________________
[ iii )
eulogised. His words were law. The subjects were taught to regard there existence for the King and sacrifice every thing for his pleasure. Even if he attacked the neibouring prince to usurp his Kingdom or Kidnap his daughter the subjects were duty bound to place all there resources at his command. In due course his rights were confined to executive authority. The framing of law came in the hands of pious sages. Though accepted in principle, yet we cannot say that there was any effective authority to check his conduct. Physical power nullified all controls from out side.
Gradually the powers of King were curtailed and democracy came into existence. In some Governments the King exists as figurative head, others have wiped out its existence entirely.
There are five elements of democracy :
1. Superimacy of man :-Democracy does not admit deity, scripture, tradition or any other factor as superior to man.
2. Freedom :-Democracy aims at reducing the control from outside to minimum. It holds that every person should control his conduct himself keeping in mind the principle of "live and let live". Thus it provides full freedom to a person provided he does not interfear the freedom of others.
3. Equality :-Democracy does not recognize any distinction between man and man. Every person has equal rights with equal responsibility, on the other hand he deprives himself of the right only by neglecting the responsibility.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org