When Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood in the ancient temple town of Gangaikonda Cholapuram on July 27 and declared that Indian democracy predated the Magna Carta, he was not engaging in rhetoric — he was invoking a historical truth that has too often been forgotten.

The Indian Express the next day carried a striking headline: ‘Long before Magna Carta, Cholas had ‘ballot pots’: What is the ancient voting system PM Modi lauded?’ The story detailed the astonishing sophistication of local elections held over 1,000 years ago in Tamil Nadu under the Chola dynasty, particularly in the village of Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district. But the deeper message was one of reclaiming pride in a democratic legacy that is indigenous, ancient, and rigorously codified.

A decade ago, I had written about this in my book, An Undocumented Wonder – The Making of the Great Indian Election (2014). India was not entirely new to the concept of democracy as there is credible evidence that it existed in the country in various forms as early as the fifth century BCE. In small communities, villages and tribal societies, participation in decision-making through discussions was the normal practice.

Kautilya also describes, in his Arthashastra, the role of samghas or local unions and how the state can rule more efficiently........

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