A nation is a collection of people occupying a particular portion of the earth’s surface, a territory they perceive as their homeland by right and who have a strong sense of unity based on similar historical experiences and a set of shared values, beliefs and attitudes that impart a high level of cultural and linguistic unity’.

In a similar vein a ‘nation’ as a concept is also defined as “a large group of people sharing (affinities related to) culture, language or history, and inhabiting a particular state or area”. Derivatives of the term that are often used in common and technical parlance include ‘nationality’, ‘nationhood’ ‘nationalism’, ‘national integration’ ‘nationalistic’), ‘nationalize’ (or nationalization’) ‘nation-building’ and ‘national identity’.

The concept of nation differs from that of a State. Nation refers to people, whereas State refers to political structure, a particular form of organisation of people and territory. A State is a geographically delimited entity. It is an area organised into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs.

Members of a nation have a certain closeness which will make them co—operate with each other more willingly than with other people and they desire to be under the same government, and that it should be a government by themselves or portion of themselves exclusively. This aspect is questionable.

A nation implies a common culture, common symbols, and a particular view of the world which is distinct from other world views. What makes a nation different from other cultural groups, however, is that one of the symbols associated with its values and attitude is a particular piece of territory.

Most of the criteria required by a nation to be called as a nation doesn’t exist in India. Its only sometime that the country behaves like a nation. There are certain things that are markedly missing as a nation in India. Patriotism is conviction that our country is superior to all others because we were born in it.” This form of conviction is missing in Indian people.

India has all the characteristics of a state, such as a territory over which it has land territory, a permanent resident population, a Government an Organised economy, a Circulation system, coupled with sovereignty, Recognition and of course now an aura that it is able to wield for its population.