Introductory Sociology

Prof. A.K. Sharma

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Lecture - 7
State-I: Definition of state

Friends, then today, we are going to discuss another institution and that is state.

(Refer Slide Time: 00:27)

Let me repeat a bit. When you are discussing about world society, then suppose we do
not have a definition. Definitions are always good. If you give definition of something by
someone in your exam here or later on in admission to management institutes or civil
services that is always better.

When you say that according to sociologists as something it define like this, then it
means you have the scholarship. If you write the same thing in your own words, we are
not sure whether you are writing on the visage of common sense or you are writing after
studying sociology proper. If still suppose you do not remember the definitions, then you
should look for essential aspects. What are the essential features of something the world
society?

Now, if I do not know the definition of world society, I remember how a society was
defined in the class, what are the features of society, and then I remember that society is
a group society. It is not an individual society. It is a group, which exerts its moral
influence on all the individuals who are members of that society. It is an aggregate
society is an aggregate and world society is certainly an aggregate. It is the biggest
aggregate of human individuals.

Aggregates, we know that aggregates alone do not constitute a group. Crowd, really
speaking, crowd is not a group. It is unstructured focus, narrow focus, no responsibility.
Aggregates are different from crowds in the sense that there is an identity identity of
being part of it group or part of being a society. One can say, gradually that links that to
the discussion that we are going to have today is state.

Indian state as such is a new product. Indian state came into being due to the efforts of
east India Company. Later on, the crown the British government attempted to unify
different small small kingdoms of India tribal area. Even then, the whole of India was not
combined; ever the whole of India, today's India was never under the control of the
crown or the British Empire. There were free tribal areas. There was independent
kingdom. After independence and after inclusion of Goa, Hyderabad, Kashmir, we
became a truly Indian society.

Now, in this Indian society, we identify with India. That is why; we are part of Indian
society. As long as people are identified with their small small kingdoms or their tribes
or their clans, family, clan, sub clan, community, religious groups, sets, linguistic groups,
cultures or regions, we never had as anything like Indian society. The term bharatvarsh
appears in Indian mythological literature. Bharatvarsh was a cultural unity. It was not a
political unity for world society to exist.

We have to identify with world society. If you do not identify with world society, if you
do not think that we are word citizens and we continue with our narrow parochial
concepts of caste community nation this or that, then there is no world society. But, the
moment we start identifying ourselves and we recognize that other likes us, others are
also members of world society, and then there is world society. Then, there should be an
interaction between members of world society. For a society to exist there must be
interaction between members.

India is a society today because Indians interact. This is because after getting education
in Kanpur IIT, you can go to work in Bangalore. After getting education in Coimbatore,
you can come to IIT Kanpur for m tech. You may be born in Haryana and you may go to
Calcutta for work. You will become a journalist, an activist, a civil servant in different
districts. So, there is interaction lot of today. Interaction between people belonging to
different states is increasing. Mobility is increasing. Migration from one part of the
country to other parts is increasing. This is part of urbanization modernization
industrialization.

So, likewise, if the interaction of people remains confined to national boundaries only,
nobody moves from one country to another. There is no international migration. There
will not be any world society. World society does not make any any sense if members of
one country never interact with members of other countries. If there is exchange, it may
be mutual exchange. It may be exchange based on desires of some people to
communicate with others, movement of artists, politicians, businessmen, traders,
educationists, experts, philosophers, intellectuals, journalists from one country to
another.

If our singers become popular in Pakistan, if Pakistan singers become popular in India, if
singers of both India and Pakistan are liked in United States, if singers of United States
are liked in Africa, if there is interaction, then we can talk of world society. Yes, world
society in is in existence because there is interaction between people. If the interaction is
lacking actually, many of these things go together. If there is no interaction, how can we
identify with world society?

You treat yourself as the citizen of the world only when you have opportunity, ability,
desire to interact with people belonging to other parts of the world, otherwise world
society makes no sense. Like this, we can say that when these features are found, we can
talk a world society or Indian society or sub national society.

