Dr. Ekta Shaikh

The National Human Rights Commission issued an advisory in 2024 for the protection and rehabilitation of impoverished, uneducated children, women, and differently abled individuals engaged in begging. The advisory reasonably recognises begging as a product of systemic failure of social institutions, rather than merely a socio-economic problem, and proposes a road map for a statewide entitlement-based policy. This article argues that the proposed policy can be effective only if it integrates ethical, legal and policy imperatives in formulating a context-sensitive and rights-compliant framework.

The article engages with the ideal of deliberation within the theoretical contours of deliberative democracy, situating its inquiry in the intellectual and political traditions of ancient India. Drawing upon canonical texts such as the Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Arthashastra and Mahabharata, it interrogates the embedded deliberative practices characterised by dialogical engagement, rational reciprocity and consensus-oriented decision-making. These traditions underscore the centrality of deliberation as a normative principle in governance, reflecting a sophisticated understanding of its epistemic and procedural dimensions. Modern deliberative democratic theory, predominantly rooted in Western intellectual traditions, often delineates a linear and prescriptive pathway for democratic deliberation. However, this emphasis risks marginalising alternative cultural and historical paradigms. This study contends that the deliberative practices of ancient India, with their distinct normative and procedural configurations, offer a fertile ground for rethinking and expanding the theoretical scope of deliberative democracy. The integration of these traditions addresses feasibility challenges, particularly in contexts marked by sociopolitical plurality and historical complexity. By tracing the continuity of deliberative ideals from ancient to contemporary India, this inquiry situates itself within a broader epistemological project that seeks to pluralise democratic theory. It underscores the capacity of Indian deliberative traditions to contribute to the conceptual enrichment and contextual adaptability of deliberative democracy in an increasingly diverse and globalised world.

Deliberative Democracy theory is an ever-expanding field in political theory. In the present article, I aim to present the significance of Gandhian thought for the theory of deliberative democracy. Gandhi never used the term deliberation or articulated a theory of deliberative democracy specifically while expressing his notion of ideal democracy. For him, discussion, exchange of thoughts, reasoning, etc. was instinctive for democracy and not something that required to be defended within the boundaries of scholarship. I trace the central elements of democracy in Gandhian thought and examine them through the lens of deliberative democracy theory. I also examine the implication of Gandhi’s formulations in India. In doing so, I would develop a richer understanding of democracy by bringing clarity to the contribution of Gandhi to the cause of deliberative democracy.