CHAPTER I The State The term state has been used by different scholars, in different. senses and is often con- fused with terms like government, the units of federation |and even nation. "Sometimes the term is also used as synonym for ‘society’ and ‘association’. But it certainly differs from all these terms. As the term state has been used by/ different scholars in different senses they have offered diverse interpretations and definitions of state. According to Maclver the conflicting definitions of state are largely due to the fact that ‘‘some writers define the state as essentially a class structure, an organisation of one class. dominating over the other classes, while the others regard as the one organization that transcends class and stands for whole community. Some interpret it as a power-system, others asa welfare-system, some view it entirely as a legal construction either in the old Austinian sense which made it a relationship of gover- nors and governed or in the language of modern jurisprudence, as. community organised for action under legal rules. Some identify it with the nation, others regard nationality as incidental or unnecessary or even as a falsifying element which perverts the nature and function of the state. Some regard it as no more than a mutual insurance society, others as the very texture of our life. To some it is a necessary and to a very few an evil that is or will some day be unneces- sary, while to others it is the world the spirit has ‘made for itself. Some, class the state as ‘one in the order of ‘corporations’, and others think of it as indistinguishable ‘from society itself.” Before we take up the various definitions ‘of state it may be noted that the term state in the.modern sense was first used by the famous Italian philosopher Nicolo Machiavelli in his book The Prince in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Prior to him the Geeks and the Romans preferred to use the terms ‘Polis’ and ‘Civitas’ respectively. It is note~ worthy the city-states or civitas of the ancient times. were close’ corporations living on the exploitation of the slaves. Definition of State. One of the earliest definitions of state was given by Aristotle who described it’ as “‘a union of families and villages having for its end a perfect and selt- sufficing life by which we mean a happy and honourable life." His definition way essen- tially meant for the city-states of ancient Greece which were self-sufficient units of administration and were concerned with, the development of all the aspects of citizens’ life, His definition does not fit in with the modera nation-state, According to Prof. Holland. state is “a numerous assemblage of —hufan_ beings, generally occupying a certain. territory, amongst whom the will of the majority or of an ascertainable class of persons is, by the strength of such a majority of class, made to prevail against any of their member who oppose it.” Burgess defines state as "a parti- cular portion of mankind, viewed as an organised unit.” Prof. Wilson defines state as ‘a people organised for law within a definite territory”. Bluntschli also describes state as ‘politically organised people of a definite territory’. All these definitions are incomplete in so far as they do not make any reference to sovereignty, one of the most important elements of state. In the definitions of Laski, Maclver and Phillimore this deficiency is not there. Laski says “By a State I mean a society of this ind which is integrated by possessing a coercive authority legally supreme over any individual or group-which is a part of the Society”. An examination of any’ national Society will always. reveal within its boun- aries, not only” individuals but also associa- tions of men grouped together to promote all kinds of objects, religious, economic, cultural,litical in whick they are interested. Such Beociey isa state when the way of life 10 Which both individuals end associations must Conforms is defined by a cosreive authority Binding’ upon them al. According 10 Maclver “The State isan association, which, acting theough law es. promulgated by. government endowed to this end with coercive ower, maintains within a community terti- to demarcated the universal external conditions of soci} order.” Inthe words of Phillimore “The State is a people permanently occupying a fixed territory bound together by common laws, habits and customs into one body politic, exercising through the medium of an organised government independent sovereignty, and control over all persons and things within its boundaries, capable of making war and peace and of entering into I international relations with the communi- ties of the globe.” But_probably the best det ate _has Been of ‘Garner. He says “The slate 1s a~community of Persons, more oF Tess numerous, perma ently” occupying_a_ portion of _lerrilary, independent of external controLand possessing. an Ofganised_government_to which fe great body_of inhabitants render habitual obedi- ELEMENTS OF STATE A perusal of the above definitions of state shows that it has four essential clements— population, territory government and sover- ciguty. Let us examine these elements of state in some details 1. Population. The state is a human institution and itis not possible to envisage a state without people. However, there is n Uunanimity amongst scholars regarding the size of population of a state. According to an ideal state should consist of ($040, eau fixed the population of an ideal state at 10,000. However, in modern. times the scholars have not. ventured to fix any upper or lower limits of the population, Ta fact, at present there are states. with large Population like China and India which have population of 880 and 680 million respectively, as well as states which have a small popula tion like San Marino, with population running Into five ‘figures only. According to Prof Garner the best rule is that “population must be sullicient (o provide a governing body and anumber of persons to be governed, and. of course sullicient to support a State organisa- tion”. The number of the people inhabiting a state does not necessarily add to its strength or prosperity. It is well known that. the poverty of India is largely due