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Is Democracy Approved In Sikhism?

May 6, 2006
27
2
Chandigarh
Democracy as taught in schools is "Government of the people, by the people and for the people". I am curious to know if democracy type thing is allowed in Sikhism. According to me democratic rule is not a way of Sikh living. Please comment.
 

Randip Singh

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May 25, 2005
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Democracy as taught in schools is "Government of the people, by the people and for the people". I am curious to know if democracy type thing is allowed in Sikhism. According to me democratic rule is not a way of Sikh living. Please comment.

Democracy as taught in schools is "Government of the people, by the people and for the people". I am curious to know if democracy type thing is allowed in Sikhism. According to me democratic rule is not a way of Sikh living. Please comment.

Approved, endorsed and the ideal for SIkhi….how do we know this:

1) Guru Gobind Singh ji bows to the Panj Pyarey (accepting equality amongst his Sangat), he also accepts consensus or Gurmatta on several occaisions.

2) Gurmatta - or consensus is a central principle of Sikhi

3) Guru Granth and Guru Panth - also accepted principles of Sikhi.

4) Panj Pyarey are (who are chosen to lead community) are elected from the community by the community.

there are many more examples of this.​
PS On a side note - Sant Matt groups where a Central Saint is the leader of the organisation eg GNSSJ, Namdhari, Radaoswami, Rarowali etc etc are actually incompatible with Sikh principles because the leaders are unelected.​
 
May 6, 2006
27
2
Chandigarh
well... think in a different way... in simple words democracy is rule of majority over minority... good people are always less in number bad people form the majority.... bad people rule by democracy......
-Panj pyare are nominated not elected
-Gurmatta is concensus on topics pertaining to sikh religion... gurmatta cannot be passed on issues other than sikhism (see Rehat Maryada published by SGPC)....
-Guru Granth Sahib ji was nominated by the tenth Guru Himself....
-Guru Panth nominates or select people or rule or solution by its relevance not by majority or minority voting...
Its a proven fact that whenever the system of majority winning is applied, sinister politics take up the scene... Until the jathedars were selected on their merits and service to Sikhism and mankind, the Sikh thrones (takhats) were a revered place for justice... When election started, jathedars started pleasing everyone to get votes and mandates.... SGPC is corrupt becoz its having election system...
 
May 6, 2006
27
2
Chandigarh
(On Side note).......Also our Guru jis were never elected....that means sikhism is wrong way of faith becoz it never followed the process of election to elect their leader.... think...
 
Feb 14, 2006
512
31
in simple words democracy is rule of majority over minority...
good people are always less in number bad people form the majority....
bad people rule by democracy......

-Panj pyare are nominated not elected
Also our Guru jis were never elected

Yes, this is the most correct view. Sikhi goes against the grain of the fake world, while encompassing the best and highest aspirations, it could never be held hostage to whims of a misguided majority.

To be honest, while there are many good things in a democratic system, democracy is a political failure as we see the encroaching fascist tendancies to favor the corporate rich and powerful, even to committing atrocities and injustices in the "name of the people."
 
Last edited:
Sep 19, 2013
132
287
32
Nottingham
Which other better way is there besides democracy? It is flawed, but as of now, it's better than anything else we have had thus far.
Lottocracy/demarchy (leaders chosen from the population at random) could work quite well if the selection system were computerised and weighted in favour of skilled, well-qualified individuals. But it would only be possible in an advanced, smoothly-functioning society, perhaps one of the Nordic countries.
 

kds1980

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Apr 3, 2005
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Which other better way is there besides democracy? It is flawed, but as of now, it's better than anything else we have had thus far.

China's Pseudo communism or whatever you call did and still doing much better than so called democracies

