International Law and Inter-State Relations in Ancient India (An Old and Rare Book)

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It is with pleasure that I accede to Dr. H. L. Chatterjee's request to write a Foreword to this book. It is a revised and re-written version of his thesis approved for the D.Phil. degree of the Calcutta University in 1954.

Though International Law as we understand it in the modern world cannot, in the strict sense, be said to have prevailed in ancient India, there were many aspects of inter-state relations which were in practice regulated by well understood conventions and rules, some of which, but not all, may be found set forth in different contexts in the books on polity and in the epics, particularly the Mahabharata. Sometimes even the relations between a suzerain and feudatories partook of the nature of inter-state relations and claimed the attention of dutas, sandhivigrahis and other officials of a like nature. Though the rights and obligations of War, Peace and Neutrality were not conceived of exactly in the manner of the Modern European State system or discussed separately in specialised treatises on the subjects, still similar situations produced similar lines of thought and action both in Europe and Asia though in different milieus, and there is scope for much interesting and instructive study of a comparative nature in this field.

Relying mainly on literary sources of a normative character, arthasastra as they were known, Dr. Chatterjee has made a systematic effort to consider the results of the application of the modern categories of International Law to ancient Indian thought and practice on the different topics discussed. This has resulted in a valuable study which shows the unity of human civilization in the midst of many differences caused by 'local genius'. One difficulty he has encountered is the absence of an authentic body of 'case-law' in ancient India or even well attested historical instances to illustrate many of the theoretical formulations, and he has had to rely, more often than one would wish, on examples from epic and legend to support his propositions. But with all its inevitable limitations, the study must have been an exhilarating experience to its author, and the reader of the book, which is written with clarity and compactness, may well expect to share the experience in a considerable measure. Dr. Chatterjee's book is a very handy and useful contribution to an aspect of Indian culture which merits more research than has been devoted to it. I hope he will be enabled to pursue his studies further in the years to come.

The view that the Asiatic countries such as India and China would one day startle the world by producing distinct traces of International Law possessed by their ancestors was first expressed by Prof. Walker in his History of the Law of Nations (Preface VI). Prof. Walker's optimism reflected a correct and scholarly appreciation of India's hoary past and was a tacit acknowledgment of her claim to greatness in many branches of human knowledge. In fact it was quite reasonable to think that a people whose civilisation even in that remote period of antiquity had reached a high degree of perfection, and excites universal admiration even now, did never allow their Inter-State Relations to go ungoverned by any standardised principles, and in the most usual course of things, must have developed or have come to possess, rules of precepts, customs or conventions which surely regulated their inter-statal conduct in times of war and peace and that is what we understand by Inter- national Law. It is, however, obvious that such "Inter Statal Law" will essentially lack many of the characteristics of modern International Law and will surely fail to satisfy many of its tests. But in our view name or nomenclature does not matter much, for we are mostly concerned with parctices and precepts, and my book-International Law and Inter-State Relations in Ancient India is nothing more than a treatise on the Speculations of the ancient Hindus on War, Peace, Diplomacy and Neutrality.

Mine is not however a pioneer work, and the robust optimism of Prof. Walker did not fail to inspire a good deal of speculative studies and researches in a subject of such high topical interest, and also encouraged me to find out what the ancient Hindus felt on the problems enumerated above. Subsequently my investigations conducted under the able and helpful guidance of Dr. D. C. Ganguly, Secretary and Curator, Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, and formerly Reader in History, Dacca University were presented in the form of a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Arts) of the Calcutta University in 1954. The thesis was adjudicated upon and unanimously approved of by a board of eminent historians and indologists consisting of Professor K. A. Nilakanta Sastri. late Dr. Hem Chandra Raichaudhuri, and Dr. D. C. Ganguly to whom I am deeply indebted for their favourable reports.

I am extremely thankful to Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri who, besides giving me many valuable suggestions, has very kindly written a highly fascinating and thought-provoking 'Foreword' to my book which has surely considerably enhanced its value and importance. My relations with Dr. D. C. Ganguly at whose feet I had the honour to learn History are such, and my indebtedness to him is so very great, that it will be wholly unfair on my part to make any special mention of him here in this connection.