KING ASOKA AND THE ART OF GOVERNANCE by Prof. Sanjeev Sareen Assoc. Dean & Dy ACO Faculty - Marketing & Operations ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon Landline: 0124-4980950 Extn. 206 Email: sanjeev.sareen@ibsindia.org web : www.ibsindia.org facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GurgaonIBS/

1. KING ASOKA AND THE ART OF GOVERNANCE
By Prof Sanjeev Sareen
Any nature of
purposeful human
activities requires to be
organized with defined
objectives and definite
goals. To achieve this
individuals or groups
of individuals need to
be directed to achieve
the objectives. Hence
the need for
governance, which is a Greek verb, which means to steer and was used by Plato for the first time.
Governance is what a government does and the word government can be applied from a “nation
state” to a unit as small as a “family”. With the realization that development and the quality of
human life in all its facets is dependent on good governance, there is a renewed interest in the
area of governance world over. With widespread disenchantment with the current governance
ideologies; individuals and entities such as the World Bank, the Forum for a new World
Governance and various other organizations are involved in the search of new paradigms in the
method of governance and identifying the metrics of good governance. Perhaps it would be a
good idea to look at some of the good governance methods practiced in ancient India to build a
model for the present times. This paper discusses the concept of governance, the global
challenges being faced by humankind, the art of good governance as followed by King Asoka in
ancient India and its relevance to meet the needs of the current world.
Governance is the act of governing and relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power,
or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or
leadership processes.
The word governance derives
from the Greek verb [kubernáol]
which means to steer and was
used for the first time in a
metaphorical sense by Plato. It
then passed on to Latin and then
on to many other languages.
As a process, governance may
operate in an organization of any size: from a single human being to all of humanity; and it may

2. function for any purpose, good or evil, for profit or not. A reasonable or rational purpose of
governance aims to assure that an organization produces a pattern of good results while avoiding
an undesirable pattern of bad circumstances.
To distinguish the term governance from government: “governance” is what a “government”
does. It might be a geo-political government-a nation-state, a corporate government - a business
entity, a socio-political government — a tribe, a family etc., or any number of different kinds of
government, but governance is the physical exercise of management power and policy, while
government is the instrument that does it.
In general terms, governance occurs in three broad ways:
1. Through networks involving public-private partnerships (PPP)
or with the collaboration of community organizations;
2. Through the use of market mechanisms whereby market principles of competition serve to
allocate resources while operating under government regulation;
3. Through top-down methods that primarily involve governments and the state bureaucracy.
A good government, could consist of a set of inter-related positions exercising power that
assures, on behalf of those governed, a worthwhile pattern of good results by making decisions
that define expectations, grant power, and verify performance.
The world has experimented with various forms of governance: capitalism with its inherent focus
on earning profits; communism, with its stress on collective ownership with the individual being
reduced to almost a non- entity and dictatorship — people led by so called “infallible” leaders.
Despite these models of
governance presenting their
‘best fit eligibility’ for
resolving the issues of
mankind, none of them have
been able to a large degree
resolve the issues being
faced by mankind.
Today, the world faces
tremendous challenges on
various fronts — political leadership, social and cultural depreciation, economic instability,
environmental degradation and moral and ethical deprivation. The combined result of this is the
downward spiral in which the humanity is caught today and despite best efforts - no lasting
viable solution seems to be in sight.
“Any nature of purposeful
human activities require to
be organized with defined
objectives and definite
goals.”

