Need of Ancient India's Republic Recognition in World History
- Recently, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly, the Prime Minister made an important historical point that India is not just the world’s largest democracy, but also the Mother of Democracy.
- There is evidence of the existence of proto forms of democracy and republicanism in ancient India.
Existence of Republic in India:
- Vedic Governance: The Vedas describe at least two forms of republican governance:
- Monarchy: The first would consist of elected kings. This has always been seen as an early form of democracy.
- Republics: The second form is that of rule without a monarch, with power vested in a council or sabha.
- Mahabharata: In Chapter 107/108 of Mahabharata’s Shanti Parva, there is a detailed narration about the features of republics (called ganas) in India.
- Buddhist and Jain texts list 16 powerful states or mahajanapadas of the time.
- The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus writes that at the time of Alexander’s invasion (in 326 B.C.), most cities in North West India had democratic forms of government (though some areas were under kings, e.g. Ambhi and Porus) and this is also mentioned by the historian Arian.
- Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Any state is thought of as composed of seven elements. The first three are swami or the king, amatya or the ministers (administration) and janapada or the people.