Gana-sangha
Also called: Gana, Sangha, Ganarajya · Topic: Democracy: Forms of Government, Principles and Outcomes · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 9 "From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments"; Class 7, Ch 10 "The Constitution of India: An Introduction"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"
Meaning
Gana-sanghas were ancient Indian states that had no king. They were ruled by assemblies of clan representatives, who met often, discussed issues and chose leaders on merit. They followed the Buddha's conditions for a strong community: frequent assemblies and decisions made in concord (agreement). These conditions are recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. For this reason they are called early "republics" (states without a hereditary king).
Example
The Vajji confederacy (a union of clans) was led by the Lichchhavis, and its capital was Vaishali. The Shakyas and the Mallas were also gana-sanghas. The Buddhist Sangha followed a similar method of debating issues and voting on them.
Don't confuse with
- Democracy: in a gana-sangha, power lay with the heads of kshatriya clans, not with all the people. So these were republics, not democracies in the modern sense.