3. GREAT RULERS OF ANCIENT INDIA
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000
years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The
Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian
subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Pakistan and northwest India, was the
first major civilization in South
Asia. A sophisticated and
technologically advanced urban
culture developed in the Mature
Harappan period, from 2600 to
1900 BCE. This Bronze Age
civilization collapsed before the
end of the second millennium
BCE and was followed by the
Iron Age Vedic Civilization,
which extended over much of
the Indo-Gangetic plain and
which witnessed the rise of
major polities known as the
Mahajanapadas. In one of these
kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century BCE
and propagated their šramanic philosophies.
Most of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire with illustrious kings such as
ruling during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. Post the decline of the Mauryan Empire, the sub-
continent became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the
next 1,500 years. This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which time India
has sometimes been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval
world, with its huge population generating between one fourth and one third of the world’s
income up to the 18th century. Much of northern and central India was united in the 4th century
CE, and remained so for two centuries, under the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessed a
religious and intellectual resurgence and is known among its admirers as the “Golden Age of
India”. From this time, and for several centuries afterwards, southern India, under the rule of the
Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Pandyas, experienced its own golden age. During this period,
aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism)
spread to much of Asia.
Ancient India was blessed to be ruled by great kings such as Vikramaditya, Chandragupta,
Samudragupta, Kanishka and many others. However the reign of the earliest empire of the
Mauryan Dynasty stands out for it’s accomplishments ¡n the political, social, cultural, economic
and spiritual areas. The Mauryan kingdom was established by the illustrious King Chandragupta

4. Maurya through military conquests and ably assisted in it’s administration by his minister
Chanakya, whose treatise the ‘Arthasastra’, is one of the most comprehensive treatise on
governance till date. He was followed by the accession of his son, King Bindusara who further
extended the Mauryan Empire through military conquests and ruled ably.
However King Asokavardhan Maurya, popularly known as King Asoka, stands out as a ruler
who provided half a century of peace and security to the vast Mauryan Empire based on the
practice of the principle of ahimsa i.e. non-violence, compassion, social and cultural integration
and ecological preservation; a new way of governance practiced by him for the first time. The
Mauryan era especially during his time enjoyed social harmony, religious transformation, and
expansion of the sciences and of knowledge. His reign is marked by social and political peace
and non-violence across all of India.
With widespread disillusionment in prevailing ideologies and the search for a governing
philosophy that goes beyond greed (capitalism), hatred
(communism)and delusion (dictatorships), a discussion on King
Asoka’s rule may make a meaningful contribution to the
development of a more complete system of governance which
was based on the nourishment of the physical, mental and
spiritual aspirations of the people in an equitable manner.
“However, he appears to
have listened to people’s
concerns and consulted not
only his ministers but
common people as well.”

5. KING ASOKA AND GOVERNANCE
King Asoka
The Mauryan Empire under
King Asoka
THE EMPIRE OF
ASOKA MAURYA
[C.272—231 BC]
King Asoka is thought to have been born around 304 B.C. and became the third king of the
Mauryan dynasty after the death of his father, Bindusara. His given name was Asok but he
assumed the title Devanampiya Piyadasi which means “Beloved-of-the-Gods, He Who Looks On
With Affection.” There seems to have been a two-year war of succession during which at least
one of Asoka’s brothers was killed. In 262 B.C., eight years after his coronation, Asoka’s armies
attacked and conquered Kalinga, a country that roughly corresponds to the modern state of
Orissa. The loss of life caused by battle, reprisals, deportations and the turmoil that always exists
in the aftermath of war so horrified Asoka that it brought about a complete change in his
personality. From that point Ashoka, who had been described as “the cruel Ashoka”
(Chandashoka), started to be described as “the pious Ashoka” (Dharmashoka). It prompted
Asoka to dedicate the rest of his life trying to apply compassionate principles to the
administration of his vast empire which stretched over most of South Asia from the present-day
boundaries of Bangladesh and the state of Assam in India in the east to the territory of present-

6. day Iran and Afghanistan in the west; from the Palmir Knots in the north to the almost peninsular
part of southern India.
As King Asoka stated,
Dhamma sadhu, kiyam
cu dhamme ti?
Apasinave, bahu
kayane, da ya, dane, sa
ce, soca ye.
Dhamma is good, but
what constitutes
Dhamma? (It includes)
little evil, much good,
kindness, generosity,
truthfulness and purity.
Certainly, Asoka’s dharma was intended to be a polity around which all in his heterogeneous
kingdom could unite. His legacy as probably the first monarch who pioneered an alternative
approach to governance remains intact till today. Ashoka was an efficient administrator. His
empire was divided into five provinces, with
capitals at Taxila, Ujjain, Tosali, Suvarnagiri
and Patilaputra. A kumara (prince) governed
each province. These were sub-divided into
groups of several villages. Each village was
headed by a Gramika. At the center, ministers of
state (mantris) dealt with the judiciary matters
and taxation. Ashoka issued Sasanasad
(ordinances). However, he appears to have
listened to people’s concerns and consulted not
only his ministers but common people as well.
He was very concerned that justice was fair, and
he made the system much more open than it had
been before.
ASOKA’S EDICTS OF GOVERNANCE
The principles and rules of his governance are found in the edicts which are stone pillars —
known as Asoka’s edicts. They are to be found in more than thirty places throughout India,
Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond. These edicts on pillars are to be found at very specific
places. Some, like the Lumbini pillar, mark the Buddha’s birthplace, while its inscriptions

