RIDDLE NO. 22
BRAHMA IS NOT DHARMA. WHAT GOOD IS BRAHMA?
There are various forms of Government known to history—Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy to which may be added Dictatorship.
The most prevalent form of Government at the present time is Democracy. There is however no unanimity as to what constitutes Democracy. When one examines the question one finds that there are two views about it. One view is that Democracy is a form of Government. According to this view where the Government is chosen by the people that is where Government is a representative Government there is Democracy. According to this view Democracy is just synonymous with Representative Government which means adult suffrage and periodical elections.
According to another view a democracy is more than a form of Government. It is a form of the organization of Society. There are two essential conditions which characterize a democratically constituted society. First is the absence of stratification of society into classes. The Second is a social habit on the part of individuals and groups which is ready for continuous readjustment or recognition of reciprocity of interests. As to the first there can be no doubt that it is the most essential condition of Democracy. As Prof. Dewey [1] has observed:
[Quotation referred to by the author is not recorded in the original MS from ‘Democracy and Education’, by Dewey p. 98.]
The second condition is equally necessary for a democratically constituted society. The results of this lack of reciprocity of interests
1 Democracy & Education p. 98.
This chapter consists about 20 pages out of which first two pages and the concluding six are in the handwriting of the author. The rest are typed pages with all necessary modifications by Dr. Ambedkar.—Ed.