THE STATE AND ITS ELEMENTS

Definitions :

The state is the most universal and most powerful of all social institutions. The state is a natural
institution. Aristotle said man is a social animal and by nature he is a political being. To him, to live in the
state and to be a man were indentical.

The modern term 'state' is derived from the word 'status'. It was Niccolo Machiavelli ( 1469 - 1527) who
first used the term 'state' in his writings. His important work is titled as 'Prince'.

The state is the highest form of human association. It is necessary because it comes into existence out of
the basic needs of life. It continues to remain for the sake of good life.

The aims, desires and aspirations of human beings are translated into action through the state. Though
the state is a necessary institution, no two writers agree on its definition.

To Woodrow Wilson, 'State is a people organized for law within a definite territory.'

Aristotle defined the state as a 'union of families and villages having for its end a perfect and self -
sufficing life by which it meant a happy and honourable life'.

To Holland, the state is 'a numerous assemblage of human beings generally occupying a certain territory
amongst whom the will of the majority or class is made to privail against any of their number who
oppose it.'

Burgess defines the state as 'a particular portion of mankind According to Sidgwick. 'State is a
combination or association of persons in the form of government and governed and united together into
a politically organized people of a definite territory.'

According to Garner, 'State is a community of people occupying a definite form of territory free of
external control and possessing an organized government to which people show habitual obedience.'
Prof. Laski defines 'state as a territorial society divided into government and subjects whose
relationships are determined by the exercise of supreme coercive power.'

Elements :

From the above definitions, it is clear that the following are the elements of the state :-

Physical bases of the State

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2. Territory

Political bases of the State

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Elements of the State

Population :

It is the people who make the state. Population is essential for the state. Greek thinkers were of the view
that the population should neither be too big nor too small. According to Plato the ideal number would
be 5040.

According to Aristotle, the number should be neither too large nor too small. It should be large enough
to be self - sufficing and small enough to be well governed. Rousseau

determined 10,000 to be an ideal number for a state. Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle thinking on
the number was based on small city - states like Athens and Sparta. Modern states vary in population.
India has a population of 102,70,15,247 people according to 2001 census.

Territory :
There can be no state without a fixed territory. People need territory to live and organize themselves
socially and politically. It may be remembered that the territory of the state includes land, water and air -
space.

The modern states differ in their sizes. Territory is necessary for citizenship. As in the case of population,
no definite size with regard to extent of area of the state can be fixed. There are small and big states.

In the words of Prof. Elliott 'territorial sovereignty or the Superiority of state overall within its
boundaries and complete freedom from external control has been a fundamental principle of the
modern state life'.

India has an area of 32,87,263 sq. km. Approximately India occupies 2.4% of the global area.

Government :

Government is the third element of the state. There can be no state without government. Government is
the working agency of the state. It is the political organization of the state.

Prof. Appadorai defined government as the agency through which the will of the State is formulated,
expressed and realized.

According to C.F. Strong, in order to make and enforce laws the state must have supreme authority. This
is called the government.

Sovereignty :

The fourth essential element of the state is sovereignty.

The word 'sovereignty' means supreme and final legal authority above and beyond which no legal power
exists.

The concept of 'sovereignty' was developed in conjunction with the rise of the modern state. The term
Sovereignty is derived from the Latin word superanus which means supreme. the father of modern
theory of sovereignty was Jean Bodin (1530 - 1597) a French political thinker.
Sovereignty has two aspects :

1) Internal sovereignty

2) External sovereignty

Internal sovereignty means that the State is supreme over all its citizens, and associations.

External sovereignty means that the state is independent and free from foreign or outside control.

According to Harold J. Laski, 'It is by possession of sovereignty that the state is distinguished from all
other

forms of human association.

The diagram given below shows that the society is the outer most and the government is the inner most.

Government

1. Government is part of the state.

2. Powers of the government are derived from the state.

3. Government is temporary. It may come and go.

4. Government is concrete and is visible.

Branches of government

Legislature : Make laws

Judiciary : Review legislative acts

Legislature : Confirm exective appointments Overide excutive veto

Executive : Enforece laws

Judiciary : Review Executive acts Issues injunctions

Legislature : Impeach Create or eliminate courts

Executive : Grand pardons Nominate judges

Judiciary : Interpret laws

Executive:

It is one of the three branches of government as given

above.

State functions through the executive, the namely the government. It is the duty of the executive or
enforce the laws passed by the legislature.

The executive who exercise real power is the real executive. The executive who has nominal power is the
normal executive.

The President of India is the nominal executive. The union council of ministers led by the Prime Minister
of India is the real executive.

Parliamentary executive is chosen from the legislature and is responsible to the legislature. The
executive in India is parliamentary in its character.

Powers and functions of executive are :

2. Maintaining peace and order.

3. Repelling aggression.

4. Building friendly relations with other states

5. When necessary to wage war to protect the country.

6. Making appointments to higher posts.

7. Raising money and spending them.

8. Convening the sessions of the legislature and conducting business.

9. Issues ordinances whenever the legislature is to in session.

10. Implement schemes and projects to improve he social and economic conditions of the people.

11. Power to grant pardon, reprieve or remission of punishment.

Legislature :

The legislature is the law making branch. The legislature has an important role in the amendment of the
constitution. The legislature is a deliberative body where matters of social, economic and political
concerns are discussed, debated and decided.
The British parliament is said to be 'the mother of parliaments'. It is the oldest legislature in the world.

According to Prof. Laski, law- making is not the only function of the legislature but its real function is to
watch the process of administration to safeguard the liberties of private citizens. The legislature of the
union is called the parliament in India. It consists of two chambers.

The House of the People or the Lok Sabha as the Lower House.

The Council of State or the Rajya Sabha as the Upper House

The functions of legislature are

a) Enact laws

b) Oversee administration

c) Pass the budget

d) Hear public grieveances.

e) Discuss subjects like

Judiciary:

Judiciary is the third important organ of the government machinery. Its main function is to interrupter
laws and administer justice.

Lord Bryce has said that there is to better test of excellence of government than the efficiency of its
judicial [Link] welfare of citizens depends to a larger extent upon the judiciary.
Judiciary is one of the pillars of democracy. Its interpretation ensures justice, equality and liberty to all its
citizens. An independent and impartial judiciary is an essential feature of a democratic setup.

The Supreme Court of India consists of a Chief Justice and other judges. The Supreme Court has its
permanent seat in Delhi.

According to Justice Hughes, 'we are under a constitution, but the constitution is what the judges say it
is'.

Functions of Judiciary:

1. Administration of justice.

2. To determine what is law and what is the cope and meaning of it.

3. To give advisory opinion on matters referred to it.

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11th 12th std standard Political Science History goverment rule laws life Higher secondary school College