7. commemorate Asoka’s pilgrimage to that place. Others are to be found in or near important
population centers so that their edicts could be read by as many people as possible.
Asoka’s edicts are mainly concerned with the reforms he instituted and the moral principles he
recommended in his attempt to create a just and humane society. Most of them are written in
Brahmi script from which all Indian scripts and many of those
used in Southeast Asia later developed.
Asoka tells his subjects that he looked upon them as his
children, that their welfare is his main concern; he apologizes
for the Kalinga war and reassures the people beyond the
borders-of his empire that he has no expansionist intentions
towards them. He seems to have genuinely hoped to be able to
encourage everyone to practice his or her own religion with
the same conviction that he practiced his.
Asoka emerges from his edicts as an able administrator, an intelligent human being and as a
devoted spiritual person. The contents of Asoka’s edicts make it clear that all the legends about
his wise and humane rule are more than justified and qualify him to be ranked as one of the
greatest rulers.
In his edicts, he spoke of what might be called state morality and individual morality.
The first ‘as what he based his administration upon and what he hoped would lead to a more just,
more spiritually inclined society, while the second was what he recommended and encouraged
individuals to practice. Both these types of morality were imbued with the values of compassion,
moderation, tolerance and respect for all life.
The Asokan state gave up the aggressive foreign policy that had
characterized the Mauryan empire up till then and replaced it
with a policy of peaceful co-existence. The judicial system was
reformed in order to make it more fair, less harsh and less open
to abuse, while those sentenced to death were given a stay of
execution to prepare appeals and regular amnesties were given
to prisoners. State resources were used for useful public works like the importation and
cultivation of medical herbs, the building of rest houses, the digging of wells at regular intervals
along main roads and the planting of fruit and shade trees. He attempted to raise the professional
ambition of the common man by building universities for study, including provisions for women
to study.
“The contents of Asoka’s
edicts make it clear that all
the legends about his wise
and humane rule are more
than justified and qualify
him to be ranked as one of
the greatest rulers.”
“The protection of all
religions, their promotion
and the fostering of
harmony between them,
was also seen as one of the
duties of the state.”

8. To ensure that these reforms and projects were carried
out, Asoka made himself more accessible to his
subjects by going on frequent inspection tours and he
expected his district officers to follow his example. To
the same end, he gave orders that important state
business or petitions were never to be kept from him no
matter what he was doing at the time. The state had a
responsibility not just to protect and promote the
welfare of its people but also its wildlife. Hunting
certain species of wild animals was banned, forest and
wildlife reserves were established and cruelty to
domestic and wild animals was prohibited. The
protection of all religions, their promotion and the
fostering of harmony between them, was also seen as
one of the duties of the state. It even seems that
something like a Department of Religious Affairs was
established with officers called Dhamma Mahamatras
whose job it was to look after the affairs of various
religious bodies and to encourage the practice of religion.
The individual morality that Asoka hoped to foster included respect (susrusa) towards parents,
elders, teachers, friends, servants, ascetics and brahmans — behavior that accords with the
advice given to Sigala by the Buddha (Digha Nikaya, Discourse No. 31). He encouraged
generosity (dana) to the poor (kapana valaka), to ascetics and brahmans, and to friends and
relatives. Not surprisingly, Asoka encouraged harmlessness towards all life (avihisa bhutanam).
In conformity with the Buddha’s advice in the Anguttara Nikaya, 11:282, he also considered
moderation in spending and moderation in saving to be good (apa vyayata apa bhadata). Treating
people properly (samya pratipati), he suggested, was much more important than performing
ceremonies that were supposed to bring good luck.
Because it helped promote tolerance and mutual respect, Asoka desired that people should be
well-learned (bahu sruta) in the good doctrines (kalanagama) of other people’s religions. The
qualities of heart that are recommended by Asoka in the edicts indicate his deep spirituality.
They include kindness (da ya), self-examination (palikhaya), truthfulness (sace), gratitude
(katamnata), purity of heart (bhava sudhi), enthusiasm (usahena), strong loyalty (dadha bhatita),
self-control (sayame) and love of the Dhamma (Dhamma kamata). These principles suggest a
general ethic of behavior to which no religious or social group could object.
He believed that his code of reverence and compassion was based on universal values. His
fourteen-point code aimed to hold inner morality and outer action in harmony. He turned away
from the kingship of power, compulsion and self-interest, and dared to believe that he could

