1. INTRODUCTIONDemocracy is generally considered a Western ideal conceived during the Enlightenment and reinforced by capitalism and the promotion of individual rights. Its foundations are equality, liberty, social justice and limited government. Democracy is a legislature of individuals; or an administration in which incomparable force is entrusted to individuals and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation generally including free elections held intermittently. Democracy, as a concept, has its origins in ancient Greece when, around 800 BC. Beginning in the 5th century BC, Athenian democracy gave citizens equal rights to participate in decision-making and hold public office, based on the ideal of equality among citizens. Democracy in Greece was first introduced in Athens by Cleisthenes. Greek city-states were ruled by a group of wealthy and influential elite men long before democracy became popular. This oligarchy limited power to very few people. Democracy was a government structured to serve the people. All white male citizens had the right to vote in a democratic democracy. As a society, it benefited the majority, made up of the middle and lower classes. They were given a voice, which gave them power. The upper class, the aristocrats, lost power because of such a democratic process; they no longer obtained power solely because of their social status. Two centuries before Athenian democracy, there existed republics in and around the foothills of northern India, established by the Aryan tribes of the plains who constitute...... middle of paper ......The writers are going out of their way to separate the Indian republican experience from the history of democracy. The contrast drawn up is not supported by any real argument and leads us to question the way in which the author defines “republicanism”, “democracy”, “freedom”. Once this prejudice is overcome, Indian republicanism strongly deserves the attention of historians, especially those interested in comparative or world history. It is particularly notable that throughout the period between 500 BC and 400 AD, republics are found virtually everywhere in India and that these republics are relatively well documented. The republics of India were very probably larger and more populous than the poleis of the Greeks. One cannot help but wonder how, in many different parts of Eurasia, republican and democratic states were able to coexist with royal dynasties..