Local Administration

The Indus civilization had the proud distinction of giving to the world its earliest cities, its first urban civilization, its first town planning, its first drainage system and its earliest example of city government. The local bodies offered a stable basis of organized life at the local levels.

• So far as local government in ancient India is concerned, the Vedic civilization was essentially rural. But the towns and cities had developed later.
• The towns in the Gupta Empire were usually placed under an officer called purapala. Sometimes he was a district officer as well and very often purapalas were military captains also. ....