One in perhaps is the most important aspect of or defining feature of society is the
existence of a normative structure or institutions. If our behavior is governed or if certain
norms apply to us because we are human beings, we are members of world society, and
then world society exists. If there are no norms governing people belonging to different
countries, if each country has its own norms, its own regulations, today we are part of
Indian society. This is because the norms, which govern us, are of all Indian nature
anybody can take.
Whenever minister is making new norms regarding admission to IITs or NIITs that is of
all Indian nature, then the norms that we are developing in different fields are governing
behavior of all the Indians. Vat value added tax vat governed the whole of India.
Actually, sometime we say that in India, you have both the processes of integration and
disintegration, while politically speaking; there is sort of disintegration and demand for
smaller and separate states at several places when they will convince to be separated.

Some people think when they will convince to be separated, some people think that
people of Andhra want get to divide into 3 states like this, there are several other
Nagaland nagas want a separate place for them. Coorgis want a separate place for them.
Coorgis think that Nagaland has been given to nagas and interest of coorgis is suffering.
Like this, there are different kinds of demands for some political. Anyway, there is some
degree of political disintegration.

Though one can also argue that there is more political integration today, our chief of
election commissioner governs political behavior of all the Indians. When we enforce the
norms of elections by using propaganda office of election commissioner, judiciary,
police, if needed armed forces, awareness campaigns, we make use of singers, poets,
writers to encourage people to vote this. They show that the whole India is politically
integrating because the same processes are at work in all parts of the country. It is still
one can say that there are also processes of disintegration.

We can call them process of disintegration or decentralization depending on your

preference. We are educationally integrated. Students after doing their 10 plus 2 from UP
have been traditionally going to south India for B. Tech education. This is because the
private engineering institutions came up in the southern part of the country. First, there is
vat, which integrates the whole of India. There is Hindi cinema, which integrate the
whole of India.

So, there are some parts in the country for political reasons. At least, some people do not
want to speak in Hindi. They may know. You go to Chennai and auto drivers may know
Hindi, but they would not like to speak you in Hindi. If they know that you are Hindi
speaking, then they may even cheat in places charging 50 rupees. They will charge 150
rupees. That is a different thing.
But, we are getting integrated because this Tamil speaking auto driver sings Hindi songs.
He likes Amitabh Bachchan. He likes Sharukh Khan. He knows what the important films
of sharukh khan are. If from one perspective, there is there are forces of political
disintegration in some parts of the country, sectarianism, and naxalite and naxal problem
seperatives. Demand for separate states demand for independence, but at the same time,
we are getting integrated. This integration is because certain common norms are being
enforced on the whole of India.

Now, if you have similar norms to enforce on the whole world, if the behavior if the
ideas behavior, decisions of capitalists, we have to establish industry. What to produce
were to sell according to what norm, prices, and exchanges. Prices of different currencies
can be determined by one central authority. May be United Nations or may be groups of
nations or may be some international organizations have a decisive role in determining
human behavior.

If there are international organizations like Oxfam population council, which are
working towards certain causes in all parts of the world, then we have integration. If we
have United Nations summit on millennium development goals and all the countries, all
the signatories to millennium development goals are expected to act in accordance with
the norms. If all the all the member all the countries are governed by what we decided in
security council’s meeting in human rights organizations associated with united nations,
then we have a world society.

So, world society will require fulfillment of all these conditions. At least, this much has
to be returned. Now, today we will talk more explicitly on a state, which is another
important institution. We have discussed only one institution and that is family.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:32)

Family is certainly a very important institution of society. It regulates sexual behavior. It

is associated with reproduction. It is associated with economic cooperation. It is
associated with socialization family. It has the responsibility of imparting culture from
one generation to another. Religion values many of these things, which you know or
which you believe in most of your beliefs have been interiorized by you in the context of
family.

You worship lord Krishna. Why? This is because your parents believed in lord Krishna.
You worship Hanuman ji. This is because your parents believed in Hanuman ji. You are
a Buddhist because your parents were Buddhists. You are you believe in Mahavir swami
because your parents were believers of Jain religion. Family family socializes and not
only religious belief, it socializes all types of believes. It believes about caste believes,
about governance believes, about Indian history believes, about ancestry. If your family
tells we know that 80 percent or many more of the Muslims are converts from Indian
caste, only they are converts from Hinduism Muslim scholars to accept.

