Administrative questions are not political questions. Discuss.

The role of public administration till the beginning of 20^th century was very limited. The 20^th century witnessed political revolution in the form of decolonisation, The role of public administration as an activity in developing countries was more significant to that of developed countries as people in developing countries doesn’t possess much knowledge so, public administration need to rescue them. As public administration is concerned with individuals from their birth to death, whereas, political parties are not concerned with an individual and do not have any such socio-economic responsibilities towards them. Public administration is the stabilising factor that ensures the even development, usage of resources rationally whereas a political government changes after stipulated time. Administrators manage in times of famines, wars, natural disasters and restore the normalcy. It takes care of welfare of a nation building activities such as health, education, transportation etc. In the last of 20^th century, public administration seems like withdrawing the states from economic activities but in reality, it administrates or manages them though it is not involved in the production. So it is appropriate to quote ‘administrative questions are not political questions’ which was then told by the father of public administration Woodrow Wilson distinguishing between politics and public administration. He drew a thin margin between public administration and politics dichotomy as well he removed public administration from the hurry and strife of politics.

The field of public administration is the field of business. Comment

‘The field of public administration is the field of business’ was quoted by the father of public administration, Woodrow Wilson in his article ‘the study of administration (1887). He wanted the study of public administration close to that of business administration. He wanted to give importance to the values of economy, efficiency and effectiveness as that of business administration, Also he accepts the wide difference bn public administration and business administration as the later is concerned with the profits where as the prior is concerned with service. In his quote, he means that public administration must be removed from the hurry and strife of politics. He put politics and public administration on two different platforms saying public administration does not involve in profits and it not profit oriented business, nor it involves in politics. He wanted public administration to be merged in the constitution because in a democratic setup public administration can‘t be always neutral.

Calling Woodrow Wilson, the father of Public Administration is doing injustice to equally or even more eminent contributions made prior to him.

The concept of public administration as an activity is very novel. Until the birth of nation-state the rollers principel mainly emphasised on the morals. But the nation-states required a professional body of people to run the government properly. They have to ensure the stability through the law, security with military and a measure of equity through taxation. For such professional rule it required civil servants. In 18^th century, Frederick William I of Prussia creates professorates called Cameralists who are now called as Bureaucrats. It was ettiquational path for the civil servants of Royal Chamber. The name Cameralism is a German science of administration which is the predecessor of public administration.

It is the great professor of public administration from Germany Lorentz Von Stein (1855) considered as father of public administration in many parts of the world. It was he, who taught us that ‘public administration depends on many other disciplines such as sociology, political science, administrative law, finance.’ He is the one to depict ‘interlink between the theory and practice, to name public administration as science because it is generated, evaluated according to the scientific methods.

In USA, Woodrow Wilson is considered as ‘father of public administration.’ He wrote in his article ‘the study of administration (1887) as ‘it is the objective of administration study to discover what government can do properly and successfully in the first phase and then deal with ‘how’ factor ie how can it implement those theoretical explanation with at most efficiency and economically too. Through his article, he stimulated interest in and stressed the need for a scientific study of administration. Therefore, it is one of the reasons to call him as father of public administration. Moreover, English being mostly widely spoke, comprehended language and anything that is put efficiently in English is going to be famous as it is globally acceptable he became famous. So in most of the places he is considered as ‘father of public administration’ though several intellectuals have contributed o this evolution prior to him in which we can also place ancient most Kautilya, Plato, Machiavelli too.

To what extent archaeological materials are useful in understanding the progress of Neolithic man in India?

The Neolithic Age is mainly characterized by shifting cultivation, animal husbandry and settled life. A large number of neolithic sites have been discovered in the Indian sub-continent. Ex Bolan valley, Belan valley. Kashmir valley, Brahmaputra valley and Peninsular India. The archaeological evidence is of utmost importance to us as Neolithic age is pre-historic in nature. Such findings prove to be helpful in understanding the social and cultural patterns of the Neolithic culture.

Existence of mud-brick huts and stone pit-dwellings at various sites indicate the emergence of villages. Highly sophisticated microliths, grinding stones, blades etc., highlight the advancement in tool-making and food processing technology. The remains of food grains and animal bone certify the cultivation of rice, wheat, barley, cotton etc., and domestication of cattle, sheep, goat, and ass. However the discovery of huge ash mounds in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh indicated that animal husbandry was primary occupation instead of plant agriculture. The prevalence of slash and burn type of cultivation practiced by the Neolithic man is further substantiated by the discovery of charcoal in most of the neolithic sites.

Emergence of religion and growth of beliefs can be visualized by the finding of terracotta figurines of Mother Goddess, serpent etc., and the grave goods found along with the dead indicate their belief in the ‘life after death’. Barter system was supposedly in existence and the external contacts of the neolithic man with chalcolithic culture and possibly Harappan civilization also is evident from the discovery of turquoise, lapis lazuli, conch shells etc., in Kashmir valley and the bronze and copper implements in Karnataka. Different varieties of pottery found at various sites indicate the artistic taste of the neolithic man. A series of rock brushings and rock paintings in Karnataka are also found.

In conclusion, looking at the material similarities in a behavioral perspective, we can definitely say that the present day tribal population inherited aspects of the early farming population. Therefore, a corroboration of the archaeological data with ethnographic analogy can gives us solid base for the understanding of the various adaptation strategies and the man-land relationship.

Discuss comparative strengths and limitations of archaeological sources vis-à-vis literary sources for the study of ancient Indian history.

The archaeological sources and literary sources play a crucial role in reconstructing ancient Indian history. The coins, inscriptions, monuments and material remains (pottery, tool implements) etc., constitute the archeological sources while indigenous religious and secular texts and foreign accounts form the literary sources.

The public inscriptions which are generally issued by the ruling monarch consist of prasasti (eulogical), edicts (royal orders) and land charters (copper plate inscriptions). The most noteworthy eulogical inscriptions are found at Allahabad (Samudragupta), Junaghad (Rudradhaman) and Aihole (Pulakeshi II). Land charters of Samudragupta at Gaya and Nalanda are highly informative. Also, 1818 rock edicts of Mauryan emperor Ashoka are very useful about his reign’s administrative organization. The coins of the Mauryans, Guptans, Sakas, Kushans and Indo-Greeks are indispensible for understanding the socio-economic status of their respective ages. The material remains excavated at Indus valley and Stone Age sites are also very vital.

The indigenous literary texts like Vedas (Brahmanical literature), Buddhist and Jain texts, biographies of the native rulers along with accounts of foreigner authors like Arab, Chinese, Greeco-Roman etc., are highly informative of the Indian society.

Archeological sources are said to be less biased and are regarded as primary sources of information. There are more reliable as later interpolations are not possible. However, archaeological excavations are tedious, cumbersome, costly, and suffers from inherent paleographical problems, Also, they do not provide elaborative information about non-material culture.

The literary sources are more detailed and it helps us to understand both material and non-material cultures. Also, the study of literary texts is less expensive and information is easily accessible. But the literary texts, especially indigenous texts are generally expected to be biased, subjective and exaggerating.

In conclusion, corroboration of archaeological and literary sources is essential to construct a more accurate picture. History must be pieced together drawing inference collectively from material and textual evidence to visualize a more reliable picture of ancient Indian history.