Image Credit: The Financial Express
Introduction
This piece throws light on the current challenges in Indian federalism, its roots, and the future course of action to make it regain its fading beauty – a federation dealing with numerous states and boasting of a widespread socio-economic diversity.
Indian federalism is unconventional, and a special exception to the textbook definition of democratic power-sharing, covering miles on a staggering path, having faced several political experiences that have modified its principles in praxis. In nature, the essence of Indian federalism is unique and requires careful interpretation.
Thoroughing the basic norms relating to federalism we find that this form of government symbolizes shared authority between the center and its political units i.e. States. Indian constitution also talks of a multi-level or multi-layered federation that encompasses central, state and local-self-government within its boundaries.
This quasi-federal character of Indian federalism makes it an interesting area to analyze upon. This article will try to track the historical trajectory of Indian federalism, current challenges confronting it and will also try to comment on the health of Indian federalism in a suggestive manner.
Constitutional References to Indian federalism
The major part of the constitution that generates federalistic flavor is the 7th Schedule containing 3 lists, namely – The Union List (complete authority of the union government over the matters listed), State List (discretion is given to state over the subjects) and Concurrent List (both center and state can make laws in which case, if clash arises, the law of center prevails) specifying the area of authority of central and state governments.
Division of power is the essence of the seventh schedule which contains both federal features such as independent judiciary, supremacy of constitution, and bicameralism etc., and unitary features, such as the provision of a single constitution and citizenship. Emergency provisions and a strong constitutional bias, tilt the very nature of Indian federalism towards a unitary-federal one. Indian federalism also differs from other forms of world-democracies in the way that it symbolizes ‘holding together’– a type of federation where states can be thought of as a unit, having a common central authority vested with some-higher degree of power.
Recent decades have seen the pillar of this majestic federalist fort cracking, showcasing a danger not only for national integrity but also the future pathway of our nation. Now, we will look into these pertinent issues that prompt us for course-correction in Indian polity.
Uniting the Diverse All
Well evident from the fact that India covers a considerable diversity in the form of traditions, languages and cultures, she is intrinsically prone towards struggling to strike a balance between political units, a utopia that is in absolute sense, always difficult to achieve in diverse democratic societies with ultra-regionalism since independence. Be it the strong protests from the southern areas of the country when Hindi was declared as the official language in 1965, or the pressing demands for separate states from territorial groups like the agitations of Gorkhaland, Bodoland, and Karbi Anglong. All these instances show how the modern “holding together” is losing its control over the needs and interests of various groups. Here, the center assumes larger responsibility of evolving out agreements with stakeholders through discussions, keeping in mind that their approach, at any time, should not become a threat to the federal character of the nation.
Is the Shared Power Symmetric?
Even the discrete distribution of powers between the center and the state (in the 7th schedule) seems to favor the center, as the major important areas rest under it while the concurrent issues also have an unhealthy feature of being in tandem with the center's will. Article 256 and 257 even allow the center to instruct the state over their matters. This leads to increased centralization, which in turn harms the normative consensual Indian polity. Limited scope of jurisdiction with the state alienates them with the national decision-making. States and local governments have more profound understanding of their issues and thus must be given a reasonable say in programmes curated specifically for them. The Union should not dismantle their right in the name of illusory universality in the backdrop of the large cultural bandwidth of the country.
Need for a fiscal federalism
Article 280 of Indian constitution calls for a specific body – the Finance Commission, whose main responsibility lies in dividing the Central Tax revenues among States based on factors such as demography, ecology, income, distance etc. Many states have challenged the policies of the Finance Commission that provide extra economic help to not-so-good performing states in the form of grants, aids and loans etc. This in essence portrays how their contribution to national economy is meager, yet they have a lion's share in receiving finances. Generally speaking, a higher degree of unevenness exists in revenue sharing. The other important argument put forward is that if financial needs of states vary with respect to their socio-economic conditions, why should the Finance Commission decide their road map? States should be given a say in resource management and allocation in order to respect the democratic mandate given to their governments.
Apart from fiscal federalism, states don't even have symmetric proportionate representation in both chambers of parliament i.e. Lok sabha and Rajya sabha. Uttar Pradesh got a hefty 80 seats while Sikkim, just one. This extreme difference also impacts the amount of assertion each state has in the national political system.
Delayed Delimitation
The Delimitation Commission is given the responsibility of demarcating boundaries to modify the number of seats each State gets on the national level but as the 2021 census has been delayed, so has the process of delimitation. Within delimitation also, southern states are tensed due to their limited population growth as a result of better governance, (proper implementation of population control policies in last 3 decades of the 20th century) as compared to northern states, which will adversely affect the number of seats they get as “population in the constituency” is a major formidable parameter taken into consideration in the process of delimitation.
Governor's Non-Partisanship is Under Question
Starting with the 2016 Arunachal Pradesh issue when despite the presence of a legitimately elected Congress government, the Governor imposed the president's rule which was later revoked by the apex court with a sharp judgmental focus on the role of the Governor in a state, the recent political tussle in Tamil Nadu once again highlights the currently loose threads in the fabric of federalism where M.K. Stalin constantly accuses Governor R.N. Ravi of misusing his power over bills under Article 200 by withholding assent for an indefinite amount of time over issues related to the smooth conduction of governance in the state. Cases linked with prosecution, corruption, TNPSC recruitment vacancies etc. were declined assent by the governor. The Supreme Court had to later intervene in this matter. Being the chief guardian of the constitution, the SC must ensure that at any cost, the Governor must not become a unitary representative in the state forcing central will, and instead should remain confined to their position of a constitutional head. Mandate of the people must be respected and their needs, demands should reach Delhi irrespective of their geographical distance from the capital A seat at the round table for national policy-making must be ensured for all states without any discrimination.
NITI Aayog, formerly the Planning Commission, which conducts surveys and formulates developmental discourse for the nation, should also keep in mind the diverse needs of this subcontinent. Rather than just planning for the top metros, niti (planning, strategy) should also be made comprehensively for the far-flung areas, in discussion with the respective State unit, giving them more financial autonomy in their planning.
Rise of Electoral Religion: Threat to federalism
Diversity poses another serious precariousness to the mutual relationship between the center and state. The current debate in India is over the dangerous rise of ultra-nationalistic feelings which proposes the need of a singular majoritarian identity despite the acceptance of all cultures open heartedly.
The reason behind the central politics of ‘Hindutva’ lies in the ever-existing need of electoral gain and support of majority for political parties. In practice, parties in power try to instill, among their vote-bank, a constant sense of pride which surpasses every other need. Development, employment and infrastructure– all become short against it. Moreover, this electoral religion alienates other cultures, say for instance the religious populations residing in different states, which de-harmonizes the political environment. This also becomes a reason for the strenuous relation between center and state. There is a need for checks and balances to ensure the federal sanctity of the country. The role of the judiciary is to disapprove any slightest practice of cultural imposition of any religion and the unanimous will of the center over state.
Conclusion
Thus, Indian federalism should strive hard to maintain its harmonious character and not focus on just blindly aiming for a nation where only the political will of the center matters. A respectful attitude of center towards state units is necessary for the realistic existence of true federal character.
Rather than just imprinting our values in the constitution, realizing our secular character lies in following those values in practice as well. Overall, it can be said that “Holding together” (in case of the Indian federation) does not include the prefix ‘Forceable’ and should be based on a “hands-on approach” between related political units.
By: Atharv Tomar
The author, in third year, is pursuing Physics Honors from Hindu college, DU. He has keen interest in political sciences and related fields, loves to spend time analyzing prevalent issues in society, and has a special love for debating.
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