What Is a State?

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 18: The State, the Government, and You · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 18.1

Learn

Ishaan asks his cousin, who studies political science: "Why does a state need people who stay? Can't it be a place people just visit?" She explains that visitors are like tourists; they share nothing lasting with the place. A state (or nation) is a political organisation with authority to govern a defined territory and its population. It has four parts: people (a permanent population that identifies with the land), territory (an area with boundaries agreed with neighbours, not always natural features), a government (a system to run it), and sovereignty (full power to make its own laws without outside control).

Sovereignty is essential: no other state or outside body may interfere in a state's internal affairs. In India, the word "state" can mean the whole Indian State or one of its units, like the State of Kerala. Kauṭilya's Arthaśhāstra warned that without government there is matsya nyāya, the law of the fish, where the big swallow the small. The state therefore claims the legitimate use of power, through police and taxation, to keep order.

Explore: which feature of a state?

1. Sort each clue.

Remember

• A state has four features: people, territory, government and sovereignty.
• Without government, the strong would crush the weak (matsya nyāya).

Quick check

Sovereignty means a state …

1. makes its own laws without outside control
2. has many rivers
3. has a king
4. has no army

Think about it

Could a group of tourists on an island form a state? Why or why not?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.