The State as a Social Institution: Its Function and Influence on Other Institutions

Introduction
State
Constitution and Law
Legislature, Executive and Judiciary
Citizenship, Rights and Duties
Democracy, Elite Theory and Power
Welfare State: Liberty, Equality, Justice
Nationalism: Religion, Caste and Class
Civil Society, Community Organisations, Social Capital
Local Governance and Public Opinion
Summary
References

Introduction

The concept of the state as an institution, as well as its impact on other societal institutions, are discussed in this chapter. It also covers the fundamentals of a variety of other state and political concepts.

The modern state is a complicated web of interconnected and organised institutions. The citizens and voters who make up the state are not recognised as individuals. Because the laws guarantee equality, all citizens should be treated similarly in terms of rights and benefits (as stated in our constitution). To administer and rule, the state has created a web of institutions. Individuals and officials who occupy these institutions and receive their authority from their position make up the government.

State

A State is a politically organised group or society inside a defined region that is governed by a single sovereign government. The state is a unique institution that serves the common good, or a social class. The state forms at a specific point in social development, and understanding the state requires a basic understanding of social evolution in general. The state and politics cannot be properly analysed without first grasping the general laws of social evolution.

Population

Every state is required to have a population. There is no clear or definite number that may be regarded the ideal population size. There is no rule or political practise that governs the number of people required to qualify a community for statehood. Some writers have attempted in the past to lay down within broad lines certain principles that should determine the size of the population required for the existence of a State, and some have even assumed to fix precisely the minimum and maximum population, but any such rule would clearly be arbitrary.

Territory

Another important physical component of the State is its territory. The state's territory encompasses not only a defined area of land, but also water and air space inside its borders. It also extends three miles out into the sea from its coast, known as 'territorial waters.' State borders can be natural, such as bodies of water, mountain ranges, and deserts, or man-made, such as stones, trenches, and walls. There is no rule or practise regarding the amount of territory required to constitute a State's home, just as there is no law or practise addressing population.

Government

A State is not formed by a mass of people inhabiting a practical part of land until the people have organised themselves politically and created a civil government. There must be a political entity in charge of commanding and regulating the ruled. The state's authority is exercised by the government. Government is a more limited term than State, as it only refers to a portion of it. The government and the governed are both part of the state. A state's established form of political administration is known as the government.

Sovereignty

It refers to the state's supreme and ultimate power, which allows it to order and enforce allegiance. This is what sets the State apart from other associations and organisations. Sovereignty is a feature of the state, not the government, albeit the government may wield it on behalf of the state. Without sovereignty, there can be no state.

International Recognition

In truth, international recognition is the result of a state's sovereignty, not a requirement for its existence. States are sometimes defined as entities that other states acknowledge. When a state's government is convinced that the other state possesses the characteristics of a state, the state recognises it. A state's voluntary action for another is known as recognition.

There are two sorts of recognition: de facto and de jure.

De facto recognition refers to the fact that the state exists, but not necessarily in law. De jure recognition entails that the state is legitimate in its origins and existence.

Role of the State and Impact on other Institutions

The state assumes responsibility for all public goods, such as education, health care, drinking water, basic infrastructure in both rural and urban areas, and social security, among other things.

In this growing context, India's Tenth Plan marks a significant transition from an investment-oriented approach to a reform agenda aimed at achieving social aims through effective governance.

For the completion of the clearly spelled out responsibilities of social development, it relies on the mobilisation of the energies of the Central and State Governments, Panchayat Raj institutions, and Non-Governmental Organizations. Programs aimed at the poor or specific groups must be efficiently provided to them. There have been numerous significant changes in the way the government operates, and its departments have been challenged to improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

Constitution and Law

The term "law" refers to the set of laws that govern human behaviour.

Without such norms of conduct, no group of people can live in peace and tranquillity for very long. It is not necessary for rules to have been written. These can also take the form of customs and traditions.