So, many millions of Muslims in India and Pakistan are not the descendants of invaders.
They are Indians and some because of attraction of Islam, fraternity, independence, one
God. Some of them are because they wanted to avoid certain taxations during the mughal
period jizya for example. Jizya tax was one such tax, which as which was imposed on
Hindus for their protection. If you are a Muslim, you will not be charged jizya. If you are
a Hindu, you will be charged sometimes to avoid tax, sometimes for emotional spiritual
cultural reasons.

You are an you are an artist, a singer or a musician. You play an instrument. Your guru is
a Muslim. The relationship between a student and teacher disciple and guru can
sometime be so strong. After 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, you also convert to religion of
your guru. Many of our great artists of India Muslim artists got converted to Islam not
because of compulsion, not because of any force. People say that Islam was propagated
by sword. Yes, Islam was also propagated by sword. That does not mean that all the
people converted to Islam because of sword.

There are many reasons Muhammad iqbal sare jahan se achcha, he belongs to a family of
Hindus. They got converted to Islam, but the point is that if you are a Muslim, your
family will tell you that our descendents came from some central Asian region or from
this or that part of India, outside India and you start believing in that. May be after 1 or 2
generations of conversion, they will also give new titles them. A title like ansari may
represent that the ancestors of these people had come from ansar. People start believing
family.

In sociology, one thing you must realize that none of our values believes, prejudices,
philosophies are right or wrong. They have come to us. This is what the crux of
sociologists that our values, believes, likings, disliking, attitudes, interests, our
orientations, our orientation towards society towards other people. These are all part of
socialism. So, once some people get converted to Islam, then after 1 or 2 generations,
they also start believing that their ancestors came from outside. They have nothing to do
with Indian culture.

There is no history of Ramayana Mahabharata. There may be no history of Ramayana

Mahabharata. I do not know, but many Hindus believe. Once you become Muslim, you
start disassociating with that family. Similarly, if a family does not exist, imagine that
family does not exist; we do not know any society today in which the institution of
family does not exist. So, family is a functional requirement of individuals as well as
societies. We cannot imagine a society without family if family does not exist.

Then, there will be complete chaos regarding sexual relationships. Already, despite
family, there is so much of chaos. Despite family, there is so much of problem. This
morning our television was showing that at ten thirty, n d tiwari will give his blood
sample. So, despite a strong family in India, there are cases of extramarital relationships
chaos, people going to prostitutes, having concubines, multiple wives, multiple
husbands, extramarital relationships, and hidden partners. If there is no family, then how
will sexual relationships be regulated? Then, humans humans will behave like animals.
There will be no society, no social structure, no mutual expectations, no agreement, and
no contracts. Family is important. Family should exist. Deviance may also exist.

But, most of the people most of the time confirms to norms developed in the context of
family institution. That is all. Society does not bother. Society does not want. Let all the
people all the time confirm to all norms of society. Society does not want that because
society must change. Society must adapt to changing circumstances. There must be
sufficient flexibility dynamism in society, otherwise life will become dull. If all the
people all the time confirm to all norms of society, such a society would not be worth
living.

So, there has to be an element of departure from norms. Only we expect that most people
most of the time confirm to most norms of society. So, family makes it possible
economic cooperation. If there is no family, everybody will be individual economic
cooperation will become impossibility more free. There will be more breach of contract,
more corruption, more conflicts, more violence, more thefts, and more dacoities. If
family does not exist, then who will impart the values and norms of previous generation
to the new generation? You may say that media can do colleges, schools. Colleges can
do universities.

There is a limit to which these institutions can impart the values of previous generations.
Family is the most effective face-to-face direct a small a small group setting in which
norms and values of previous generation or the culture of the previous generation is
important to new generation.

Thus, like family, there are other institutions, which are equally important. Normally, in
sociology, we talk about family institution, political institution, economic institution,
educational institution and some expressive institutions like aesthetic, philosophy,
science, arts, music. One can also say that media is an institution. Now, we come to state.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:05)

So, I am using the term state in the sense that it is an institution. What kind of institution
this is? What does a state do? What is the difference between a state and society? A state
is society. No doubt, it is a social group. It is slightly more than society, more than
civility. What is that specific thing, which defines a state, which makes a state slightly
different or slightly above the society? That thing is monopoly over power. A state is a
structure. A state is an institution. It can be seen both ways state is a structure. A state is
an institution. This institution is that which has monopoly over use of power.

