New Delhi: Releasing the book 'India: The Mother of Democracy' in the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan debunked the historical facts, narrative and underscored that "India is not only the oldest democracy, but is the mother of democracy."
Rejecting the narratives set up by the western world and by a certain set of ideologies, Pradhan during his speech noted that "It was neither Europe nor Greeks or Athens, who gave the world a democratic setup. It was India, which gave the world a democratic system, which has been part of our civilisational and cultural ethos of the past 3,000 years."
During his remarks, he also said that India has a culture of accepting other narratives and cultures without rejecting them on the face. "How did Urdu and Persian come and got assimilated? It represents our cultural ethos. You may believe and accept some other language or culture, but at the end of the day, we are all Indians", he added.
Appreciating the efforts of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and various scholars for their outstanding contribution to this book, the Union Minister said, "A society that does not take pride in its civilisational prowess cannot think and achieve big." "India’s civilisational ethos is one of the original sources of democracy contrary to the narrative set by the western world. The roots of democracy can be traced in India from as early as the fourth century. The stone inscriptions of Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) are a living testimonial of the same", said Pradhan. The event was marked by the presence of ICHR chairman Prof Raghuvendra Tanwar, Prof Umesh Kumar Kadam (ICHR), scholars from Delhi University, JNU and others.
