Theories regarding the origin of the State and remarked that no single theory offers an adequate explanation. The State is neither the result of an artificial creation nor can it be said to have originated at a particular period of time.
It is, on the other hand, the product of growth, a slow and steady evolution extending over a long period of time and embracing many elements in its development, prominent among which are kinship, religion, property and the need for self-defence from within and without.
The starting point, however, is the family and the germs of governmental organisation are found in the family discipline. The transition from the family to the State must have been long and chequered. The first distinctively political unit was the tribe.
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In the days of nomadic habit the organisation of the tribe was sufficient to satisfy its needs. But when their travelling days were over, a settled life created new needs of organisation. Once the population was territorially integrated with fixed abodes, their common interests developed and the original kinship tie gave way to a new territorial tie.
The original kinship, in fact, never disappeared. What actually occurred was a fusion of the two principles, kinship and common interests emerging out of the life of togetherness in the shape of territorial kinship on a common land.
But the process of the evolution of the State has not been uniform. Natural, environmental and temperamental differences of the people spread over different areas of the universe presented different conditions under which the State emerged at different times and places.
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As a result of these differences, very different types of States, with various forms and patterns, have co-existed and co-exist even now. It is, however, instructive to mark the following stages through which the State has evolved.