Now, what is power? What does monopoly over power mean and whether a state is one
unified organ of society or society plus something? It is a set of institutions that we we
must examine. So, for that purpose, I want to read something from some sources. One is
the definition of a state from a dictionary of sociology. So, this dictionary of sociology
defines a state like this. You need not note down. I will not ask. Define a state in the
manner or show dictionary of sociology defines it. You must understand what a state is
according to them. The state is a distinct set of institutions not one institution. It is a set
of institutions.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:24)

That has the authority to make the rules, which govern society. A set of institutions,
which have authority to make rules, which govern society is a different definition. Then,
usually given in introductive sociology books, I thought that I must read this definition
because this definition will give you a clearer idea of what a state in our country is a
modern state. A state in a plural society like ours is a set of institutions. It is not one
institution. It is a set of institutions.

What is common to these institutions? It has authority to make rules and rules which
govern society. What governance means? It means that a state must ensure that the
people act in accordance with these rules. That also means that those who will act in
accordance with these rules, they must be left free. Some example cases must be
awarded rewarded must be given positive sanctions. Those who deviate from these rules
which state makes, then they must be punished.

There must be positive sanctions means awards, rewards, encouragement, appreciation,

prestige, honor, esteem too acting in accordance with the norms of society. There must
be some negative sanctions, punishment, and imprisonment. May be some in some cases,
physical beating is also capital punishment execution, discouragement, loss of prestige,
loss of job or punishing by not not giving them promotions for those who deviated from
the rules formed by a state because society is a complex.
So, those who deviate from the rules of a state rules framed by the authority of the state,
they are also accord. They are also acting according to some rules. These rules are not
the rules of the state. These rules are the rules of some subgroup, group, caste,
community, colleague or some deviates of culture.

So, if the members of a dacoit gang act in accordance with the rules of the gang, it is not
same thing as acting in accordance with the rules framed by the state. Everybody acts
according to some rules, but rules are made by different groups, different cultures,
subcultures, youth culture. Youth culture is an example. Among students and sometime,
there may be a grace for smoking some. In company of some friends, you smoke that is a
rule. That is a rule of your friends.

If you do not smoke in the company of your friends, they will punish you. The
punishment may come in the form of not mixing with you, not taking you to cinema or
not helping to tell you how to download something from d c plus, plus you do not smoke
with them. You are violating their rules and your d c plus, plus is not working. Your
friends will not tell you how to repair if you want your d c plus, plus to be repaired.
Then, you have to smoke with your friends. You have to follow their rules. State also has
some rules. State is a set of institutions that makes rules and ensures that people act in
accordance with the rules.

So, it governs them. There must be when I talk of positive and negative sanctions that
people are awarded rewarded or punished, then there must also be some authority to
punish people, some authority to reward people. There must be some powerly structure
there so that powerly structure is nothing but state according to this dictionary, it has in
the words of max Weber a monopoly on legitimate violence.
(Refer Slide Time: 33:34)

I wrote power max Weber said monopoly on legitimate violence. What is legitimate
violence? The use of force or use of power may be seen as legitimate permissible right or
it may be seen as wrong, not approved impermissible to be avoided. It is when there is a
when there is a violent conflict, when there is exchange of fire between a gang of dacoits
or naxalites on one hand. Police or CRPF on the other side, both the sides are using
violence. One form of violence is considered to be legitimate. Another form of power is
considered to be illegitimate wrong unapproved.

As long as there is society, there are political issues. There is no society in which there
are no political issues and or no state. It may be only long ago in ancient society, tribal
society without developed means of production, maybe in a stone age or maybe in some
original indigenous native primitive tribes of Africa, America, Australia, in some cases
India, you may find a society without state also. Collective decisions, the whole clan sub
clan or the whole tribe decides. What do they decide?

If there is someone, I was reading somewhere that in Africa where state has not
penetrated deep into tribes, there are still tribes, which are divided into clans and sub
clans. There is no government, but if there is some person who violates the taboos of a
clan, the clan will abandon him.

