Name: DEVIK AHUJA Class: XI B Subject: Legal Studies

Topic: State Submission Date: 18/04/2024

Ms. Sushmita, a legal studies teacher for grade XI wishes to prepare a pedagogy to teach her students chapter 1
‘Concept of State’. Prepare her notes from Page no. 3 to 5 of the textbook, so that her students can easily understand
the concept of state.

State Meaning:
According to Black’s Law dictionary: A state is “the political system of a body of people who are politically
organised; the system of rules by which jurisdiction and authority are exercised over such a body of people.”

This means that the state isn’t just random of group of people but they politically organised and they have rules,
institutions and leaders to manage the working of the group.
The state also has a body of people who refers to the citizens or residents of that state upon which the state
governs. The state has to make rules and laws and has to enforce these laws onto the people within the state to
make a framework for how people should act and the consequences they face when they break the law.

Article 12:
Article 12 states “in this part, unless the context otherwise requires, the State includes the Government and
Parliament of India and the Government and the Legislature of each of the States and all local or other
authorities within the territory of India or under the control of the Government of India.” This means the state of
India includes:
 The Government of India
 The Parliament of India which is the Executive and Legislature of the Union Government
 The governments of each state and their Legislature and Executive
 The local authorities within Indian territory
 The local authorities and every other authority under control of the Indian Govt.

 Article 12 is NOT a Fundamental Right it defines the term state for them to act on.
 The Judiciary is not mentioned as a state in Article 12 as it is an adjudicator and interpreter, but it
can’t make laws that violate the Fundamental Rights.

Government and State:

A government is defined as the set of principles and rules which determine the working of how a state is
organized.

Society and State:

Society is an association of human beings, who live a collective life and form social relations to fulfil their
needs of life. These may be physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual.
The presence of the societal institutions like family, clans, tribes, villages, religious institutions, educational
institutions, workplace associations etc. in a society. Social relationships are governed by necessity, custom,
courtesy, morality, mutual understanding, agreement or even contract.
When a society is governed by common set of laws, rules, regulations, and obey a supreme authority, it
qualifies for being a State.
The State fulfils the need of political organization of society to realize the purpose of collective living. State is
formed out of society.
A State is formed to regulate the political activity of individuals for social order. The State depends on society
for its existence, and not vice versa.

According to J. W. Garner, ‘state is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently.

occupying a definite portion of territory, independent or nearly so, of external control and possessing
an organised Government to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience’. The
definition given by Garner contains all the elements of the state. The state MUST possess four elements,
namely, POPULATION, TERRITORY, GOVERNMENT and SOVEREIGNTY.