Kautilya, also known as Chanakya and Vishnugupta, wrote the Arthashastra in the second century AD though the date has not been conclusively established. A master stategist who was well-versed in the Vedas and adept at creating intrigues and devising political stratagems, Kautilya was the man who shattered the Nanda dynasty and installed Chandragupta Maurya as the king of Magadha.
Protection of life and livelihood constituted, in that order, the elements of securing the welfare of the people. Disagreeing with earlier teachers, Kautilya points out that life was more important than livelihood. Even when a man’s property was attached by a decree in a civil suit, he was not to be deprived of the tools of his trade.
In the Kautilyan state, all forms of livelihood were protected, with no preferences with respect to the area of economic activity. Agriculture, the primary of them all, was protected as explained.
Protection of livelihood extended to protecting the major areas of economic activity. Agriculture was protected from being oppressed by onerous taxes, fines and demands for labor.
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