1. Thanks @glenmpani for your support when my mother passed on. You raised an interesting point on democracy that we should discuss further

2. Forms of democracy have existed in many societies at different times . Even prominent writers, such as Held (1996), suggest that democracy has evolved among societies and different cultures.
3. Both the form and practice of democracy are often contested and as aptly submitted by Street (2011: 305) “There are, of course, as many definitions of democracy as there are democratic theorists.” @glenmpani
4. While democracy is generally taken as the ideal form of rule, it is hotly disputed in other cultures.
5. Held,(1996: 7) believed that the most discernible and attractive form of democracy is one in which citizens in principle can extend their participation in decision-making to a wide array of spheres such as political, social and economic.
6. Held does not agree that any one existing model alone provides an adequate explanation of the conditions, features or rational of any one democratic form.
7. As a result, democracy is difficult to unpack. It is widely contestable and manifestly polymorphous (Sadiki, 2004: 10), implying that it has many forms and practices, @glenmpani
8. In his work, The Theory of Democracy Revisited, Giovanni Sartori, scrutinises the various interrelated strata of complexities, among them the conceptual, historical, empirical and epistemological strata, to the study of democracy, @glenmpani
9. Sadiki (2004: 10) posits that democratic scholars seem only to agree on the etymology of the word. Demokratia is the Greek composite of demos, people and kratia, from the verb kratien, to rule.
10. Again, as previously discussed and argued, even Athenian democracy was imperfect. It was patriarchal and exclusive - not accessed and practiced by women, children, foreigners and slaves.
11. Despite its imperfections and Western biases, democracy as a form of government remains valued as the best system for regulating state society relations across cultures within their contexts and historical circumstances. AGREED there @glenmpani, there must be some agreement
12. There are certain values of democracy that apply to all societies and cultures, such as the right to equality before the law and universal adult suffrage. @glenmpani this is the major point you make in your TWEET, minimum agreeables
13. The assertion that democracy is a Western concept has, therefore, been described as a myth. Sen (in Koggel, 2006) argues that the championing of pluralism, diversity and basic liberties can be found in the history of many societies. There we go, u are right @glenmpani
14. He posits that the tradition of encouraging and protecting public debates on political, social and cultural matters, in India, China, Africa, Iran, the Arab World, Turkey and the Middle East, for instance.

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Two things can be true at once:
1. There is an issue with hostility some academics have faced on some issues
2. Another academic who himself uses threats of legal action to bully colleagues into silence is not a good faith champion of the free speech cause


I have kept quiet about Matthew's recent outpourings on here but as my estwhile co-author has now seen fit to portray me as an enabler of oppression I think I have a right to reply. So I will.

I consider Matthew to be a colleague and a friend, and we had a longstanding agreement not to engage in disputes on twitter. I disagree with much in the article @UOzkirimli wrote on his research in @openDemocracy but I strongly support his right to express such critical views

I therefore find it outrageous that Matthew saw fit to bully @openDemocracy with legal threats, seeking it seems to stifle criticism of his own work. Such behaviour is simply wrong, and completely inconsistent with an academic commitment to free speech.

I am not embroiling myself in the various other cases Matt lists because, unlike him, I think attention to the detail matters and I don't have time to research each of these cases in detail.

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हिमालय पर्वत की एक बड़ी पवित्र गुफा थी।उस गुफा के निकट ही गंगा जी बहती थी।एक बार देवर्षि नारद विचरण करते हुए वहां आ पहुंचे।वह परम पवित्र गुफा नारद जी को अत्यंत सुहावनी लगी।वहां का मनोरम प्राकृतिक दृश्य,पर्वत,नदी और वन देख उनके हृदय में श्रीहरि विष्णु की भक्ति अत्यंत बलवती हो उठी।


और देवर्षि नारद वहीं बैठकर तपस्या में लीन हो गए।इन्द्र नारद की तपस्या से घबरा गए।उन्हें हमेशा की तरह अपना सिंहासन व स्वर्ग खोने का डर सताने लगा।इसलिए इन्द्र ने नारद की तपस्या भंग करने के लिए कामदेव को उनके पास भेज दिया।वहां पहुंच कामदेव ने अपनी माया से वसंतऋतु को उत्पन्न कर दिया।


पेड़ और पौधों पर रंग बिरंगे फूल खिल गए और कोयलें कूकने लगी,पक्षी चहकने लगे।शीतल,मंद,सुगंधित और सुहावनी हवा चलने लगी।रंभा आदि अप्सराएं नाचने लगीं ।किन्तु कामदेव की किसी भी माया का नारद पे कोई प्रभाव नहीं पड़ा।तब कामदेव को डर सताने लगा कि कहीं नारद क्रोध में आकर मुझे श्राप न देदें।

जैसे ही नारद ने अपनी आंखें खोली, उसी क्षण कामदेव ने उनसे क्षमा मांगी।नारद मुनि को तनिक भी क्रोध नहीं आया और उन्होने शीघ्र ही कामदेव को क्षमा कर दिया।कामदेव प्रसन्न होकर वहां से चले गए।कामदेव के चले जाने पर देवर्षि के मन में अहंकार आ गया कि मैने कामदेव को हरा दिया।

नारद फिर कैलाश जा पहुंचे और शिवजी को अपनी विजयगाथा सुनाई।शिव समझ गए कि नारद अहंकारी हो गए हैं और अगर ये बात विष्णु जी जान गए तो नारद के लिए अच्छा नहीं होगा।ये सोचकर शिवजी ने नारद को भगवन विष्णु को ये बात बताने के लीए मना किया। परंतु नारद जी को ये बात उचित नहीं लगी।