Democratic Traditions in Ancient India and Governance after Independence

The concept of democracy and representative institutions were not even new to ancient India. In fact, the Mahabharata discourses the topic of ‘Rajdharma’ (King’s Duty), discloses that in the very early periods of civilizations, in the country great importance was attached to ‘Dharma’ (Duty) and it was self-imposed by individuals. Consequently, everyone was acting according to ‘Dharma’ (Duty) and there was no necessity of any authority to compel obedience to the laws. The existence of such an ideal stateless society is graphically described in the following verse: “There was neither Kingdom nor the King, neither punishment nor the punishing authority. People were acting according to ‘Dharma’ (Duty) and thereby protecting one another. No one is superior or inferior. All are brothers and should strive for the interests of all to progress collectively. All have equal rights in articles of food and water. The yolk of the chariot of life is placed equally on the shoulders of all. These concepts of democracy expressed by Rig-Veda depict the true nature and spirit of democracy in ancient India which can be a model example for democratic institutions for any modern polity.

Keywords:
Democracy, India, Ancient age, Modern Democracy, Self Rule