruption promotes illegality, unethicalism, subjectivity, inequity, injustice, waste, inefficiency and inconsistency in administrative conduct and behaviour.2 It destroys the moral fabric of society and erodes the faith of the common man ienthelegitimacyofthepolitico-administrativesetup.

There are several references to the prevalence of official corruption in ancient India.3 But the text that provides an elaborate description of the menace is the Arthashastra of Kautilya. This sophisticated and detailed treatise on statecraft is essentially prescriptive or normative in nature, belonging to a genre of literature that suggests what the state ought to be and not what it really was. Nevertheless, one should realise that norms are prescribed only when digressions or abnormalities exist. This confirms the fact that corruption was rampant enough in ancient India to necessitate expert advice on how to tame it.

Kautilya4 was a sagacious minister in the Kingdom of Chandragupta Maurya (324/321 297 Before the Common Era). He expressed his views on a range of issues including state, war, social structures, diplomacy, ethics, and politics. He believed that “men are naturally fickle minded” and are comparable to “horses at work [who] exhibit constant change in their temper”.5 This means that honesty is not a virtue that would remain consistent lifelong and the temptation to make easy gains through corrupt means can override the trait of honesty any time. Similarly, he compared the process of generation and collection of revenue (by officials) with honey or poison on the tip of the tongue, which becomes impossible not

1

2

3

4 5

Joseph Nye, “Corruption and Political Development: A Cost-Benefit Analysis” in A.J. Heidenheimer et.al., Political Corruption (New Brunswick, N.J., Transaction Books, 1967), p. 967. Carl J. Friedrich gives a more qualified definition of corruption that enlarges the scope of ‘private gains’ by including both monetary and non-monetary benefits. See Carl J. Friedrich “Corruption Concepts in Historical Perspective”, in A.J. Heidenheimer, Michael Johnston and Victor T. Levine, eds. Political Corruption: A Handbook (New Brunswick, Transaction Publishers, 1989).

The listed ill-effects of corruption and its wider ramifications have been well known. See Ramesh K. Arora and Rajni Goyal, Indian Public Administration: Institutions and Issues (New Delhi, Wishwa Prakashan, 1996).

The famous Vedic prayer ( Rg I, 4, 10.8) addressed to the divine power reads, “Oh Lord, knowing everybody and everything in the most accurate manner, thou knowest the regenerate of good conduct and the degenerate, the destroyers of good works for general public. Do Thou exterminate the latter from their roots.” This shows that even in Vedic times corrupt practices probably existed. Divinity was invoked to use its knowledge and power to exterminate the degenerate, the criminal and the corrupt for the sake of humanity. The reference is available at http://cbi.nic.in/coffeetable/1.pdf, accessed September 24, 2012.

Kautilya is also known as Chanakya or Vishnugupta. R. Shamasastry, Kautilya Arthasastra, 2005, p. 127.

to taste.6 Based on such sweeping, albeit questionable, generalisations about the nature of human beings, he prescribed a strict vigil even over the superintendents of government departments in relation to the place, time, nature, output and modus operandi of work.7 All this is perhaps indicative of widespread corruption in the Kingdom’s administration at various levels.

Corruption is so obvious, and yet so mysterious. Even Kautilya reflected serious concerns about opacity in the operations of the world of the corrupt. Illegal transactions were so shrouded in mist that he compared embezzlers to fish moving under water and the virtual impossibility of detecting when exactly the fish is drinking water.8 He also noted that while it is possible to ascertain the movements of bird flying in the sky, it is difficult to gauge the corrupt activities of government officials.9

During Mauryan times, superintendents were the highest officials, a position they received for possessing the desired ‘individual capacity’ and adequate ‘ministerial qualifications’.10 Given the general emphasis of Kautilya on observing ethics and morality in relation to the functioning of a state, it seems the selection process would have involved not just a scrutiny of the educational attainments but also the right kind of aptitude for the job including traits of honesty and impartiality. This shows that despite the greatest care taken in recruiting officials, corrupt persons made their way into the system.

