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Look around in India today and one sees a deeply entrenched tradition of Merchant Guilds and Trade Bodies. The mercantile class, the ones who make commerce, growth, and prosperity possible, were key players of Indian polity. And have since ancient times known the value of democracy- Recognising that it is the collective will of the ‘people’ working together for the good of the collective, that orders society and ensures prosperity and dignity for all. The tradition of Samuhasah and Ganasahviz – which means working together – is enumerated in numerous Inscriptions, Shrutis, Smritis, Sutras and the Mahabharata of ancient India. Historical records show how the polity worked through a multi-layered system that comprised Shreni-Samgha (merchant-guilds), Nigama (town administration), and Jetthakaand Shreshthi (executive members) appointed by a Central Assembly. Many villages and towns were governed by Shreni Samghas. Elected officials like Jetthaka, Shreshthi and Sarthvaha were the people’s representatives and voice in the royal court. The Damodar Copper Plate Inscription of Kumaragupta I, (443-443 CE), speaks of how Dinajpur was administered and underlines India’s ancient Vedic tradition of governance through Panchayats and Nigams. The Vaillabhattasvamin Temple Inscription talks of how the city of Sri-Gopagiri, Gwalior of today, was ruled by Sri Bhojadeva Alla as its Kottapala (guardian of the fort), commanded by Tattaka, while administered by the merchant Vavviyaka, the trader Ichchhuvaka, and the other members of the board of the Savviyakas. This system of governance had many checks and balances. Ultimately, the will of the collective ruled. And the Brihaspati Smriti makes mention of how an Executive Committee of honest, upright, scholarly citizens oversaw the presidents of the Shrenis Samghas. And the fiscal punishment that was meted out in case of misconduct by them. The Brihaspati Smriti also enumerates the qualities needed to be a board member of the Shreni Sangha. ‘Honest persons, acquainted with the Vedas and with duty, able, self-controlled, sprung from good families, and skilled in every business, shall be appointed as heads (of an association) Shreshthi. Two, three or five persons shall be appointed to look after the welfare of the association.’ The Gautamdharma Sutra of 500 BC, quoting the still more ancient laws of Manu, reiterates the primacy of the people’s will. It says that laws of countries, castes, families, cultivators, traders, and artisans should be respected by the King. These organisations have authority to lay down their laws if they aren’t opposed to the sacred texts. Collectively, all ancient India’s history points to one irrefutable fact. That the Indian subcontinent has been not just the cradle of civilization, but of the ideas that lead to life being more civil. The ideas of Democracy.