“In no other part of the ancient world were the relations of man and man, and of man and the state, so fair and humane. In no other early civilization were slaves so few in number and in no other ancient lawbook are their rights so well protected as in the Arthashastra. No other ancient lawgiver proclaimed such noble ideals of fair play in battle as did Manu. In all her history of warfare, India has few tales to tell of cities put to sword or of the massacre of non combatants. There was sporadic cruelty and oppression no doubt, but in comparison with conditions in other early cultures, it was mild. To us the most striking feature of ancient Indian civilization is its humanity.”- A.L Basham in “The wonder that was India”