INDIAN POLITY

INDIAN POLITY
Political Science is that part of social science which deals with the foundations of the state and the principles of the government.

• J. W. Garner, “Politics begins and ends with the state.”
• R. G. Gettel said Politics is the “study of the state in the past, present and future”.
• The term Politics is derived from the Greek word Polis which means city-state.
• Harold D. Lasswell and Abraham Kaplan define Political Science as “the study of shaping and sharing of power”.
• Systematic study of Politics started with the Greeks in the fourth century BC.
• Aristotle called Politics a “master science”.
• Romans considered the legal aspect of Politics more important for their governance.
• The term ‘State’ in its modern sense was first used by Machiavelli (1469-1527), the Italian statesman.
• The State consists of four elements. They are: (a) the people; (b) the territory on which they live; (c) the government to rule and regulate the lives of the people and (d) sovereignty, which implies unrestricted authority to take decisions and manage its own affairs.
• Rights are claims by an individual on the state. Natural rights are those rights with which an individual is supposed to have been born with. Individual is supposed to have acquired them even before the state came into existence. The important implication is that since the state has no role in the creation or granting of these rights, it cannot take away or abridge these rights.
• The dacoit’s power is illegitimate power while the government’s is legitimate.
• The relationship between citizens and the government is reciprocal.

So far as the rights of the citizens are concerned, they can be divided into three: civil, political and social.CIVIL RIGHTS are those rights which are necessary for the freedom/ liberty of the individual. They include the right to life and personal liberty, right to freedom of speech, expression and thought, right to own property, right to enter into contract, right to equality before law and equal protection by law. 
POLITICAL RIGHTS include the right to vote and the right to contest election.
SOCIAL RIGHTS include the right to some degrees of economic welfare and security and the right to live the life of a civilized being according to standards prevailing in the society. 

• The term liberty is derived from the Latin word liberty meaning free.
• The term Justice is derived from the Latin word jus, which means a bond
• The term nationality is derived from the Latin word natus, which means ‘to be born’.
• Nation gives an idea of an organisation; nationality gives an idea of sentiment.

Elements of NationalityCommon GeographyThe Jews were scattered all over the world before the creation of Israel. They had no common territory, yet they constituted a strong nationality. Similarly, the Poles were denied their homeland for a long time before 1919 but they were a nationality.

Common RaceThe idea of a common race is also important because it strengthens common language, common traditions and common culture.

Common LanguageGenerally, members of a nationality speak same language. For examples, Tamils is a nationality on linguistic basis. However, this cannot be applied to English language since it is a global language which is spoken in all parts of the world and it cannot be associated only with England.

Common ReligionA common religion is a strong incentive to national feeling. England fought against the Spanish Armada largely due to her determination to defend Protestantism. In modern times, nationalities tend to become multi-religious and under such circumstances religion are regarded as a private affair of individual and secularism prevails in the collective life.

Common Political FrameworkPeople living in a State are knit together through the laws. Living under one common state creates a sense of unity. Various crises like wars further develop the feelings of patriotism. In fact the government also encourages this idea through various methods.

Economic Factor and Common SubjugationIt is also an important factor in the maintenance of nationality. But on its own single-handedly, it cannot create a nationality

“The State is the politically organized people of a definite territory” - Bluntschli 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 organized government to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience.” - Garner State is “a territorial society divided into governments and subjects, whether individuals or associations of individuals, whose relationships are determined by the exercise of this supreme coercive power.” - Laski State “is a people organized for law within a definite territory”. - Woodrow Wilson “The State is a concept of political science, and a moral reality which exists where a number of people, living on a definite territory, are unified under a government which in internal matters is the organ of expressing their sovereignty, and in external matters is independent of other governments.” - Gilchrist

• Antarctica is not a State as is it is without any human population.
• Plato fixed the number of people in an ideal state at 5040. And Rousseau put the number at 10,000
• Dictators like Mussolini had openly encouraged large population of the state.
• India before 15 August 1947 had all the other elements of the state but it lacked sovereignty and therefore it was not a State.
• The ancient Greek philosophers (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) did not make distinction between the state and society.