The Republics Of Bharat

Historians say there is evidence of primitive forms of democracy in ancient India: non-monarchical states that governed by committee, kings bound by a council of ministers, and ascetics who convened the world's first parliament. Their ancient ideals, steeped in spirituality and culture, tell us that there is more to democracy than mere elections

- PRATUL SHARMA

Afew months before his samadhi, the Buddha was in Rajgriha (present-day Rajgir in Bihar), preparing to start his three-month rain retreat. He had an unexpected visitor-Vassakara, minister of King Ajatashatru of Magadha. The minister wanted the Buddha's counsel on Magadha's plan to annex Vajji, a neighbouring confederacy of republican tribal states.

But the Buddha did not answer Vassakara directly. He turned to his disciple Ananda and started a conversation that gave a peek into the republican governance system in the sixth century BCE. "Have you heard, Ananda," the Buddha said, "that the Vajjians frequently hold public meetings of their clan?"

"Lord," said Ananda, "so have I heard."

"As long as the Vajjians meet so often," said the Buddha, "and call public meetings of their clan frequently, may they be expected not to decline but to prosper."

He then laid down seven conditions of welfare that the Vajjians were expected to adhere to: holding full and frequent assemblies, taking and implementing decisions in concord, preserving institutions, honouring elders, protecting women, conserving shrines and supporting the enlightened.

The message: the Vajjians should prosper as long as they met the conditions. Having received the Buddha's counsel, Vassakara took leave after assuring him that Vajji would not be annexed-at least not in the near future.

The conversation, recorded in the Pali text Mahaparinibbana Sutta, moots a key discourse on polity. Scholars have wondered whether the Buddha's advice ended up showing Ajatashatru a way to conquer the Vajjians, which he ultimately did more than a decade later as he expanded the Magadhan empire.