to her over Population, Therefore it can be said that the population of the state should not be so large as it cannot be supported by its re- sources, nor it should be so small that it can not defend its boundaries or fully exploit the resources available on the territory: In other words, there is direct relationship between the population and the: territory and resources available for the people. However, from the quality point of view the people’ should be healthy, educated, possess civic sense etc. 2. Territory. Territory is another im- portant element of ° state. - The nomadic People wandering from place to place cannot Constitute a state. Though some scholars like Secley do not consider the territory as an essential element but the general opinion of the scholars is that. it an essential attribute of state. It is only when the people acquire a territory and establish their sole control or jurisdiction over it that a state comes into existence. For example the Jews. before second. world war were scattered all over the world but they did not constitute a state. It was only afler they got the territory of Pale- stine and settled down there that the Jew state of Israel came into existence. In fact it is the territory which distinguishes the state from other associations, ©f population there is no un- animity among schoiars regarding the size of territory which a state should possess. While some have favoured small states the others Plead for large territorial states, For example Aristotle and other ancient thinkers favoured small territory. Rousseau also favoured a small sized state because large territory led to the weakening of the social bonds. In modern times majority of the scholars have favoured large territory because the two most_ powerful states of the present times viz. U.8.A-and U.S.S.R. possess very large territory. How- ever, no uniform rule can be laid down ia this regard. At present there are large states like Russia, U.S.A., India etc. and small states like "San Marino which has barely @ territory of 40. square miles. But there is a general trend on the part of the small states to join hands and form federations. | | It may be © state does not ea ois territory fatural resource tory. should be ments of the position, climat ple are also fo the strength c 3. Govern the third: impo the formation that there shou. through which enforce its will. isknown as g Prof. Garner" lation would 1 anarchic mass union.” The organised and resources nece! ard compel wise it shall ne peace and or obligations wh ‘on the State ¢ the family of ¢ There is ne of governmes Wt maybe « perlmtentary tio. coms ble” and Inthe counts there are no none whoo State iv at an 4, Sover ably them Tn fact itis date fiom Highest pom sew as ¢ should have frplement There t 30 the sate. I supreme po and. punish should be’It may be, noted that the stretigth of the state does not entirely depend on the vastness ofits territory, It is also desirable that the natural resources available within the terri- tory should be sufficient to meet the require ments of the people. The geographical position, climate and the character of the people are also vital factors which contribute fo the strength of a state. 3. Government. The Government is the thitd important element of a state. For the formation of government it is essential that there should be an agency or organisation through which the state can express itself enforce its will. This agency or organiss isknown as government. In the words of Prof. Garner “without government the. popu- lation would |bean incoherent, unorganised anarchic mass with no means of collective union.” The| government must be well organised and should possess power and resources necessary to enforce its commands ard compel fespéct_ for its authority, other- wise it shall not be able to. maintain. internal Peace and order or discharge international obligations which international law imposes ‘on the State as a condition of membership in the family of nations. ‘There is no formal rule regarding the form of government which a state should possess. It may be democratic or dictatorship, Parliamentary or presidential but it must be able to command obedience of the general public and establish peace and prosperity Im the country, According to Bluntschil “if there are none who possess authority and none who obey, there is anarchy and the is pro- bably the most important element of state. Infact, it is sovereignty which distinguishes state from other organisations. It means the highest power over all the people internally as well 2s externally. Internally the state should have authority to make laws and implement them without any obstruction. There is no other parallel authority which can pose @ challenge to the jurisdiction of the state. In short, internally the state has supreme power to regulate, control coerce and punish afl the individulls, groups etc. within its jurisdiction. Externally the state should be’ free from foreign control determine its foreign policy without any out- side interference or pressure. In other words there is no external limitation on the authority of the state. However this does not prevent the state from accepting voluntary restrictions on its authority through agreements or treaties, Recognition. In addition to the four basic elements of state enumerated above, some scholars consider international recog: nition as another important element of ‘state, They contend that any inhabited portion of territory assumes the character of a state only when it is accorded recognition by other members of the international community. But this view does not seem to be corrett Recognition of one state by another state is a political act which depends on considerations of national interest. There are numerous instances to show that a particular state was not recognised by the other states for purely political reasons. For example USSR was not given recognition by U.S.A. till the begine ning of the thirties. Likewise People’s Republic ‘of China had to wait for almost two decades before it was accorded recognition by U.S.A. Further, some states are accorded recognition by some states and denied recognition by the others. If we consider recognition as_an