The name 'law' comes from the phrase 'lag,' which refers to something that is fixed. As a result, the 'law' in concept that is fixed, uniform, or "usually observed" follows.

The rules that govern human behaviour are divided into three categories by Gettell:

Moral laws,
Social laws, and
Political laws.

The broad public obeys the law due to
(a) state power,
(b) the promotion of the common benefit, or
(c) rule-following habit.

However, if we truly believe that a legislation is unjust, we should mobilise public opinion against it. Mahatma Gandhi demonstrated how non-cooperation and civil disobedience might be utilised to destabilise dictatorial regimes.

Legislature, Executive and Judiciary

Legislature

Because it represents the people and attempts to embody their dreams and aspirations in the form of laws, the legislature is the most significant of the government's three organs.

A political system's official rule-making body is the legislature. The Indian Constitution established a parliamentary system of governance, in which the administration is accountable to the legislatures elected through elections.

The legislature's primary job is to legislate, both in terms of studying the contents of laws and in terms of authorising or legitimising their passage. As a federal polity, our Constitution establishes legislative bodies at both the federal and state levels.

Executive

The executive branch of government is responsible for enforcing legislation passed by the legislative as well as general management.

With the transformation of the modern state into a welfare state, the executive's powers have greatly expanded.

The functions which are performed by the executive in different parts of the world are the following

Maintenance of law and order
Protection of country and maintenance of diplomatic relations
The enactment of the laws.
The chief executive enjoys the right to grant pardon, amnesty, reprieve, etc., to the persons punished by the law courts.
Miscellaneous functions like formulation of national plans for greater prosperity of the country, distribution of honours and titles to the persons who are distinguished in their respective fields or render meritorious services to the state.

Judiciary

The judiciary is the government's most important organ since it is through it that justice is achieved as defined by law, both between private citizens and between private citizens and officials of government.

The term "judiciary" is commonly used to refer to government officials whose job it is to apply existing laws to specific circumstances.

These officers are responsible for uncovering pertinent information in any case and protecting the innocent from harm by either the legislature or the executive branch of government.

The judiciary's principal functions include:
(a) administration of justice,
(b) protection of rights and liberties,
(c) protection and interpretation of the constitution,
(d) federation protection,
(e) advising role to the government, and so on.

Citizenship, Rights and Duties

Citizenship

The majority of the population ruled by the King or Emperor had little awareness of or interest in those who ruled them in traditional States. They didn't have any political power or influence either. Only the dominating classes or more affiuent groups felt a sense of belonging to a larger political community in the past.

In modern cultures, on the other hand, most people living inside the political system's borders are citizens, with common rights and responsibilities and a sense of belonging to a nation. While some people are political refugees or "stateless," practically everyone in the world now belongs to a specific national political order.

Rights

Rights are a social man's or woman's social necessities for the development of his or her self and society as a whole. Personal and social rights are the two types of rights. Rights have a social aspect, and they are only granted to people who live in society and labour in the common good.

According to Green, a right is "the power to act for one's own objectives... granted by the community to an individual on the assumption that it contributes to the community's good."

Duties

There are no rights without duties and no duties without rights. A responsibility is a legal obligation imposed on a public official or a private individual. As a result, responsibility assumes that one is capable of understanding the rules. Infants, idiots, and animals are not intended to understand the rules and follow them. We, on the other hand, give rights to newborns, idiots, and even animals.

Democracy, Elite Theory and Power

Democracy

The word democracy comes from two Greek words: demos, which means people, and kratta, which means government. The definition of democracy has been expanded to include social and economic justice in addition to political equality. Democracy, according to Abraham Lincoln, is "government of the people, for the people, and by the people." Democracy is more than just a type of government. It is also a societal shape or state, as well as an order, in which property ownership is widely and fairly dispersed.

Elite Theory

The elite theory was first developed by two Italian sociologists, namely, Vilfredo Pareto and G. Mosca

According to elite theory, people' personal characteristics distinguish rulers from governed. The elite owe their status on the superiority of their persona! traits or features. They might, for example, have strong organisational skills, which Mosca saw as a prerequisite for leadership. They may, on the other hand, have a high level of cunning and intelligence, which Pareto considered to be one of the requirements for dominance.