9. construct a different kind of kingdom based on causing no one harm. It has been suggested that
no greater or better kingdom has yet been known among men.
GOVERNANCE IN THE MODERN WORLD & IT’S METRICS
Today the world is in crisis: persisting tensions, conflicts and wars, paralysis or failure of
regional and international organizations, helpless nation- states. And everybody agrees that this
is because governance the world over is in bad shape.
However it is reassuring to know that efforts are being made by
various individuals and entities to see that a legitimate,
effective, and equitable process of governance is evolved
which would ensure forming a responsible, plural, and united
community. It was in the framework of this thinking that
various empirical studies of governance have been carried out which have provided activists and
reformers worldwide with tools for policy reform and monitoring. The findings have reinforced
the thinking in government, civil society and the private sector that good governance is the key
for development. This has stimulated the demand for monitoring the quality of governance
across countries and within individual countries.
One of these efforts to create an internationally comparable measure of governance and an
example of an external assessment is the Worldwide Governance Indicators project, developed
by members of the World Bank and the World Bank Institute. The project reports aggregate and
individual indicators for more than 200 countries for six dimensions of governance: voice and
accountability, political stability and lack of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory
quality, rule of law, control of corruption. To complement the macro-level cross-country
Worldwide Governance Indicators, the World Bank Institute developed the World Bank
Governance Surveys, which are country level governance assessment tools that operate at the
micro or sub-national level and use information gathered from a country’s own citizens, business
people and public sector workers to diagnose governance vulnerabilities and suggest concrete
approaches for reformation.
The Forum for a new World Governance (FnWG) launched the World Governance Index - WGI
project in 2008. The idea was to develop a “tool” that would allow the players in charge of
governance to be aware of the emerging issues and problems, and to help them to find the
necessary solutions.
The general objectives of this effort were — to reduce inequalities, establish sustainable
development, and build peace in a world of diversity — and frame some proposals for laying the
new foundations of governance. These proposals are derived from the main governance
“He believed that his code of
reverence and compassion
was based on universal
values.”

10. principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
They are also directly aligned with more recent, but equally important texts such as the Earth
Summit Declaration (Rio, 1 992), the Millennium Declaration (New York, 2000), and the
findings of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (johannesburg, 2002).
The result of this work is an index that describes the state of world governance, not for
theoretical, but for practical purposes.
The Index is based on five large universally applicable fields, called indicators, which,
aggregated, constitute the WGI. These five indicators are:
• Peace and Security
• Rule of Law
• Human Rights and Participation
. Sustainable Development
• Human Development
Each of these indicators is broken down into to calculate the indexes and determine the WGI
several sub-indicators. A total of 13 sub indicators are used—and each of these sub- the main
international organizations and by indicators is the result of the aggregation of several indexes
(41 in all). Finally, the data used to calculate the indexes and determine the WGI is taken from

