New Delhi: Asserting that India is “indeed the mother of democracy”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that democracy refers not just to a structure but also the spirit of equality.
In a virtual address to the Summit for Democracy, co-hosted by the U.S., Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia, PM Modi claimed that the Mahabharata, the Vedas and all historical references prove that non-hereditary rulers first existed in India.
“The idea of elected leaders was a common feature in ancient India, long before the rest of the world,” PM Modi said at the plenary session of the summit, where leaders of about 40 countries gave national statements.
“There are also many historical references to republic states in ancient India where the rulers were not hereditary. India is, indeed, the mother of democracy,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi had earlier referred to India as the “mother of democracy” in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2021, countering the generally held perception that the Athenian city-state, founded in Greece in the 6th century BCE, which gave the terms ‘Demos’ and ‘Kratos’ to mean people’s rule, preceded it.
Modi said in the Mahabharata, “the first duty of citizens is described as choosing their own leader” and the Vedas dated much earlier, “speak of political power being exercised by broad-based consultative bodies”.
India was among about 120 countries invited to the second edition of the virtually held Summit for Democracy. In a repeat of the first edition in 2021 the U.S. decided to invite India, Nepal and Maldives, while not including Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the event.
Pakistan, which was invited again, declined to attend for the second time, ostensibly due to the exclusion of China. On Tuesday, the summit also included a special session chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the need for a “Just and Lasting Peace in Ukraine”.