The clan will not protect him ever. That means if he does anything wrong later on in life,
and then the people are free to do anything they like with that person. That person may
be implicated or they may torture him. They can do anything. They can burn him. They
can make person helpless. In modern societies, in modern state, India is a modern
society, modern state. You have institutions and violence or power is defined as
legitimate and illegitimate.

So, if our army persons kill somebody in Kashmir in the name of infiltrator, we assume
that they kill only infiltrators and not the innocent people. Then, that is legitimate. If
some infiltrators or if some native who are not happy within anybody who is not happy
with Indian state, Maoists, naxalites, assassins, nagas, coorgis, Manipuris, khalistanis,
anybody who is not happy with the Indian state, they want a separate state. Students of
Usmania University have a separate state.

They may often indulge in violence. That violence is illegitimate. Violence in itself is not
legitimate or illegitimate. It is defined by society. So, state has monopoly on legitimate
violence. State has authority. We say state has authority authority means legitimate
legitimate monopoly on legitimate violence within a specific territory. So, state is
defined in the context of a territory. Indian state or Indian armed forces are not
authorized to deal with naxalites in Bangladesh. There is a territory state means there is a
territory only.

(Refer Slide Time: 38:37)

Only if some other states ask for our help like India sent its peace force to Sri Lanka to
deal with the problem of Tamil that is a different story. The other state is looking for our
help, but otherwise, we are not authorized to act in other’s territories. Hence, the state
includes such institutions because it is a set of institutions. Which institutions have the
armed forces armed forces? It is civil service.

(Refer Slide Time: 39:19)

These are sets of institutions, civil service or state bureaucracy, IAS, PCS, other
bureaucrats selected through UPSC direct recruitment, experts judiciary from a lower
level code to supreme court judiciary for a specific case as you go to lower courts. When
interpretation of a law is involved, you go to high court. When due to certain exigencies,
a law is to be interpreted in a way developing a new law in the chain circumstances, and
then you go to Supreme Court.

Lower court is for settlements of disputes in the legal framework of the state. You
require interpretations high court. More interpretations are deeper interpretations,
different interpretations in the light of specific circumstances or new laws. Sometimes,
when Supreme Court makes a law; actually, the job of making law lays with the
parliament legislations. But, many times, Supreme Court acts as though they are
authorized to make a new law by interpreting the existing legal framework. They are not
authorized to make laws as such.

They can make interpretations of existing legal framework to provide new legal
directions, suggestions, interpretations, bureaucracy, judiciary, local and national
councils, local and national councils of elected representatives.
In Indian context, what are local and national councils of elected representatives? At the
local level, you have gram panchayat. According to seventy third and seventy fourth
amendments to Indian constitution, lot of powers authorities and grant funds resources
have been made available to local authority’s gram panchayat. In the context of rural
areas and municipal councils in the case of urban areas, seventy third amendment was
about rural areas gram panchayat and seventy fourth amendment was about nagar
panchayat.

So, in both rural and urban areas, you have elected representatives, gram panchayat. You
have gram pradhan. Then, you have a taluka level or a block level. Second tier of
panchayati raj institution at the district level are the actual jilla parishad supported by a
council of elected representatives. Third level of gram panchayat and in urban areas, we
have chairman, municipalities, mayors, municipal corporations.

Then, you have state MLCs, MLAs, elected elected representatives MLAs. At the
national level, you have MPs, members of parliament. They are your elected
representatives. A sum of all these 4 is called state. So, a state is not one single
institution. Some people can define like max Weber defines state as direct institution one
single institution, which has monopoly on legitimate violence one single institution. For
greater clarity, I think this dictionary defines a state as a set of institutions. What are
these institutions?

A state cannot function; Indian state cannot function if you remove anyone of them. You
need armed forces for defense, for peaceful purposes, for many things. You need civil
service or state bureaucracy. Everything cannot be done by elected representatives.
Elected representatives will always be small in number or at least in the form in which
they are today MPs, MLAs, presidents of district parishad, president of block level, gram
panchayat, pradhans of grams, gram panchayats. They are limited in number. They
cannot be responsible for everything.

