Vaisali: ‘World’s First Republic’

An effort has been made in this work to deal with the political process that was at work in Vaishali, where democracy had been practised since time immemorial. It had not been possible there if there had not been balance of power between all the branches of government that had always functioned on the ‘checks and balances’ which kept the Lichchavi constitution going on. The work enumerates too the factors that helped all the three branches of government function in concord, even while giving over-all details of their distinct roles, including that of the bureaucracy which was responsible for the whole gamut of public administration. The work also specifically deals with the question as to how the republic of Vaishali was structured and run, especially as the ‘Samgha’ of eight states. The republic was not at all structured of eight clans, but it was rather an ‘organic whole’ in which all of them had willingly merged their identities. As the ‘Samgha’ was working well, all of them wanted to remain its members. The work concisely depicts the political scenario as obtaining in the rural as well as urban areas of the republic. It is worth noting here that Vaishali was known for its successful grassroots democracy that helped it reach the zenith of its greatness. The Panchayats perforce, kept on doing a lot for the welfare and development of the villages and regions. The work also delineates as to how the Government at Vaishali functioned and what its exact nature and form were. The ‘Executive council’ apparently was the working government of the polity. But the fact remains that whatever it did, it did in accordance with the wishes of the ‘gana’ (assembly) that had always been responsible for rendering justice to all the people, regardless of their religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. The government was fully authorized by the constitution to act freely and independently, provided it remained accountable to the assembly, the repository of sovereign power.