11. database published annually by the main international organizations and NGOs specializing in
the area of governance. The survey was carried out in over 179 countries across the globe.
Table 1: WGI Regional Rankings
Africa EU
OECD
Latin America
and the Caribbean
Asia
Pacific
Arab
States
CIS Central Asia
Balkans
Mauritus 0.720 Norway 0.844 Costa
Rica
0.749 Singapore 0.724 Qatar 0.635 Croatia 0.671
Cape
Verde
0.678 Sweden 0.843 Uruguay 0.733 Malasia 0.641 United
Arab
Emirates
0.620 Albania 0.653
Seychelles 0.653 Finland 0.832 Chile 0.733 Mongolia 0.627 Kuwait 0.617 Macedon
ia
0.646
Namibia 0.650 Iceland 0.830 Bahamas 0.733 Fiji 0.609 Bahrain 0.617 Montene
gro
0.643
South
Africa
0.638 Denmark 0.826 Barbados 0.731 Thailand 0.609 Tunisia 0.611 Serbia 0.632
Botswana 0.628 New
Zealand
0.825 St
Vincent
and the
Grenadin
es
0.697 Bhutan 0.600 Oman 0.598 Moldavia 0.619
Ghana 0.616 Netherla
nds
0.813 Argentin
a
0.692 Indonesia 0.596 Algeria 0.595 Kirghizst
an
0.607
Sao Tome
and
Principe
0.609 Switzerla
nd
0.807 Saint
Lucia
0.687 Brunei 0.594 Jordan 0.585 Bosnia
Herzegov
ina
0.606
Gabon 0.609 Australia 0.806 Panama 0.686 East
Timor
0.592 Morocco 0.582 Ukraine 0.605
Lesotho 0.607 Germany 0.801 Dominic
a
0.686 Maldives 0.592 Saudi
Arabia
0.561 Kazakhst
an
0.593
Senegal 0.599 Austria 0.801 Grenada 0.678 Tonga 0.589 Libya 0.558 Belarus 0.587
Malawi 0.585 Canada 0.796 Belize 0.674 Philippine
s
0.589 Egypt 0.557 Tajikista
n
0.586
Mozambiq
ue
0.578 Ireland 0.788 Brazil 0.662 Saloman
Islands
0.575 Lebanon 0.543 Georgia 0.584
Tanzania 0.572 Luxembu
rg
0.778 Jamaica 0.662 Viet Nam 0.571 Djibouti 0.536 Armenia 0.583
Burkina
Faso
0.566 France 0.758 Trinidad
and
Tobago
0.660 Papua
New
Guinea
0.569 Syria 0.518 Azerbaija
n
0.578
Gambia 0.566 Belgium 0.758 Peru 0.658 Laos 0.568 Yemen 0.490 Uzbekist
an
0.557
Benin 0.561 Japan 0.752 El
Salvador
0.649 Cambodia 0.562 Gaza /
West
Bank
0.438 Russia 0.534
Mali 0.561 United
Kingdom
0.750 Guyana 0.648 Sri Lanka 0.560 Iraq 0.425 Turkmen
istan
0.526
Madagasca 0.560 Spain 0.750 Ecuador 0.648 Nepal 0.554 Sudan 0.408

12. r
Rawanda 0.559 Portugal 0.738 Paraguay 0.633 China 0.549 Somalia 0.293
Zambia 0.556 Czech
Republic
0.736 Bolivia 0.632 Banglades
h
0.541
Uganda 0.556 Malta 0.736 Dominic
an
Republic
0.632 India 0.525
Comoros 0.555 Slovenia 0.723 Nicaragu
a
0.616 Pakistan 0.480
Mauritania 0.551 Estonia 0.723 Surinam 0.614 Iran 0.472
Liberia 0.542 United
States
0.720 Cuba 0.595 North
Korea
0.433
Togo 0.539 Lithuania 0.714 Honduras 0.594 Afghanist
an
0.424
Congo 0.536 South
Korea
0.714 Guatemal
a
0.594 Myanmar 0.413
Kenya 0.535 Hungary 0.703 Venezuel
a
0.578
Guinea 0.532 Slovakia 0.702 Colombi
a
0.576
Sierra
Leone
0.528 Poland 0.700 Haiti 0.522
Swaziland 0.520 Italy 0.699
Guinea
Bissau
0.514 Latvia 0.685
Nigeria 0.512 Greece 0.679
Ivory Coast 0.509 Israel 0.671
Niger 0.508 Cyprus 0.668
Equatorial
Guinea
0.506 Bulgaria 0.658
Angola 0.505 Romania 0.651
Cameroon 0.503 Mexico 0.641
Burundi 0.496 Turkey 0.599
Ethiopia 0.486
Central
Africa
Republic
0.467
Erythrea 0.447
Chad 0.445
Zimbabwe 0.432
DRC 0.408
Average 0.551 Average 0.744 Average 0.655 Average 0.561 Average 0.539 Average 0.601
Note: For each of the indexes and sub-indicators, all the collected raw data was rescaled into a
“closed” scale ranging from 0 to 1 (where 0 represent the worst result and 1 the best possible
score).

