KSLU Solved Question Papers
Political Science (Theory and Thought)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2023 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Political Science (Theory and Thought) 2023 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Mar examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Discuss the importance of the state and explain its elements.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the meaning of the state with Garner's definition; why the state is important, in ten points, with Aristotle and Hobbes; the four elements, each with its source; the elements in international law; a table; and a conclusion.
Meaning
The state is a people, permanently living on a definite territory, organised under a government, and free from outside control. Garner's definition is the standard one: "a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, independent of external control and possessing an organized government to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience."
The importance of the state
1. The state is natural and necessary. Aristotle wrote that "Man is by nature a political animal." People cannot live a full life alone. The state, he said, comes into existence "originating in the bare needs of life, and continuing in existence for the sake of a good life".
2. Security and order. Without the state there is no common power to keep the peace. Hobbes described such a condition as one of "continuall feare, and danger of violent death". In it the life of man is "solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short". The state ends this condition by keeping order and defending the country.
3. Law and justice. The state makes laws, enforces them and settles disputes through courts. Without it, disputes would be settled by force.
4. Protection of rights. Rights need an authority to protect them. In India the fundamental rights in Part III are enforced through article 32 and the High Courts.
5. Welfare. The modern state provides education, health care, social security and help to the weak. India's Directive Principles direct the State to "promote the welfare of the people" (article 38).
6. Economic life. The state issues money, builds roads and ports, regulates trade and plans development. Markets themselves depend on laws of contract and property that the state enforces.
7. Unity of the people. The state gives people of many languages, faiths and regions a common citizenship and a common law.
8. Reconciling interests. Groups in society often clash: workers and employers, landlords and tenants. The state holds the balance and makes rules that bind all of them.
9. Culture and education. The state supports schools, universities, libraries and the protection of heritage.
10. A voice in the world. Only states make treaties, join the United Nations and protect their citizens abroad.
The elements of the state
Garner's definition names four elements. Garner sums them up: "Land and people, government and sovereign power, are thus the indispensable, eternal marks of the state."
1. Population. The state is a community of people. Garner calls population "the first element which enters into the physical make-up of the state". There is no fixed number, but it must be enough to sustain political organisation and small enough to be governed. A state may have a few thousand people or more than a billion.
2. Territory. The people must permanently occupy a definite area. Bluntschli says: "A people does not become a permanent State till it has acquired a territory." Territory includes land, inland waters, the territorial sea and the airspace above. A wandering tribe is not a state.
3. Government. The people must be politically organised. Garner says a mass of people on a territory does not form a state "until they have organized themselves politically and established a civil government". Government is the machinery through which the will of the state is made known and carried out. Its form may vary: monarchy or republic, parliamentary or presidential.
4. Sovereignty. The state must be supreme within and independent without. This is the element that separates a state from a province or a federal unit. A State of the Indian Union has people, territory and government, but it is not sovereign.
The elements in international law
The Montevideo Convention (1933), article 1, states the same elements: "The State as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other States."
| Element | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | A community of people | Garner: "the first element" |
| Territory | A definite area, permanently occupied | Bluntschli |
| Element | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Government | Political organisation | Garner |
| Sovereignty | Supreme within, independent without | Garner's definition |
Why each element is essential
Take away population and there is no one to govern. Take away territory and there is a wandering tribe, not a state. Take away government and there is a crowd, not a political society. Take away sovereignty and there is a province or a colony.
Conclusion. The state is important because it meets the bare needs of life and makes a good life possible. It keeps order, makes law, protects rights, promotes welfare, unites the people and speaks for them in the world. Without it, as Hobbes said, life would be "solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short". The state has four elements, population, territory, government and sovereignty. In Garner's words, these are "the indispensable, eternal marks of the state".
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