What is a nation?

By: Lavanya Karki

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Loving the nation, living for the nation and serving the nation has been the central theme of patriotism ever since the concept of a nation has evolved. However, it is pertinent to understand what a nation means before we can grasp and decipher what patriotism means to us.  The term nation will have different connotations to different individuals and consequently, patriotism will have differed meanings too. My opinion on the reason for this is that the relationship of an individual with one’s nation is a personal feeling that is difficult to be defined and even more difficult to be understood. It is therefore, important to understand what your nation means to you.

Philosopher JW Garner gave the description of a state as comprising of four elements. Taking note of those considerations and based on my understanding, a nation has five elements- Population, Territory, Sovereignty, Government and Nationalism.

POPULATION-

It is simply defined as the body of people who comprise of a nation. A nation is made of its people, but more importantly by its people. Population is undoubtedly, the key component of a nation. To grasp its importance, consider Antarctica. It has a huge territory, but due to its inhospitable climate, it has never sustained a population, which is precisely why it is not a nation. In a nutshell, a nation is the product of its people.

TERRITORY-

It is defined as the geographical landmass which houses a population and is distinguished by clearly demarcated geographical boundaries. A territory is the most visible component of a nation as well s the most physical representation of patriotism. The status of many refuge groups, like the Rohingyas for instance, shows us the importance of territory in the process of defining a nation. While refugees, or any body of people for that matter, who may not be in similar circumstances as refugees, can be considered as one people or population, but not having a territory that they can claim makes them ineligible to be called a nation.

SOVEREIGNITY-

It refers to the independence from external sources that a nation enjoys and the power to make decisions on independent considerations. More than 75 years ago, India was under British rule; we had a population and territory, but we could still not be considered a nation because we lacked sovereignty. This resulted in our nomenclature as a colony and not a nation.

GOVERNMENT-

A government refers to the body that governs a nation, while protecting and preserving its population, territory and sovereignty. Different theories exist to explain the need and origin of government. But the one I find most convincing is the ‘Social Contract Theory,’ propounded by great philosophers like Hobbes, Rousseau and John Locke. In its essence, it means that people submitted their freedom to an authority in return for certain rights, which resulted in stable law and order situation. This contract was called the social contract and the authority to which people submitted their freedom in return for rights and order can, in my opinion, be termed as the government in our times. Existence of a government is imperative for the existence of a nation.

NATIONALISM-

As distinguished from the other four elements, this element is difficult to define. For me, in the simplest terms, it would mean the bond that keeps people united; it is the oneness that a body of people can resonate with and it is the identity that gives meaning to a nation. India has existed since time immemorial but what, in my opinion, distinguishes the modern Indian nation state that emerge in the 20th century is the fact that a united response to our colonizers and the resultant unity and identity it forged amongst us as Indians, finally made us a nation on 15th August 1947. A nation ceases to exist when nationalism is absent. In this sense, nationalism is the most important element in the formation of a nation.

Thus defined, a nation is a body of people that resides in a clearly defined geographical landmass, is independent from external sources and is governed by an authority while being united by an identity and the feeling of nationalism.

Do you agree with this definition of a nation?

• Yes
• No