Which one of the following best defines the term 'State'?

Which one of the following best defines the term 'State'?
  1. A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory independent of external control and possessing an organized government
  2. A politically organized people of a definite territory and possessing an authority to govern them, maintain law and order, protect their natural rights and safeguard their means of sustenance
  3. A number of persons who have been living in a definite territory for a very long time with their own culture, tradition and government
  4. A society permanently living in a definite territory with a central authority, an executive responsible to the central authority and an independent judiciary

Solution

The classical definition of a State has four elements: population, territory, government, and sovereignty (independence from external control). Option (a) captures all these elements: community of persons (population), definite territory (territory), independent of external control (sovereignty), and organized government (government).

Asked in: UPSC Prelims 2021

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