Political Science · Indian Political Thought
UGC NET January 2017 Political Science
Given below are two statements, one labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). Select the correct answer from the codes given below.
Assertion (A): Kautilya emphasizes the need for a strong ruler.
Reason (R): He had an acute awareness of the dangers of anarchy as well as the absolute necessity to establish order in society.
ABoth A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A ✓ Correct
BBoth A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
CA is true, but R is false
DA is false, but R is true
Correct answer: (A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A — Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason correctly explains the assertion.
Explanation
★Both the assertion and the reason are true, and the reason correctly explains the assertion.
★Kautilya wrote during a period of political fragmentation, when India was divided into many warring principalities.
★He feared matsya-nyaya, the 'law of the fish', in which the strong devour the weak when no authority restrains them.
★To prevent this slide into anarchy, he argued that only a strong, vigilant ruler could guarantee order and security.
★His awareness of the dangers of disorder is therefore the very ground for his demand for a powerful king, so R explains A.
★Yet Kautilya's strong ruler is not a tyrant: the king must use his vast powers for the welfare of his subjects.
★He captured this in the maxim 'Praja Sukhe Sukham Rajyam', the happiness of the king lies in the happiness of the people.
★Kautilya rejected the divine origin of monarchy and saw the king as a servant of the people, paid through taxes for protection and nurture.
★Kautilya classified warfare into four forms: mantra-yuddha (war by counsel), prakash-yuddha (open war), kuta-yuddha (concealed or guerrilla war) and tusnim-yuddha (covert, silent war).
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