Kautilya was a great administrative thinker of his times. As he argued, too much of personal interaction or union among the higher executives leads to departmental goals being compromised and leads to corruption. This is because human emotions and personal concerns act as impediments to the successful running of an administration, which is basically a rule-based impersonal affair. Similarly, dissension among executives when team effort is required results in a poor outcome.11 Kautilya suggested that the decline in output and corruption can be curbed by promoting professionalism at work. The superintendents should execute work with the subordinate officials such as accountants, writers, coin- examiners, treasurers and military officers in a team spirit.12 Such an effort creates a sense of belonging among members of the department who start identifying and synchronising their goals with the larger goals of the organisation, thereby contributing to the eventual success of the state.

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Ibid, p. 130. Ibid, p. 127. Ibid, p. 130. Ibid, p. 130. Ibid, p. 127. Ibid, p. 127. Ibid, p. 129.

Kautilya provides a comprehensive list of 40 kinds of embezzlement. In all these cases, the concerned functionaries such as the treasurer (nidhayaka), the prescriber (nibandhaka), the receiver (pratigrahaka), the payer (dayak), the person who caused the payment (dapaka) and the ministerial servants (mantri-vaiyavrityakara) were to be separately interrogated. In case any of these officials were to lie, their punishment was to be enhanced to the level me eted out to the chief officer (yukta) mainly responsible for the crime. After the enquiry, a public proclamation (prachara) was to be made asking the common people to claim compensation in case they were aggrieved and suffered from the embezzlement.13 Thus, Kautilya was concerned about carrying the cases of fraud to their logical conclusion.

The Arthashastra states that an increase in expenditure and lower revenue collection (parihapan) was an indication of embezzlement of funds by corrupt officials.14 Kautilya was sensitive enough to acknowledge the waste of labour of the workforce involved in generating revenues.15 He defined self enjoyment (upbhoga) by government functionaries as making use of or causing others to enjoy what belongs to the king.16 He was perhaps alluding to the current practice of misusing government offices for selfish motives such as unduly benefitting the self, family members, friends and relatives either in monetary or non-monetary form which harms the larger public good.

Kautilya was also not unaware of corruption in the judicial administration. He prescribed the imposition of varying degrees of fines on judges trying to proceed with a trial without evidence, or unjustly maintaining silence, or threatening, defaming or abusing the complainants, arbitrarily dismissing responses provided to questions raised by the judge himself, unnecessarily delaying the trial or giving unjust punishments.17 This shows that there were incidents of judicial pronouncements being biased, favouring one party to the detriment of others. In an atmosphere of corruption prevailing in the judicial administration as well, Kautilya perhaps wanted to ensure that the litigants are encouraged and given voice to air their legitimate grievances. He expected judges to be more receptive to the complaints and be fair in delivering justice.

Kautilya prescribed reliance on an elaborate espionage network for detecting financial misappropriation and judicial impropriety. Spies were recruited for their honesty and good conduct.18 They were to keep a watch even over the activities of accountants and clerks for reporting cases of fabrication of accounts (avastara).19 On successful detection of

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Ibid, pp. 123-125. Ibid, p. 121.
Ibid, p. 128.
Ibid, p. 121.

Ibid, p. 447.
Ibid, p. 130.
Ibid, pp. 121, 130.

embezzlement cases, Kautilya advocated hefty fines to be imposed apart from the confiscation of ill-earned hordes. If a functionary was charged and proved even of a single offence, he was made answerable for all other associated offences related to the case.20 Since taxes paid by the people are utilised for their welfare, any loss of revenue affects the welfare of the society at large. This is precisely the reason why Kautilya explicitly argued that the fines imposed should be “in proportion to the value of work done, the number of days taken, the amount of capital spent and the amount of daily wages paid”.21

The threat of fines being imposed and subsequent public embarrassment do deter judicial officials, to some extent, from resorting to corrupt practices. But Kautilya was proactive in laying down traps to catch public functionaries with loose morals and inclination to resort to bribery or seek undue favour. The strategy he prescribed was for secret agents to take a judge into confidence through informal channels and ask him to pronounce judgments favouring their party in return for a payment.22 If the deal was fixed, the judge was treated as accepting the bribe and prosecuted accordingly.

