Mother of Democracy

In his address to the UN General Assembly, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is considered the mother of Democracy. He had earlier said this while addressing the Vice-Chancellors of Indian universities in April. Let’s see how accurate they are. Ten thousand years ago man lived in small groups of about fifty to a hundred people. When these people had to resolve an issue, they would sit down and decide. The earliest examples of the existence of the basic elements of democracy are found in groups that valued the views of their members and cared for their well-being.

The known history shows that such groups were first present in Africa. In present-day India, people settled relatively later. The earliest example of governing through an assembly is found in the 12th century BC, when the head of state in the Mediterranean country of Phenicia (present-day Lebanon) consulted with specially chosen people to resolve the country’s problems. ۔

Life and Death of Democracy

Well-known historian John Kane, in his book The Life and Death of Democracy, mentions an Egyptian businessman who was surrounded by pirates and the prince convened an assembly to resolve the issue. It seems that even in this era, there was a tradition of solving problems by consulting the elected people.

Democracy was founded in Athens in the seventh century BC when Solon was elected king. He drafted the Athens Code of Law and took steps to end family domination. After Solomon, in the time of Cleisthenes, equal rights were declared for all men. That is why he is recognized as the father of democracy. During this time, for the first time in the world, the word “democracy” was written and spoken, which means the government of the people.

Cradle of Democracy

The Greeks used the word for their system of government. Later, Plato wrote books on democracy and Aristotle wrote books on politics. Thanks to these services to democracy, Athens is considered the ‘cradle of democracy’ or the birthplace of democracy. At a time when all this was happening in Greece, the people of India were divided into four major castes. And the basic elements of democracy, equality of rights, and equal participation in governmental affairs were completely absent. Chanakya’s book Earth Shaster bears witness to this.

Political philosophy was founded by Aristotle, modern-day political parties originated in Britain, and New Zealand was the first country in the world to give men and women equal suffrage. India is nowhere in this whole canvas in terms of services to democracy. Then why should she be considered the mother of democracy? A study of the present history reveals that more than a hundred countries had added republics to their names before India. Then what kind of mother is this who is born after children?

If you only look at the number of people, China is currently the largest country claiming to be a republic. However, it is a different matter that Western countries do not believe in their republic. The United States considers itself the greatest democrat in terms of services to democracy. So, why the Indian Prime Minister called India the mother of democracy is beyond comprehension. The facts refute this claim and history smiles at this simplicity

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