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Throughout most of its history, the system of government in India was Vedic monarchy (the claims of P.C. Dharma notwithstanding). But in modern times, India has turned into a democracy. My question is, are there any Acharyas living today who support a return to monarchy?

Have the heads of any Shankaracharya Mathams addressed this? What about Sri Vaishnava Acharyas? If there aren't any Acharyas who support a return to monarchy now, when is the last time an Acharya supported a return to monarchy?

Note that Nepal had a Hindu monarchy until just a few years ago, so there may well be Acharyas who support a return to monarchy in Nepal. But I'm interested in what they have to say about monarchy in India.

Keshav Srinivasan
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  • hmm..interesting thought. but even if there are some Acharyas who may support return to monarchy, not sure how it can materialise? BTW, why you wants to know about return to monarchy? – AADHinduism Sep 22 '17 at 17:03
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    @AADHinduism - the best form of government is a benevolent dictatorship. – ram Sep 23 '17 at 03:59
  • @AADHinduism Well, what led me to ask this question right now is seeing this question by iammilind. But here's why I'm interested. In the case of other traditional Hindu practices that modern Western society looks down on (like the caste system, gender roles for men and women, etc), there are still large numbers of Hindus who support these things. But in the case of monarchy, it seems like there's almost no Hindus left who still support it. I'm trying to find out if this shift in opinion happened just with common people or with Acharyas as well. – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 23 '17 at 05:34
  • @ram The traditional Hindu government is a benevolent monarchy, not a benevolent dictatorship. In a dictatorship, succession is based on whoever happens to seize power. A monarchy, on the other hand, is based on heridetary succession, which allows for people to be trained from a young age in the art of statecraft and the skills needed to be a good ruler who upholds Vedic Dharma. – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 23 '17 at 05:37
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    I support it. Others say it is 21st century dude...... –  Sep 23 '17 at 08:50
  • kutra kShAtram? –  Sep 25 '17 at 11:54
  • @moonstar2001 Sorry, what does kutra kShAtram mean? – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 25 '17 at 20:11
  • kutra- where. kshaatram - the essence of being a kshatriya. I meant to say "are there true kshatriyas (-like rama etc.) left who can revive traditional hindu monarchy" –  Sep 26 '17 at 01:29
  • Interesting question.Vedic Monarchy is the government mostly prescribed in our shastras and as you said its not benevolent dictatorship. Infact it belives in some form of divinity in King.I think Chanakya acknowledged King to have some relation with Surya Deva. And Nepalese,until abolition of monarchy in 2008, believed in King being Avatar of Vishnu. – RishX May 13 '20 at 04:46
  • I think a monarchy was fitting for its time, but personally, the situation is different. I do believe the heads of our state need more power, but for the first time we the people have power in our hands and representation in government. No acharya in my opinion needs to support a monarchy. Hinduism can thrive in any situation as long as people are willing to learn, teach, and debate the faith. In my point of view, monarchy is obsolete, but a stronger head of state would be nice. – Haridasa Dec 01 '23 at 03:24
  • @AADHinduism If we look at a text like the Bhagavad Gita the so-called Caste System itself had many different conceptions. Basing a society where people are assigned jobs based on their merit which is skills and actions is superb if done correctly. To be honest I think your average man suffered more in classic gender roles than women due to the amount of responsibility on their back. At that time work was very labor intensive, but now I think we can divide it up due to advancements in technology. I think Varna was good, especially a fluid Varna. – Haridasa Dec 01 '23 at 03:28

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