Interestingly, Kautilya also dealt with the concept of whistleblowers. Any informant (suchaka) who provided details about financial wrongdoing was entitled an award of one-sixth of the amount in question. If the informant happened to be a government servant (bhritaka), he was to be given only one twelfth of the total amount.23 The former’s share was more because exposing corruption while being outside the system was more challenging. But in the case of bhritakas, striving for a corruption free administration was considered more of a duty that was ideally expected of them.

Kautilya also warned at the same time about providing wrong information or not being able to prove the accusations. He advocated either monetary or corporal punishment for such informants so that the tool could not be misused for settling personal scores and harassing genuine officials. If an informant himself were to backtrack on the assertions he made against the accused, Kautilya suggested the death penalty for him.24 This provision was not only draconian, but would have effectively discouraged whistleblowers. While such provisions would certainly make people think twice before levelling accusations, the threat of capital punishment was too harsh to help people root out the corrupt.

In an atmosphere of all round corruption, honesty becomes a virtue and not a desired duty. Kautilya argued for advertising the cases of increase in revenue due to the honest

20 21 22 23 24

Ibid, p. 125. Ibid, p. 128. Ibid, pp. 421-22. Ibid, p. 126. Ibid, p. 126.

and dedicated efforts of the superintendents by giving rewards and promotions.25 Bestowing public honour creates a sense of pride and boosts the motivation and morale of honest officials. They act as role models for ideal youngsters who wish to join the administration and serve the state.

Kautilya also proposed a number of measures to avoid cases of corruption arising at all.

Several positions in each department were to be made temporary. Permanency for such positions was to be reserved as an award granted by the king to those who help augment revenue rather than eating up hard earned resources.26 Kautilya also favoured the periodic transfer of government servants from one place to another.27 This was done with the intention of not giving them enough time to pick holes in the system and manipulate it to their advantage.

Kautilya wrote that “dispensing with (the service of too many) government servants...[is] conducive to financial prosperity”.28 This is not only because of the reduction in expenditure on salary but rightsizing the bureaucracy also results in faster decision making and the transaction of government business without unnecessary delay and red tape. This effectively reduces the scope for bribery in particular and corruption in general.

It is interesting to note that the superintendents could not undertake any new initiative (except remedial measures against imminent danger) without the knowledge of the king. Kautilya, therefore, laid emphasis on some kind of an accountability mechanism. Apart from using the services of spies for unearthing cases of fraud, Kautilya also talked about an intra-departmental, self-scrutinising mechanism under the headship of chief officer (adhikarna) to detect and deter imminent cases of corruption.29

The Arthashastra of Kautilya thus shows that the ancient system of governance and administration was quite contemporary in operational guidelines when dealing with corruption. It also quite convincingly demonstrates that corruption is not an exclusive feature of modern times alone. The fact that the menace has survived and thrived through the ages speaks volumes about its endurance. Governments of all historical eras have recognised its illegality and devised legal instruments to tackle the problem, but they have not been able to overcome its spread as well as acceptability in society. If corruption has persisted through centuries, what is it that has stopped administrative systems from eradicating it?

25 26 27 28 29

e

Ibid, p. 128. Ibid, p. 131. Ibid, p. 131. Ibid, p. 121. Ibid, p. 128.

Was Kautilya right in his generalisation that ‘humans are fickle-minded’? The majority would disagree. Interestingly, however, even Kautilya, despite having such an understanding of human nature and behaviour, never used it to justify corruption. Rather, he realised its inevitability30 but chose to remain positive and committed to root it out in the administration through elaborate and strict measures. This is the real significance of the Arthashastra as far as the issue of corruption in contemporary times is concerned.

.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Sanjeev Kumar Shrivastav for introducing me to the IDSA, as well as Colonel P.K. Gautam for his valuable inputs in giving final shape to this essay.

30

The Corruption Perception Index (2011) released by Transparency International accorded New Zealand the first rank for being the least corrupt country in the world. New Zealand scored 9.5 on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. This shows that even this country is not absolutely corruption free and the scope for illegality exists in public dealings. This ranking can be accessed at //http:// cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/.