13. As we can see from the Table 1, not one country in the world has succeeded to this day in
showing a degree of total perfection as far as governance is concerned. Each is constantly facing
the challenge of establishing and renewing the structures, institutions, and standards that
contribute to good governance and to its search for improvement. The WGI, as designed, reflects
the efforts undertaken by the different countries in their quest for better governance and to
illustrate observed evolutions.
Conclusion
The different concepts developed in the empirical surveys, texts and at the Earth Summit
Declaration (Rio, 1992), the Millennium Declaration (New York, 2000), and the findings of the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002), clearly reveal that the first
goal of world governance is to define new relations among human beings, among societies, and
between humankind and the biosphere.
The foremost objective is therefore to change the current development models to make them
compatible with the limited resources of the
biosphere in the long term. Material development
must be subordinated to human development. The
future of humankind cannot be guaranteed unless
concern for the complete development of human
beings - spiritual, intellectual, social, artistic, etc. –
becomes the primary development criterion.
Ecological diversity and cultural diversity are not
only unchangeable realities of the current world –
they constitute humankind’s major wealth. Peace
requires the recognition of a common belonging, the search for a common good, and awareness
of unity, from grassroots communities to the entire human family. At every level of governance,
both greater unity and greater diversity must be achieved. It is the ability to not oppose unity and
diversity, but to consider them as the two sides of the same coin, that constitutes, from managing
a district or a village to managing the planet - the art of governance.
“As Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, an accomplished
thought leader, philosopher and peace
builder writes: ‘Although physical
resources are finite, human potential is
infinite, as is our capacity to create
value. Efforts by people, communities
and societies to benefit others bring to
the fore our most positive and creative
aspects.”

14. As Dr. Daisaku lkeda,
an accomplished
thought leader,
philosopher and peace
builder writes:
“Although physical
resources are finite,
human potential is in
finite, as is our
capacity to create
value. Efforts by
people, communities
and societies to
benefit others bring to
the fore our most
positive and creative
aspects. Likewise, the
most profound improvement to our present condition comes when we strive for a better future. It
is through such repeated efforts, with constant reference to self and other, present and future, that
we can protect each other’s inalienable dignity and work to build a world in which all people can
live in peace and happiness”.
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, a Japanese forward-thinking geographer, educational theorist and
religious reformer wrote in 1903 book The Geography of Human Life”, “There is a need to shift
away from the kind of military, political and economic competition in which benefit is sought for
oneself with no thought to the sacrifices imposed on others.” He called for a new form of what
he termed “humanitarian competition” in which “one protects, extends and advances the lives of
others while doing the same for oneself” and “one benefits and serves the interests of others
while profiting oneself.
Joseph S. Nye, Jr., of Harvard University. describing soft power says it is the “the ability to get
what you want through attraction rather than coercion”.

15. The world seems to be clearly enunciating what the great Asoka realized centuries ago — that
good governance is better achieved through peaceful engagement with people rather than
through military conquests, of being compassionate, fair and just; in creating an. environment of
trust. mutual co-operation and respect for human dignity.
Possibly we could do with building an Asokan Index of Governance, based on King Asokas
principles, for creating an equitable model of governance for today’s world.
REFERENCES
1. http.J/en.wikipedia.org/Wiki/GOvernance
2. Forum for a new World Governance: 2011: WGI
World Governance Index Report
3. Ikeda Daisaku; Peace Proposal 2009
4. www.newworldencyclopedia.org