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

(a) A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory independent of external control and possessing an organized government ✓ UPSC's answer
(b) 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
(c) A number of persons who have been living in a definite territory for a very long time with their own culture, tradition and government
(d) A society permanently living in a definite territory with a central authority, an executive responsible to the central authority and an independent judiciary

Why the answer is (a)

• In political science a State has four essential elements: population, definite territory, government and sovereignty (independence from external control).

• Option (a) captures all four precisely — a community of persons, permanently occupying a definite territory, independent of external control, with an organised government (this is Garner's classic definition).

• Option (b) adds functions (law and order, natural rights, sustenance) but omits sovereignty; (c) describes a nation or community rather than a State; (d) describes a form of government, not the State itself.

• Hence option (a).

Why the other options are wrong

(b) A politically organized people of a definite territory and possessing an authority to…: It omits sovereignty, an essential element of the State.
(c) A number of persons who have been living in a definite territory for a very long time…: It describes a nation/community, not the State.
(d) A society permanently living in a definite territory with a central authority, an…: It describes a form of government, not the State.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021, held on 10 October 2021. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.