Abstract

Democracy as an idea and a system of governance has evolved across centuries — from the participatory assemblies of ancient civilizations to the representative institutions of modern nation-states. While modern democracy emphasizes equality rights and constitutionalism its philosophical and institutional roots lie in the political experiments of ancient societies such as Greece Rome and India’s Gana-Sanghas. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study of ancient and modern democratic institutions. It analyzes their origins structures and functions examining how concepts like citizen participation accountability deliberation and rule of law have transformed over time. By connecting the Sabha–Samiti of the Vedic age and the Athenian polis with contemporary parliaments the study highlights both continuity and change in democratic ideals. The paper concludes that while modern democracy has achieved universality through constitutions and universal suffrage ancient democratic tradi