Later forms of elite theory lay less emphasis on the powerful's personal attributes and more on the society's institutional structure. They contend that social institutions' hierarchical structure permits a minority to monopolise power.

Elite theory dismisses communism as a fantasy and claims that an egalitarian society is a mirage. It regarded Marxism as a political ideology rather than a scientific study of society. According to elite theory, all societies are split into two groups: the ruling minority and the governed, and this division is unavoidable. According to elite theory, a proletariat revolution will simply result in the replacement of one ruling elite with another.

The economic infrastructure, whether capitalist or communist, will not change the fact that elite dominance is unavoidable. An elite's influence is based on its internal organisation, not on the personal attributes of its members. In the face of an unorganised and fractured majority, it forges a united and coherent minority. "The minority's strength is irresistible as against every single member in the majority," Mosca writes.

Major choices affecting society are made by the elite. Even in ostensibly democratic democracies, such decisions would typically represent the elite's priorities rather than the aspirations of the general public. The majority, according to elite theorists, is apathetic and disinterested about the major issues of the day. The general public is primarily under the influence and manipulation of the elite, meekly accepting propaganda that justifies elite dominance.

Power

The term "power" refers to a person's ability to exert control over others. It is defined as an individual's or a group's ability to accomplish their desires and put their judgments and ideas into action. It entails the ability to influence and control the behaviour of others, even while they are acting against their will. N.P. power is a multidimensional notion that can be defined in a variety of ways. Some emphasise various sources of power (for example, wealth, status, knowledge, charisma, force, and authority); others discuss various forms of power, such as influence, coercion, or control; and still others discuss power in terms of its applications, such as individual or community goals, political goals, economic goals, and so on.

In sum the concept of power involves a
a) Relational situation where power is exercised by one or other(s).
b) It is concerned with bringing about a consequence.

Welfare State: Liberty, Equality, Justice

Welfare State

During World War II, the phrase "welfare state" was first applied to the United Kingdom. Following WWII, the word became popular as a convenient way of referring to the social and economic policy changes that were taking place at the time, which, according to those who were funding them, would revolutionise British society.

There were these main services provided by the Welfare State:

The direction and extension of a range of social services, including social security. The National Health Setvices, Education, Housing, Employment service and welfare services for elderly and disabled people and for deprived children.
The maintenance of full employment as the paramount aim and policy. ‘
A Program of Nationalization.

The welfare state can be seen as a response to mass democracy, with demands for greater equality and recognition of social rights to welfare services and socioeconomic security.

As in India, the preamble's vision of a "democratic republic" includes the democratic system not only from a political but also from a social perspective. In other words, it envisions a democratic society endowed with the spirit of "justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity" as well as a democratic system of government.

The concept of a 'Welfare State,' which inspired the Directive Principles of State Policy, embodies this democratic republic that stands for the good of all people.

Liberty

The concept of liberty has proven to be the most effective weapon in the hands of the unarmed, defeating dictators and imperialists. The word liberty comes from the Latin word liber, which means "to be free." It's sometimes associated with a lack of restraint, which has a bad connotation. It is sometimes linked to the availability of particular socioeconomic conditions in which a man or woman can develop their personality, which has a good connotation.

Equality

Equality does not imply that everyone is treated equally. It refers to proportional equality between equals and inequality between unequals. Treating equals and unequals should be based on logic and justice.

Explaining the meaning of equality, Laski maintains that equality means the following.

1) In society, special advantages will be phased out.
Appropriate chances are provided for all, allowing each person to develop his or her own unique personality.
Everyone should have equal access to social benefits, with no restrictions on the ground. Birth inequities, as well as inequalities caused by parental and inherited factors, are unjust.

