Ethical Governance for Post-Colonial States: A Vedic Framework for Modern Public Administration

Post-colonial governance systems continue to face institutional legitimacy challenges, cultural disconnection, and persistent inefficiencies, reflecting a structural misalignment between imported Western models and indigenous value systems. This study proposes the Vedic Analytical Framework for Governance, Policing, and Education (VAFGPE), a culturally grounded yet modern model that operationalizes ethical principles from India’s Vedic tradition: Satya (truthfulness), Dharma (righteous duty), and Ṛta (cosmic and systemic harmony). Moving beyond symbolic integration, VAFGPE introduces a measurable Dharmic Performance and Incentive System (DPIS) to assess public servants through multi-source ethical evaluation, aligning administrative behavior with societal values.

Drawing on comparative analysis of governance models in Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa, the framework demonstrates how non-Western societies can develop systems that are institutionally effective and culturally authentic. VAFGPE reinterprets Vedic concepts through a constitutional, pluralistic, and egalitarian lens, addressing caste, gender, and secularism. It also highlights employment opportunities in professional domains at the intersection of traditional knowledge and modern public administration.

This contribution advances debates on epistemic decolonization in public administration and offers a scalable, ethically anchored alternative to Western-centric governance. By bridging ancient wisdom and contemporary institutional design, VAFGPE provides a viable third path for developing societies seeking sustainable, legitimate, and human-centered governance.

Keywords:

 post-colonial governance, indigenous knowledge, ethical statecraft, Vedic principles, developing societies, public administration