Which of the following statement is incorrect?

None of the above

The correct answer is Option 4: None of the above.

Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism — Correct. Nation states emerged alongside the rise of nationalism, where people increasingly identified themselves as members of a nation with the right to govern themselves.

The principle of nationalism assumes that any set of people have a right to be free and exercise sovereign power — Correct. Nationalism is based on the idea that people belonging to a nation have the right to self-rule and to exercise sovereign authority.

The practice of colonialism and the principle of nationalism and democratic rights are contradictory — Correct. Colonialism involves foreign rule over another society, whereas nationalism and democratic rights support the people's right to govern themselves. Therefore, the two are fundamentally opposed.

NCERT: If capitalism became the dominant economic system, nation states became the dominant political form. That we all live in nation states and that we all have a nationality or a national citizenship may appear natural to us today. Before the First World War passports were not widely used for international travel, and in most areas few people had one. Societies were, however, not always organised on these lines. Nation state pertains to a particular type of state, characteristic of the modern world. A government has sovereign power within a defined territorial area, and the people are citizens of a single nation. Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism. The principle of nationalism assumes that any set of people have a right to be free and exercise sovereign power. It is an important part of the rise of democratic ideas. .....The practice of colonialism and the principle of nationalism and democratic rights are contradictory. For colonial rule implied foreign rule such as British rule over India. Nationalism implied that the people of India or of any colonised society have an equal right to be sovereign. Indian nationalist leaders were quick to grasp this irony. They declared that freedom or swaraj was their birthright and fought for both political and economic freedom.