Kumar's article portrayed the pre-western Indian village as very autonomous.  It supported itself by growing it's own crops and making other items of necessity.  The central government had the job of maintaining the social peace and protecting the villagers from external aggression.  As long as the village paid it's taxes, it was free to rule itself.  When the British took over these things changed, they overtaxed the pheasants and threatened the village as a political unit.

     The village government consisted of a panchyat and a patil.  The patil was the traditional leader of village society.  In his primary role as village leader, he worked with the people to make decisions for the village.  He also was responsible for negotiating taxes with the revenue officers of the government.  The next most powerful institution was the panchyat.  The money lenders could not exploit the common people of the villages because they had control of the panchyat.  If the money lender tried to get his money, usually the patil and the panchyat would side with the cultivator.  This helped keep the dividing line between the rich and poor small.

     In comparison, the British system tended to destabilized the village.  For example, Munro's Rotwari settlement cut out the middle man, so the British could get their share.  The patil was no longer in charge of negotiating taxes.  The British made assessments by the village and expected to get that amount.  If they did not they would seize the land of the those who did not pay.  This was dis-heartening for those who had ancestral land.  These people would stay with the land even if they weren't making much money, because holding ancestral land was prestigious.  These ties to the land helped make the village more stable.  Someone who moved in and worked the land for a while added nothing to the village.  Also, taking away someone's land most likely put them in poverty.  Without a job, someone is more likely to cause problems than a person who is working hard to stay in business.

     The Indian village is an integral part of rural Indian community.  The people are very loyal to their fellow villagers and will go to great extents to protect them.  This is one reason why the Indian village has survived British rule and continues to be important today.

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