 to this lecture on the unit titled state and this unit is from the course political theory part a from the BA first semester program in political science. I am Dr. Abhijit Bhia assistant professor in the discipline of political science KK Handig state open university. Now let us try to examine the meaning of state. Now when we try to look at the meaning of the state what you find is that one of the primary concerns of political science has always been that of the state. The Greeks use the word polis for city states in which they lived. The Romans use the term civitas to imply the idea of citizenship of a city together with the notion of public welfare. The modern term state has been derived from the word status which was earlier used by the Teutons. However it was Nicola McEvely who in the 16th century introduced the term state in the modern literature of political science for the first time. Now the term state has been defined by a number of political thinkers. Let us have a look at some of these definitions which are as follows. Aristotle defined the state as a union of families and villages having for its end a perfect and self-sufficing life by which we mean a happy and honorable life. According to Swiss jurist and politician Blunchley the state is politically organized people of a definite territory. According to American political scientist Burgess the state is a particular portion of mankind viewed as an organized unit. Political thinker Philemon defines the state as 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 organized government independent sovereignty and control over all persons and things within its boundaries capable of making war and entering into all international relations with the communities of the globe. By summing up all these definitions we can come to the conclusion that the state is a political community which is independent and has a fixed and defined territory and possesses sovereignty over it. Now we shall discuss the elements of the state. Coming to the elements of the state we find that the modern state is constituted of four constituent elements namely population, territory, government and sovereignty. Of these the first two elements are physical elements. The third one is a political element and the fourth one is a spiritual element. The four constituent elements of the state are discussed as follows population or the number of people. The first element of the state is population or the number of people. There can be no state without people or human habitation. Platter was of the view that an ideal state should have a population of 5040. Aristotle opined that the population of a state should be large enough to be self-sufficing and small enough to be well governed. The view of Rousseau was that 10000 was an ideal number. In today's world we have states with large populations like India and China on the one hand and those with small populations like Monaco and San Marino. While considering the population of a state it is important for us to remember that it is the quality of the people inhabiting the state rather than the size of the population which makes a state successful. Accordingly while the size of the population of a state cannot be fixed it is important that the people are self-sufficient to meet all their necessary requirements based on the proper utilization of resources. Now we come to the next important element of the state which is territory or a definite place of residence. The second essential constituent of a state is territory. If the people continue to move from one place to another without having any definite territory for their residence there can be no state. The gypsies and the nomads who wander from one place to another cannot be said to constitute a state. The territorial jurisdiction of a state extends not only over the land but also over rivers, lakes, mountains, marginals, sea, subsoil and aerial space over it. However it is difficult to decide the size of an ideal state. The state of San Marino has an area of 38 square miles only. The Vatican City under the Pope covers 108 acres only. On the other hand states like the United States of America and India have large territories. It is important note that more than the size it is the proper utilization of the resources in the state which leads to its prosperity and development. Now we come to the next important element of the state which is the government. The third essential constituent element of the state is the government. Unless people of a territory are subject to the control of an organized government a territory cannot be called a state simply because it is inhabited. The government is the political machinery or organization through which the collective will of the state is formulated, expressed and executed. Hence the government is responsible for the maintenance of law and order and for the provision of common services like health and education etc. No particular type of government can be recommended as essential. It varies in kind and complexity from nation to nation sovereignty. Now we come to the fourth and final element of the state which is sovereignty. As a matter of fact sovereignty is the most important characteristic of the state. It is what distinguishes a state from other forms of human organization. There can be no state in the absence of sovereignty. Broadly speaking sovereignty means supremacy of the state. Sovereignty is of two types internal sovereignty and external sovereignty. Internal sovereignty means that the state is supreme in all internal matters and the state exercises its supremacy over all the institutions and the people residing within the jurisdiction of the state and the latter have to obey its commands. External sovereignty implies that the state must be free from foreign control. If a state is controlled by another state the former will no longer be regarded as a sovereign state and it will become a part of the state which exercises control over it. This is the reason why India before August 15th 1947 could not be regarded as a state in the true sense of the term as a country was under the control of a foreign power. In the succeeding sections we shall talk about the various notions regarding the nature of the state and also focus on the evolution of the state over the ages.