India's agriculture is tied in with its level of civic advancement. India had the first planned cities and settlements, showing that they practiced a far greater systematic agriculture than anywhere else at the time. Their divisions of labor were also far more ordered. Instead of individual farmers, there were far larger tracts of land under collective cultivation for the owners. But, like so much else in India, the distinct practices vary greatly by locality and culture. Back then, the idea of a modern India would have been a strange idea, with many more groups and regional powers dividing the land.