Reconceptualizing Indic Governance and Well-Being

This paper is to confront the common belief that the concepts of governance structures and development administration are believed to have come to India from the West. The analyses here focus on the understanding developed on the basis of literature dealing with ancient Indian ideas that were quite articulated about governance and development. It begins with the Vedic literature and continues through the Mahabharata, Shukraniti, and Kautilya’s Arthashastra. The theme of administration was always the well-being of the human race, and accordingly, the administration was organized. Many of the practices followed in both development and administration have their roots in the ancient wisdom that prevailed in India over generations. Here, an attempt is made to trace the journey of these two concepts not from a continuous historical perspective but as could be seen from the major milestones in the Indian Scriptures. The entire journey of governance and development requires huge efforts in tracking the ancient literature as well as a deeper understanding of the concepts, as the Indian philosophy was more based on spiritual enlightenment than material enrichment. The concept of development today is more embroiled in a materialistic and market-centric approach as opposed to spiritual enhancement and the ultimate aim of reaching enlightenment, or Purntwa (perfection). No claim is made here to cover any major Indian philosophical traits, but this is kept open-ended, and the author does not arrogantly put a full stop to knowledge enhancement. Therefore, this is an attempt only to mark a few of the many milestones.