Question

Express your opinion of the following.

India is a State.

Answer 1

I agree with the above statement.

In Political Science, the term 'State' is used to describe a sovereign country. Anti-colonial nationalism led to the freedom struggle in India and subsequent independence from the British Rule in 1947.

Any state has the following elements:

1. Sovereignty: India achieved the status of a Sovereign Republic on 26th January 1950 when it's constitution came into effect.
2. Government: As a British colony, there was a government but it was not a sovereign government However, after political independence, a Sovereign, Parliamentary, Federal government was constituted in India.
3. Territory: India is defined by it's geographical boundaries. It's jurisdiction extends all over it's a compact territory, now comprising of 29 states and 7 union territories.
4. Population: India has a vast population, exhibiting great diversity in terms of ethnicity/race, region and language, culture, religion, and so on.

Thus, we can conclude that India is a nation state.