State and its fortunes

Abstract

This chapter contains an attempt to trace the stages in the evolution of the state in south India under the Cōḻas They begin as chiefs in a relatively undifferentiated society. It is the proximity of the kinsmen with the chiefs or otherwise that determined the relative status of different sections of society and not differentiation on account of unequal access to resources and surplus at this stage. However, changes in the means and relations of production, especially the introduction of non-kin labour for purposes of agricultural production brought about major changes in the social order. This changed order required the institution of state and the emergence of the Cōḻa kingdom in the Kāvēri valley can be shown as a response to this demand. Further elaboration and refinement enabled the Cōḻa state to graduate to the level of an empire; but since the parts too were coming of age, this empire fell apart in in about a century. By the close of the 13th century, the Cōḻa kingdom fell prey to the Hoysala invasions and became already a thing of the past, all but forgotten, except in legend and song. In short, the chapter traces its journey from the level of a chiefdom through a kingdom to an ‘empire’ and its succumbing to the forces of development in the regions which constituted it and its final disappearance from the scene following invasions but also the maturing of centrifugal forces. It is hoped this will illustrate the process of state formation, demonstrating that the state is not a given, but a process, ever in a state of flux. We see clear stages in the journey of the Cōḻas in South India.