Silverbackman
03-06-2006, 09:37 AM
A lot of people assume democracy was practiced first by the Greeks but this is far from the truth. Well at least when it comes to representative democracy (republic).
The first republics were used in ancient India, as mentioned in this article;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy
The earliest use of democracy in a civilization was found in republics in ancient India, which were established sometime before the 6th century BC, and prior to the birth of Buddha.[1] These republics were known as Maha Janapadas, and among these states, Vaishali (in what is now Bihar, India) was the world's first republic. Later during the time of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, the Greeks wrote about the Sabarcae and Sambastai states in what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan, whose "form of government was democratic and not regal" according to Greek scholars at the time.
The more I learn about Indian history and culture the more I am amazed! Indians have done it all! Astronomy, cosmology, physics, mathematics, arts, literature, and now republicanism!
The first republics were used in ancient India, as mentioned in this article;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy
The earliest use of democracy in a civilization was found in republics in ancient India, which were established sometime before the 6th century BC, and prior to the birth of Buddha.[1] These republics were known as Maha Janapadas, and among these states, Vaishali (in what is now Bihar, India) was the world's first republic. Later during the time of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, the Greeks wrote about the Sabarcae and Sambastai states in what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan, whose "form of government was democratic and not regal" according to Greek scholars at the time.
The more I learn about Indian history and culture the more I am amazed! Indians have done it all! Astronomy, cosmology, physics, mathematics, arts, literature, and now republicanism!