GOOD GOVERNANCE THROUGH THE LENS OF INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR MODERN MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND LEADERSHIP
Abstract
In response to growing ethical deficits in governance and leadership, Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) offer a robust, value-based framework for good governance and modern management. Rooted in classical texts such as Kautilya’s Arthashastra, the Rigveda, Manusmriti, the Mahabharata (especially the Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva), the Ramayana, Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukkural, and Ashokan edicts, IKS articulate governance as a moral, strategic, and welfare-oriented responsibility. These texts emphasize foundational principles such as Dharma (ethical order), Artha (sustainable prosperity), Rajadharma (duty of leadership), and Daṇḍanīti (just exercise of authority), highlighting accountability, consultative decision-making, and the prevention of power misuse (mātsyanyāya). This conceptual study examines these principles as an integrated framework for ethical governance and leadership. It demonstrates their relevance to contemporary management practices, including ethical leadership, stakeholder welfare, institutional accountability, strategic foresight, and sustainable resource management. Unlike dominant Western management models that prioritize efficiency and control, IKS present a holistic approach that integrates ethics, power, and public welfare. By bridging classical Indian treatises with modern management and leadership discourse, the study contributes to decolonizing governance frameworks and advancing culturally grounded management thought. The findings offer theoretical insights and practical implications for management education, corporate governance, leadership development, and public administration. Revitalizing IKS can foster ethical, resilient, and sustainable governance systems capable of addressing contemporary organizational and societal challenges.
Keyword : Good Governance; Indian Knowledge Systems; Arthashastra; Dharma; Power Management; Ethical Leadership; NEP 2020
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