Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.2

c7.2

Though monarchy was the usual form of government in Vedic India, there can be no doubt that there were some non-monarchical or aristocratic governments as well. A persistent and false tendency is noticeable in the attention which Jayaswal,¹ Majumdar,² Altekar,³ Shama Sastri ⁴ and others ⁵ have given to the *sabhā*, the *samiti* and the role that the people, or rather the heads of the families, played in "electing" one of their fellow men to the kingship or chieftaincy of the tribe.⁶