important element of state, it shall indeed be difficult to decide whether such states should, be treated as states or not. In the light of all this, it can be said that recognition cannot be considered an indispensable factor for the existence or continuance of the state, even though it is an important act in international politics, State distinguished from other terms. ‘As has already beet pointed out the term state 1s often confused with terms like society, association, government and nation, It shall be desirable to distinguish it from these terms, 1. State and Society. For a long time state and society were treated as identical and no distinction was drawn between the two. For example the ancient Greek political thinkers considered the two as identical, In modern times Ernest Barker does not consider the two as different in so far as the two have the same moral purpose. However, by and large the twohave come to be considered as separate institutions, and any effort to treat them asidentical is decried. Prof. Maclver says ‘to identify. the social with the political is to be guilty of the process of all confusions which completely bars any. understanding of either society or the State”. Generally the following distinctions are drawn between the two Firstly, society is a much older institution than the state. It exists anywhere there are interdependent and reciprocal relations. The state isa much later development and emerg- ed as a part of the society. In other words the state exists within the society. Secondly, the society is a much wider con- cept than the state. It embraces the whole life of man and covers innumerable human relationships like religious, econiomic, cultural etc, On the other hand the state is concerned with the potitical aspect of man’s life only. The wider range of the society is highlighted by Prof.. Maclver thus “There are social forms like the family or the church or the club which owe neither their origin nor their inspira- tion to the State ; and social Torces like cu: tom or competition, which the State may protect or modify, but certainly does not create ; end social motives like friehdship or jealousy which establish relationship too intimate and personal to be controlled by the ‘great engine of the state.” Thirdly, society is not a territorial con cept. It means it can be confined to a home or miay extend to the whole of the world. On the other hand the state is a territorial concept ‘and must possess a definite territory which it can call as its own, Fourthly, organisation is not an essential attribute of” society. Societies can be both ‘organised as well as unorganised. For example, even the nomads wandering from’ place to place and lacking proper organisation consti tute a society. In fact the relationship in the society is so wide that it is not possible to control the same through any organisation, ‘On the other hand the state cannot be imagin- ed without organisation. Every stato possess government which makes laws and is res- ponsible for the maintenance of law and order within its jurisdiction Fifthly, the society does _not possess any sovereign power and cannot compell obedi ence of its members. The rules of society are | based on customs and morality and are! not | backed by any coercive powers. The chief sanction behind these rules is moral persta- sion and public opinion, On the other hand the state is a sovereign body which possesses Coercive power to enforce its will. It can compell a person to observe its laws and Punish those who violate the same, Sixthly, the society does not possess any Power to raise money compulsorily through taxes efc, and. is mainly dependent on) the Voluntary contributions of its members. On the other hand the state reserves the right to impose taxes and frocibly realise the same It can even punish the evaders. 2. The State and Associations. The State is often confused with Association and des cribed as ‘association of associations’. | Ai association, in the words of Maclver is group of persons organised for the pursuit. of an interest_or a group of interests in common”. These common interests can, be social, economic, cultural, religious or even political. Various associations are formed for the realization of these interests. Viewed in this context, the State is also an association which looks after the political interests of its members. The Pluralists do not consider the state different from other associations. How ver, there are many differences between the Firstly, the membership of the state is compulsory. A person automatically becomes the member of a state as soon as he is born. On the other hand the membership of ordi nary associations is voluntary and it is upto the individual 0 accept or not to accept the membership of a particular association, | In other words the membership of the associa- tions is voluntaty. Secondly, the membership of the state cannot be easily surrendered, The member- ship of an association can be surrendered any time. In fact, the renunciation and acquisition of membership ofa state is quite a difficult process and involves long legal “and technical formalities. Usually acquisition or renunciation of membership of a. state takes long time. Thirdly, no person can bea member of more than ‘one state at a time, but a person fan be a member | tie sane tie. seat bythe force fennot retain th Fie has to execs Feaches the age} Fourthly, th territory. The 4 any fixed territor or even intern objectives. Fifthly, the 8 which possesses bers to render member does no force to compel violation of {1 punishment. T hand are non-so force against th apply moral pc bers. In extrer deprive them of ation. sixthly, the tion which he bier since the Galy a politica ext as ong as tre formed for bjective and bpectve iuatt tions are asso ofthe set obje find jealousis Seventhly, association W more geveral diction of the fndertaking 2 associations o attainment of cnerally of 8 fe concerned upliftment of tion is cone: economic int hot concernet their eld ofcan be a member of a number of associations he came time. /Sometimes, a person may Sequire the membership of more than one State by the force of circumstances, but he cannot retain this_membership for He has to exercise @ choice as soon as he territory, any ined teritory, They can be local, national their for even international according to objectives. Fifthly, the state is a sovereign association The Associations need not_p Ia which possesses the bers to render obedi "They can only poly moral. persuasion against their_mem befe,Inextreme leases they can at the most deprive them of the membership of the associ~ ation. the state is a permanent associa ed in one form or the times. Man is essen- ‘and ihe state sha an exists. The associati are ly of a tem are formed for the attain: Objective and are disso objective is.attained. S tions are aissolved even before the of the set objective due to inter varied, compreh more general objectives. In fast expanding and it undertaking more and more functions. TI associations on the other hand exist. fc ainment of some definite aims, whi generally of a limited nature. is concerned with the vplifiment of it union is concerned economic interests of its. members. ‘They are hot concerned with activities which fall beyond their field of operation, the associ- inds that or disruptive ciations do not possess any such authority. 3. State and Government. The state js more often confused with t at and used as. synoi we often term govern talk of ‘state railways managed larly Louis IX by the government. ‘Si France used. to. say ‘I am the. State’ Actually he wanted to convey that all the ent were concentrated ly a large number of In our own Laski also holds that the distinction between the state and the government was and for practical purposes of state is the go t. But in reality it is wrong to treat the two as identical. They differ from each other in any respects. Firstly, the state is wider a the governmen its of the le body of peopl The within a n. According to speak of the State, we ion of which government fe has a tion, a code of laws, a way of setting nent, a body of citizens, When icture we think of the he government on the other hand is only a part of the state. It is the vant or agent of the state which gives shape to the will of the state, and acts on its behalf. Secondly, state is an abstract thing. We it. On of some people who formulate, ‘express and execute the will of the state Thirdly, the state possesses sovereignty All the powers actually belong to the state and the government merely, exercises those powers on behalf of the state. In other words the powers enjoyed by the goverament are delegated ones Fourthly, the state is more or less permanent. It loses its entity only if it isconquered by some other state. On the other hand the government is temporary and undergoes frequent changes. Thus the Conservative Government of Britain may be replaced by the Labour Government or vice versa. This implies change in the ruling party. Similarly, more fundamental changes In government can take place if democracy is replaced by dictatorship or a constitutional government replaces the despotic rule. In Short, whereas the state -is some what permanent the government is temporary and undergoes frequent changes, Fifthly, all the states are alike in the sense that they possess the same four essential elements viz. population, territory, government and sovereigaty. ‘The form of Zovernment can however, differ from country to country. For example there may be demo- cratic republic in one country and a constitu- tional monarchy in another, Similarly, one country may have Parliamentary form of government while the other may have Presidential government, Sixthly, people have no right to oppose the state but they have the right to oppose the government. 4, State and Nation. The term, state is also confused with the term nation although there ave fundamental” differences” between thetwor, The sate 1s-essentially political Srganistion which ‘emphasises the polteal Gnon, which the nation emphasizes the Eultual aspect of the union. ‘Invother. words while state stands only for a. poilially Srganised society. in a given territory, the ation has a wider connotation in so. far it Implies the presence of a feling of common (Ghisousness and oneness. Im other” words then they people infabiting a particular orton “of” territory “develop “a "common Fonstiousmess they” are transformed. into. a Itmay be further noted that an independent government i an essentia|atrbute. of ate, Bari Ts not indibpensable for the nation The people. having keen desire 10 have tn Independent government of theif” oWa can The difference between. state and nation has’ been best brought out by Prof. Zimmern. He says “Nationality like religion is subjective, statehood is objective; nationality is psychological, statehood is political; nationality is a condition of mind, statehood is a condition in law; nutionality is a possession, statehood is an enforceable obligation; nationality is a way of feeling, thinking and living, statehood is a condition unseparable from’ all civilized " ways of Somé of the probable objective questions with regard to the state are given here uader The term city state is generally associat- ed with 2 a ie . (a) ancient Egypt @ ancient Greece (©) ancient China {@) none of the above 2. ‘The term state in the modern sense. was for the first time used by (@) Aristotle (@ Machiavet © Hobbes {@) TH. Green 3. The state consists of @ Four elements (@) Five elements elements 4. Plato fixed the population of an ideal state at (a) 1900 persons (6) 5040 persons (6) 10,000 persons (4) 1,00,000 persons 5. Rousseau believed that an should consist of @ 10,000 persons (®) 50,000 persons (©) 27,000 persons () did not fx aay number 6. Which one of the following writers. docs not consider territory as an. essential clement of state ? (a) Aristotle () Hobbes (@) Seeley | (4) Laski 7. Which one of the following is not an clement of state ? ; (a) Population | () Religion ideal state (©) Territe: ‘d) Sovereign 8, Which one of, Burma (b) Punjab ic) Common (@) United 9. Which one « 10, i 12 state? @ 1 () USA Madras @) Britain The four ess (a) Popolat and arr (&) Popula and'nat © Sovereit and po} Populat and s0v ‘The territor (a) Land Tana a ®t,» @ Land, The term te a) The wi 2 in the (b) The count (© The Water coast @) USA () USS (©) India @ Chin: ‘The large: (a) Chin: (b) India @ os!