Q. With reference to Indian constitution, what do you understand by the term ‘State’?
Exp) Option d is the correct answer.
The word ‘State’ does NOT refer to state governments. Rather when we use State, we are trying to distinguish it from ‘government’. ‘Government’ is responsible for administering and enforcing laws. The government can change with elections. The State on the other hand refers to a political institution that represents a sovereign people who occupy a definite territory. We can, thus, speak of the Indian State, the Nepali State etc. The Indian State has a democratic form of government. The government (or the executive) is one part of the State. The State refers to more than just the government and cannot be used interchangeably with it.

