Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew a parallel between the rules for modern elections and the Kudavolai system during the ceremony for the new parliament building 2020.
There were contestants but no electors in this system. Separate boards governed education, trade, temple maintenance, etc, and all governed by the respective elected Brahmin.
The Kudavolai election system was reportedly practised much before the 10th century CE. However, concrete proof of its existence can only be traced to 917 CE and 919 CE.
Engravings about the Kudavolai system, similar to the Uthiramerur inscriptions, were also found at Chandralekai (Senthalai) in Thanjavur district and Manor in Tirunelveli district.
To be a contestant you needed to own one-fourth “veli” of land, reside in your house, be aged between 30-60, morally earn wealth, have a good soul, and specialise in the Vedas and Shastras.
“If one has to be a scholar in Vedas and Shastras, then the person should be a Brahmin male. Others were not allowed to learn Vedas and Shastras. then how is it a democratic system?”
Dalits and Bahujans could not participate in the process, though they lived under the boards’ jurisdiction adds retired professor and historian A Karunananthan.
The Kudavolai system is one in which nobody can vote, and not everybody can contest. Terming it as an ancient form of democracy is very worrying,” he says.