Which of the following statements about nations are correct?
(A) There seems to be no hard conceptual distinction between a nation and other communities.
(B) Any other type of community can one day form a nation.
(C) A religious community can be guaranteed to form a nation.
(D) The criterion closest to distinguishing a nation is language.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A and B only
(A) There seems to be no hard conceptual distinction between a nation and other communities. — Correct. A nation is easy to describe but hard to define. In concept, there is no hard line between a nation and an ethnic, religious or regional community.
(B) Any other type of community can one day form a nation. — Correct. Because no hard line divides them, any of these other types of community can one day form a nation.
(C) A religious community can be guaranteed to form a nation. — Incorrect. The reverse holds: no particular kind of community, a religious one included, can be guaranteed to form a nation. Many religions are shared across nations, yet all Buddhists do not form one nation.
(D) The criterion closest to distinguishing a nation is language. — Incorrect. The criterion that comes closest to distinguishing a nation is the state. Many nations do not share a single language, and one language can be shared across several nations.
NCERT (2026-27): “Communities, Nations and Nation-States … “The criterion that comes closest to distinguishing a nation is the state. Unlike the other kinds of communities mentioned before, nations are communities that have a state of their own. …” |