So, you have civil service or state bureaucracy. Then, you have judiciary in cases of
conflicts, grievances and disputes between groups. You need a judiciary.

Local and national councils of elected representatives, all these things together comprise
a state. In this context, you can also see our p gisbert's book begins by saying that state
has negative functions and positive functions.
Negative functions are those, which are essential, which any state has to do. Without
doing that state cannot survive. What is state has to do? State has to ensure that adequate
amount of food is available; either it is locally grown in your own country within your
state, your territory. Enough food is grown. Food just not only means wheat. Food
includes wheat, rice, pulses, vegetable, fruits everything.

State is responsible for providing essentials like food, clothes, peace. State must control
disturbances, must maintain law and order. These are called negative functions. When I
read this first time in perhaps in gisbert only, I did not read this way of defining
functions of state anywhere else. Then, perhaps the idea is that there are some functions,
which are essential. Food, security, clothes, maintaining law and order; these are the
basic functions. If a state does this, then what is so great about it anyway? State has to do
it. All states have to do it.

(Refer Slide Time: 48:11)

Positive functions must be seen. These are those functions, which make negative
functions more effective or more efficient better ways, development of ways of making
negative functions more effective. It means reaching to more people. More efficient
means that with minimum of resources, there is maximum of production. Examples
would be social legislation, social justice, development of education, empowerment of
women, and promotion of interest of vulnerable sections of society, moral education, and
better governance. Anything which leads to improvement in negative functions can be
defined as positive functions.

So, without higher education also, society can survive, but the expectation is that higher
education will make people more efficient. Higher education should develop people
technically, morally, economically, industrially. There must be all round development of
people with higher education. That is why; state promotes higher education, otherwise
this people can survive without higher education. So, there are negative functions and
there are positive functions.

Since, negative functions are those functions, which state is bound to perform, they are
essential. No state can survive if the members of the state, if members in a given territory
are not able to get nutritious food or the subsistence level of food requirement. People
must survive. If people do not survive, if people are hungry, starving, if people suffer
from epidemics, malnutrition, then the state cannot survive. The first thing is that the
members of the state, members of territory must survive. Then, there must not be in
fighting.

So, there should be laws, rules and regulations in case there are conflicts between
different groups. Conflicts may be manipulated or conflicts may be natural. If at the
same place Hindus wants to construct a temple devoted to Ram and Muslims want that
the ancient mosque must remain or now that ancient mosque has been demolished, it
must be rebuilt. So, there is a clash of interest of 2 groups in the same state. It is state's
responsibility to bring the warring groups or conflicting groups to negotiation and come
up with negotiated settlement in order to survive. The state cannot leave it is groups on
their own to decide. How they will resolve the issues of conflict? So, food, shelter, law
and order, defense security against invasions, these are negative functions of state. They
are negative not in the sense they are bad, but negative in the sense that they are bare
minimum.

Positive functions are those functions, which make these negative functions more
effective reaching to more people or more efficient better environment, better climate,
better transport facilities, development of infrastructure for more development raising per
capita income modernization of defense forces like India can be proud. There was a time
in 1962 when china captured 1000s of kilometers of India and sometime after defeating
India on their own, Chinese went back. They did a great mercy on us. If Chinese did not
want to go back, they could have taken 1000s of kilometers of India land under
possession. So, from that perspective at that time, China acted like a big saint on their
own. There was no compulsion. Indian state was not so strong. Indian state was not so
powerful to fight the Chinese. We could have sacrificed ourselves. We were sacrificing
ourselves. Our soldiers were dying. We were collecting money from civilians to collect
arms.

At the second time, when we fought the kargil war, then Indian state was so strong that it
was possible for Indian state to capture the whole area by force. No Pakistani or
infiltrator remained in kargil. That was the show of force between 1962. Now, of late
during kargil war, state has done lot of things in a positive spirit. This was the
modernization of armed forces, spending more money on armed forces, raising their
moral, providing for facilities, better arms and ammunition, air support. All that is
needed; example, supply, management, logistics, everything is needed. Indian state was
more powerful. So, state should not only provide for security etcetera, it should also
make it more effective, more efficient. That is the positive function.