Justice

Various social systems have different ideas about what constitutes justice. The major problem in defining justice is that it is not a self-contained idea. The system of values and the behaviour of social systems are inextricably linked. Certain norms and ideals control any system, and these, in turn, determine justice. With the passage of time and changing circumstances, values shift, and the concept of justice shifts as well.

The Indian Scenario

Since India's independence, people have been actively participating in the national democratic process through the mobilisation of a variety of political formations or political parties, which have emerged as new forms of macro structures of social development and modernization in the country.

Because their devotion is essentially to legitimate access to power sources, the relevance is directly socio-structural.

The continuation of a single party's (Congress) dominance in the domain of political power, which was only partially broken in general elections in 1967, has been a distinctive aspect of India's political macro-structure.

This offers the historical context for any analysis of India's political system in connection to the modernization process.

The shifting sources of authority's legitimacy, as well as the process of its spread and centricity in the social structure, are at the heart of modernization's political framework.

The customary established and institutionalised positions of king, chieftains, or priest-rulers who have had access to this office by virtue of attributes assigned to them are the source of power in a society with a traditional politics.

The nonos, which are used to allocate these political seats, are dispersed inequitably based on hierarchical caste or other similar status categories. Political officeholders have an authoritarian personality, and adherence to political rules is arbitrary. In the sense that the sphere of action that can properly be described as "political" or that has to do with policy development for the nation or the community as a whole is typically reserved to a select few. In such a system, authority is hierarchical rather than democratic. It is undifferentiated from other incumbency roles in terms of their power structure.

Education

The state is home to the most educational institutions in the country. India's Constitution established "permanent provisions" for minorities, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes in terms of education. No citizen should be denied entrance to any educational institution maintained by the state or receiving State aid solely on the basis of religion, race, caste, language, or any combination of these factors [Article 29(2)].

In addition, all minorities, whether religious or linguistic, have the basic freedom to create and run educational institutions of their choice [Art. 30(1)]. and the state shall not discriminate against any educational institution that is managed by a minority, whether on the basis of religion or language, in awarding aid to educational institutions [Art. 30(2)].

Finally, it is the government's responsibility to provide free and compulsory education to all citizens (Art. 45.).The state must work to enhance public health and elevate the level of nutrition and living standards, as well as restrict the consumption of alcohol and intoxicating drugs unless for medical reasons [Article 47].

Nationalism: Religion, Caste and Class

Nationalism

Nationalism, which can be defined as a set of symbols and beliefs that provide the sensation of belonging to a simple political community, is linked to the formation of nation-states. As a result, being Indian, British, American, Canadian, or Russian gives people a sense of pride and belonging.

People have probably always felt a sense of belonging to social groupings of some kind, whether it's their family, village, or religious community. Nationalism, on the other hand, emerged only with the rise of the modern state.

Culture and Religion

The Indian state plays a crucial role in safeguarding the religions. The unity and fraternity of the people of India, professing different faiths has been tried to be attained by enshrining the ideas of a ‘secular state’ which means that the state protects all religions equally and does not itself impose a state religion.

This itself is one of the brilliant achievement of Indian democracy when her neighbours such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Burma, uphold a certain religions as the official religion. In India on the other hand the state will neither establish a religion of its own nor give any special patronage upon any one faith. The state shall not compel any person to pay any taxes for the promotion or upkeep of any particular religion or religious institutions.

No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution completely financed by state funding. Every person is granted the freedom of conscience and the freedom to proclaim, practise, and spread his own religion. Where a religious group is in the minority, the constitution goes farther to enable it to preserve its culture and religious interest.

Article 29 of the Indian constitution states that the state shall not impose any culture on the society other than its own.

Such a community shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of its choice, and the state shall not discriminate against such an educational institution maintained by a minority community on the basis that it is managed by a religious community when granting aid to educational institutions [Art. 30].

Caste and Politics

Caste is gradually assuming new forms and functions as it departs from its conventional ones. It has gained particular clout in the realms of public life and politics. In India, it plays a significant influence in political concerns. A brief overview of why and how these two institutions have become closer to one another, as well as the repercussions, follows.