UN official praises China's poverty reduction

10-17-2013 20:33 BJT

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BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations (UN) official on Thursday praised China's progress in eliminating hunger and reducing poverty, as the world marked the 21st International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
"We have witnessed remarkable progress in China's hunger and poverty alleviation efforts during the past 34 years, from one-third of Chinese people suffering hunger to less than one-tenth," said Brett Rierson, Representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in China.
As the world's largest hunger-fighting humanitarian agency, the WFP was awarded the China Poverty Eradication Awards Global Award by the State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Thursday. The WFP is operated under the UN and was established in 1979.
China is the first developing country to halve its population living in poverty, and it has vowed to strive to eliminate poverty and build a moderately prosperous society in all aspects by 2020.
According to the World Bank, China has reduced its population living under the international poverty line of 1.25 U.S. dollars from 43 percent of the world's total poor population in 1981 to 13 percent in 2010.
The country issued new guidelines on poverty reduction in rural areas in 2011, focusing more on helping concentrated poor areas, improving economic infrastructure development and offering industrial support.
According to figures released by the State Council Leading Group Office for Poverty Alleviation and Development, the number of people in China living under the state poverty line of 2,300 yuan (374 U.S. dollars) per capita a year has been lowered from 166 million people at the end of 2010 to 98.99 million people now.
"It is gladdening to see that the Chinese government is not only handing out food, or giving the poor people fish, but also giving them a hand up in life, that is teaching them how to fish," Rierson said.
With the highest poverty rate in China, Tibet Autonomous Region has seen its population in poverty reduced from 34.42 percent of its total rural and pastoral population in 2010 to 18.73 percent in 2013, lifting about 370,000 people out of poverty.
Tibet is expected to have reduced its poverty-stricken population by 45 percent in a three-year period by the end of this year.
"China has entered a critical phase of poverty reduction as its urbanization rate had reached 52.6 percent by 2012 amid furthering economic restructuring," Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said on Thursday at the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum in Beijing.
More efforts should be made to further develop agriculture and promote poverty reduction in western areas, Wang said.
Rierson added that China should focus more on nutrition besides calories, as malnutrition could undermine quality economic growth, and "may blunt children's physical health and intellectual development, impacting talent for driving economic growth."
Among China's hunger and poverty reduction efforts, he is most impressed with China's school feeding program, describing it as "an important social investment and a wise decision."
The Chinese government started to offer nutrition subsidies of 16 billion yuan each year to 26 million poor students in rural areas in October 2011 after the NGO's Free Lunch for Children program won public support.
Rierson said the WFP is ready to collaborate with the Chinese government and other actors to drive hunger to zero and reduce poverty, and to share China's successful stories with the rest of the world.
"This can be one of China's best exports," according to the WFP representative.



http://english.cntv.cn/20131017/104761.shtml
 

choochoochan

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Nov 4, 2013
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Lottocracy/demarchy (leaders chosen from the population at random) could work quite well if the selection system were computerised and weighted in favour of skilled, well-qualified individuals. But it would only be possible in an advanced, smoothly-functioning society, perhaps one of the Nordic countries.

What is the definition of a "smoothly-functioning society"? What if the people chosen don't want to do it? i recently got picked to some part of some committee at work, and it really ****** me off, cos i didn't want to do it. I think that could backfire.
 

choochoochan

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Nov 4, 2013
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China's Pseudo communism or whatever you call did and still doing much better than so called democracies

China doesn't have a proper legal system. So that's a hefty minus point for me.

Communism, does have its attractiveness. The best govt, should be comprised of all these different political ideologies. A true mixed economy.
 

kds1980

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Apr 3, 2005
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China doesn't have a proper legal system. So that's a hefty minus point for me.

Communism, does have its attractiveness. The best govt, should be comprised of all these different political ideologies. A true mixed economy.

Of course China has many flaws.Its system may not work in developed nation
But for many undeveloped and developing nations may be it is more productive than democracy.A poor man does not need how many rights he has on paper. What he needs is government which eradicate his poverty and improve his life standard
 

choochoochan

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Nov 4, 2013
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Of course China has many flaws.Its system may not work in developed nation
But for many undeveloped and developing nations may be it is more productive than democracy.A poor man does not need how many rights he has on paper. What he needs is government which eradicate his poverty and improve his life standard

That is true, but once that has been achieved, won't you agree that such a man deserves his "freedom"? Actually, a poor man does not need know his rights, or rather, he wouldn't care, but he's still should be entitled to those rights.
 

Ishna

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May 9, 2006
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I don't get politics. I vote for a benevolent dictatorship! But as for the title question, Sikhi is a way of life, it shouldn't have an opinion on a form of government outside of itself.
 

Ishna

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May 9, 2006
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Sikhi doesn't claim to be everything - religion, legal system, political framework. IMO.
 

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