Legal and Judicial Aspects of Guilds and Corporations AS OUR GUILDS AND CORPORATIONS extended the ambit of their operations and swelled in influence, the society and legal system too, kept pace with them. The Dharmasastra literature over time, evolved to meet these changing circumstances. It contains copious rules relating to guilds, corporations, caravans and trading communities. The prime feature of this politico-legal facet was the right of corporations to have their own rules, regulations and laws, which the Government not only recognized but the King was bound to consult them be ..read more

Features and Functions of Corporations in Ancient India NEXT, WE CAN EXAMINE just the barest contours of the main features and functions of guilds and corporations in ancient India. Guilds and corporations could own land and property in the corporate’s name. They could formulate rules and regulations and draw up charters like memorandum and articles of association in modern parlance. Any member who violated it invited penal action. Corporate representatives transacted business with the court of law where they commanded respect. The office named Kārya-cintaka resembled today ..read more

  Banking Activities GUILDS AND CORPORATIONS IN ANCIENT and medieval India also functioned as local banks that accepted public money and paid interest in the range of nine – twelve percent. Like any bank, they also lent money. Larger guilds extended their banking services throughout India. Enough evidence exists to show that there was an impressive network of such banking guilds dotting the entire geography of Bharatavarsha. Their organization was coherent, well-linked and above all, they operated on the basis of strict honesty, integrity, fair dealing, and had a fear of incurring pa ..read more

 Preface IN LETTER DATED SOMETIME IN 1830, CHARLES METCALFE wrote this about Indian villages: I admire the structure of the village communities… The village communities are little republics, having nearly everything that they want within themselves, and almost independent of any foreign relations. They seem to last where nothing else lasts. Dynasty after dynasty tumbles down. Revolution succeeds to revolution…but the village communities remain the same… This union of the village communities, each one forming a separate little state in itself, has… contributed more  than any ot ..read more

 At a high level, there was a clear difference between trading and merchant guilds on the one hand and guilds of artisans on the other. To understand this in a clearer fashion, in that era, typically, hereditary families following certain branches of trade formed themselves into exclusive corporations with a Jyeshtaka or Jyeshta as their head. The Brilliant World of Artisan Guilds However, the artisans were rather strict in this regard. The son of an artisan had to compulsorily undergo an apprenticeship under his father for several years starting from childhood. Qui ..read more

THE DEFINING, DISTINCTIVE AND CARDINAL FEATURE of life in ancient India from the Vedic era was the foundational spirit of honest cooperation and harmony. This reflected itself in all areas: religion, society, politics and economics. Perhaps the best illustration of this spirit is just one word: Yajna. Today, we associate Yajna almost exclusively with a religious ceremony or what is wrongly known as ritual. But as long as India retained her original character, Yajna was a profound activity of national sharing…in fact, the correct meaning of Yajna is “sh ..read more

 Every creature felt happy. Everybody was intent on [performing] Dharma. Turning their eyes towards Rama alone, creatures did not kill [or inflict violence upon] one another. While Rama ruled the kingdom, the conversations of the people centered round Rama, Rama and Rama. The whole world became Rama's world. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras were performing their respective duties, satisfied with their own work and bereft of any greed. While Rama was ruling, the people were immersed in Dharma and lived without telling lies. All the people were endowed with excellent character. A ..read more

 Taxation Taxation is another major area where we see Chanakya’s invisible hand throughout the Hindu civilizational history. The second Adhikarana (Chapter) of the Arthasastra, has a rather compassionate and grounded exposition of the Kautilyan taxation system. In verses six through eight, Chanakya mentions how the king should show Anugraha (favour) to farmers by supplying them seed, cattle, and money for farming, and that they should return it in instalments after reaping harvest. The king should also give them tax breaks in such a way that it “swells the t ..read more

THE TRANQUILITY OF MALENADU is undoubtedly a blessing but it is also a cloak that conceals thousands of profound stories of history. The curious seeker will be left with wanting more if he as much as parts the bearded lushness of its deceptive shrubs. The dedicated historian will realize the sorry reality of his own mortality the moment he prises open the past of just one precinct, one temple, or one Agrahara. The profound interconnections are delicately bound to one another in a mirror-like fashion of its flora and fauna. The pleasure-seeking traveller, the most unfortunate of all species, wi ..read more

THROUGHOUT THE CENTURY of the modern Indian Renaissance, it was an article of truth that one could not offer cogent and honest interpretations of the Sanatana civilization unless one imbibed its spiritual core. Writing in 1927, this is what N.N. Law said: In the case of the ancient Hindus, the value of the spiritual side of their civilization is very difficult to be realized by a man of the twentieth century because of the frame of mind that is generally developed in him under the influence of the current thoughts and environment. But it was this spiritual culture which was indissolubly bound ..read more