Roots of democracy can be traced to India, says education minister
Democratic thoughts from the Arthaśāstra, governing principles from ancient sanskrit scriptures, democracy in the working of ”temple establishments”, and khap panchayats and democratic traditions in Haryana – these are among the topics covered in the Indian Council of Historical Research’s (ICHR) new book tracing “Indian democratic history” released on Thursday.
Releasing the book, “India: the mother of democracy”, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that it was an attempt to showcase the democratic ethos ingrained in India since the beginning of the civilisation.
“India’s civilisational ethos is one of the original sources of democracy, contrary to the narrative set by the western world. Roots of democracy can be traced
to India as early as the 4th century. The stone inscriptions of Thanjavur are a living testimonial of the same… Evidence of societal systems that were at place during the Kalinga and Lichchhavi period also speak volumes about the democratic DNA of India,” he said.
It is likely the minister was referring to the stone inscriptions of Uthiramerur, a village near Chennai, dating back to the 10th century when the Chola empire, centred around Thanjavur, ruled vast parts of the peninsula. The Lichchavikas, who had a kingdom in the Gangetic plains in the 7th century BCE, formed a republic governed by an assembly. And Kalinga, in modern-day Odisha, was, as far back as 2nd century BCE, considered a democracy.
“A society that does not take pride in its civilisational prowess cannot think and achieve big… I am sure this book will encourage healthy debates on India’s democratic legacy and inspire future generations to cherish our timeless ethos,” the minister said.
The book has 30 articles written by 30 different authors tracing India’s democratic history, starting from the Harappan civilisation.
The authors included renowne archeologist Vasant Shinde, professor Rajiv Lochan of Panjab University, professor Jigar Mohammad of Jammu University and professor Veenu Pant of Sikkim University. “The nature of the book is completely academic and the authors are all academicians. They are all experts in their fields,” ICHR chairperson Raghuvendra Tanwar said.