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Synopsis Most of the fundamental rights available to an individual under the constitution are guaranteed against 'the state' as defined in article 12 of the constitution. Therefore, it is important to know who are the entities against whom an individual has fundamental rights. Also upon the meaning of the term depends the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under article 32 and to an extent of the high courts under article 226. Hence it is of utmost importance to the students of constitutional law and constitutional lawyers to know what the term 'the state' means. This book studies the meaning of the term 'the state' as defined in article 12. It is essentially an analysis of the case law and especially of the cases relating to the scope of the words "any other authority" used in the article. Reference has been made to American cases, books and articles, the reason being that the Indian Supreme Court has extensively referred to such literature in its leading pronouncements.