The first and most important reason for either penetrating the sectors of the other is that both are rooted in social life. Politics is primarily a form of social interaction. It's a strategy for achieving social and economic domination. A country's political and administrative institutions are just projections of the social system and social interactions that existed at the time. In a culture where caste dominates interactional patterns and institutional frameworks, politics cannot help but be influenced by caste.

According to Rajini Kothari ‘those in India who complain of casteism in politics are merely looking for sort of politics which has no basis in society. They probably lack any clear conception of either the nature of politics or the nature of the caste system’. The nature of political democracy has brought caste and politics closer to each other. Politics is a competitive enterprize. Its purpose is the acquisition of power for the realization of certain goals, and its process is one of identifying and manipulating existing allegiance in order to mobilize and consolidate positions. Therefore, the core of politics is the organisation and mobilization of the masses towards some issues by a leader or a party

Such mobilizations are founded on group considerations and allegiances, as all groups cannot be mobilised in the same way on a single topic due to inherent differences in nature and interest.

As a result, caste, which has divided a community for ages, is the most effective tool for mobilising a group. Politicians consider caste to be a well-articulated and adaptable organisational foundation. Since power and status are no longer distributed based on caste, lower caste individuals have been compelled to accept political participation as a last resort.

People of all classes have attempted to generate public support in their favour by using caste as a propaganda tool since it provides a prepared platform in Indian society for such mobilisation. Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar are notable instances of a rapid succession of distinct caste groupings into a factional political network that provides the best channels of movement.

Class and Society

The social groups that occupy distinct high and low positions in a given society are referred to as classes. The result of a division of labour is the formation of social classes. They are made up of persons from similar socioeconomic backgrounds who see one another as social equals. Each class has a subculture with its own set of attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviour norms that are distinct from those of the others.

Wealth, money, occupation, education, self-identification, inherited prestige, group engagement, and acknowledgment by others are all factors that go into determining social classes in a community.

Class lines are not clearly drawn but represent points along a continuum of social status. The exact size and membership of a given class is difficult to establish. Class sub-cultures prepare children to retain the status of their parents. The idea of Marx and Weber regarding class are discussed below followed by a review of the modern approaches to class analysis in sociology.

KarlMarx

For Marx, the term class has a number of different applications, but the essential aspects of Marx’s general model of social class are clear:

To feed, house, and clothe dependent children, the ill, and the elderly, every community must produce a surplus. When one group of individuals claims resources that are not consumed for immediate survival as their private property, class divisions emerge.
As a result, classes are defined in terms of productive property ownership (or non-ownership), allowing surplus to be taken. Different forms of property (e.g., slaves, water, land, money) have been important in structuring social connections at different eras in human history, but all class systems are typified by two major classes. According to Marx, the most essential class relationship in capitalism is that between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

Max Weber

The greatest and most prominent alternative theory of class is Weber's analytical idea of class. Unlike Marx, Weber focused on other issues that contributed to inequality. He looked at status, honour, and prestige as separate variables in particular.

He has made a point of emphasising the link between social class and power. He claims that a class is a group or category of persons who have similar'life chances.' The class position is determined in part by the status attained. Ownership and nonownership were key criterion for Marx, while noneconomic elements are more important for Weber.

In modern civilizations, Weber disagrees from Marx in his conception of bureaucracy as a rational and achieved organisation of authority. Weber's emphasis on a range of factors that influence opportunities and rewards has made his approach to class and social stratification analysis particularly prominent in sociological theory.

Civil Society, Community Organisations, Social Capital

Civil Society

Civil society can be defined as all public political non-state action that occurs between the government and the family. Individuals and households, the media, corporate and civic institutions and organisations, and others all fall under the umbrella of civil society. At a considerably lesser cost than the government, civil society organisations have been responsible for increasing political freedom, defending basic rights, strengthening civil institutions, and promoting sodal development. Nongovernmental organisations, social movements, community-based people's organisations, religious groups, peasant associations, consumer groups, and trade unions all take on these duties. Civil society institutions frequently embrace alternatives for individuals who are barred from formal structures of administration, such as women, the impoverished, and minorities (ethnic, religious, and racial).

