Constituent Assembly Debates -Sovereignty

S Radhakrishnan:

We cannot say that the republican tradition is foreign to the genius of this   country. We have had it from the beginning of our history. When a few merchants from the north went down to the south, one of the Princes of the Deccan asked the question. "Who is your King?" The answer was, "Some of us are governed by assemblies, some of us by kings."

Kecid deso ganadhina kecid rajadhina.

Panini, Megasthenes and Kautilya refer to the Republics of Ancient India.

The Great Buddha belonged to the Republic of Kapilavastu. Much has been said about the sovereignty of the people. We have held that the ultimate sovereignty rests with the moral law, with the conscience of humanity. People as well as kings are subordinate to that. Dharma, righteousness, is the king of kings.

Dharmam Kshatrasya Kshatram.

It is the ruler of both the people and the rulers themselves. It is the sovereignty of the law which we have asserted. The Princes--I count many of them amongst my personal friends--have agreed with the Cabinet Statement and wished to take their share in the future development of this country, and I do hope that they will realise that it is their duty to take notice of the surging hopes of their peoples and make themselves responsible. If they do so, they will play a notable part in the shaping of our country. We have no ill-will towards the Princes. The assertion of republicanism, the assertion of the sovereignty of the people, do not in any manner indicate any antagonism to the Princely rule itself. They do not refer to the present facts of past history of the Indian States but they indicate the future aspirations of the peoples of the States.