The stronger or more dense and vibrant the civil Society, the better the democracy functions. Civil Society is a precondition for democracy

Community Organisations

The community based people’s organisations are also important contributors to good civic governance. These organisations are defined as democratic organisations that represent the interest of their members and are accountable to them. The tradition to organize collectively the community based organisations to deal with community issues has a long history. It is the people themselves who initiate these organisations and formulate their programmes. Non-governmental organisations are commanding greater attention within civil society as vehicles for social service delivery, advocacy and empowerment.

Social Capital

People's organisations that are based in the community are also vital contributors to excellent civic governance. These organisations are defined as democratic organisations that represent and are accountable to their members' interests. The practise of bringing together community-based organisations to address common challenges has a long history. The people are the ones who found these organisations and devised their programmes. Within civil society, non-governmental organisations are gaining traction as vehicles for social service delivery, advocacy, and empowerment.

Social capital, like other forms of capital, is productive, allowing for the accomplishment of goals that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. Support networks and cooperative community development programmes, for example, if you want to foster democratic governance.

Local Governance and Public Opinion

Local Self-Governance: Panchayati Raj

In India's rural self-government system, Panchayati Raj is used. In India, where about 80% of the population lives in rural regions, the Panchayati Raj system becomes extremely essential. The Panchayati Raj was established in India as a result of the recommendations of the Balwanth Rai Mehta committee, which was established in 1957 to study the community development programme and the national extension service, both of which were launched in 1952 and 1953, respectively.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment was passed in 1992, giving Panchayati Raj institutions constitutional standing. It also makes the three-tier structure mandatory at (a) the village level, (b) the intermediate level, and (c) the district level for all states.

Public Opinion

Democracy is believed to be founded on public opinion. It serves as a link between the government and the general public. The word "public opinion" refers to the collective of people's opinions on issues that affect or interest them, their communities, and society. In forming opinions, people's perceptions of political persons, institutions, and ideologies are important. In a democracy, the success or failure of a government is determined by public opinion.

Public opinion is shaped by a variety of factors, including the media, political parties, pressure groups, elections, legislative debates, educational institutions, and public assemblies. The press, radio, television, and film are just a few of the many ways that political, social, and religious ideas are communicated to the public. That is why, in a democracy, the freedom of the press is so important.

Summary

Since independence, India's political movements have mostly been a succession of reconciliations, including (a) regional interest group demands, (b) linguistic development of states in the political sphere, and (c) a concentration on mixed economy. In terms of economic policy, (d) secularism as a religion and culture ideology, (e) neutrality in international affairs, and so on. All of this reflects India's primarily reconciliatory style of political modernization.

The adjustment between 'traditional institutions' in politics, caste affiliations, familial groups, and ethnic solidarities reflects the reconciliatory approach. They have successfully and with fewer distortions adjusted themselves to the necessities of modern democratic political culture.

However, some misalignment is unavoidable during the procedure. However, because of the natural elasticity of Indian institutions and the built-in propensity of tolerance in India's cultural history, the reconciliatory orientation of Indian politics has so far been successful in absorbing their shocks. We might guess that in the future, when political protest movements challenge the political framework, a reconciliatory approach will win out again and again. This may slow India's political modernization, but it will almost likely reduce the cost of social transformation.

References

Arora, Prem (1981), Political Science - Comparative Politics, Cosmos Bookhive Private Limited, New Delhi.
Jain, M.P. (1989), Political Theory, Authors Guild Publications, New Delhi. Mishra, K.K. (1988), Political Theory, S. Chand and Company, New Delhi. Narang, A.S. (1996), Indian Government and Politics, Gitanjali Publishing House, New Delhi.
Tayal, B. B. (1990), Political Theory and Indian Democracy, Arya Book Depot, New Delhi.