Indian Fedralism

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context:

The indian constitution may face an unprecedented crisis in 2026 when there will be a dramatic change in the composition of the lok sabha.

Since 1976, seats in the lok sabha have reflected the 1971 census and have not taken into account changes in the population.

Features of federalism:

• As article 1 of the indian constitutionsays, india is a union of states.
• The choice of words is deliberate: it is the several states that, together, make up the indian union.
• Admittedly, unlike in other federations, there is no separate state citizenship or state constitutions.
• However, one need only study the history that led up to the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956, and to subsequent movements for statehood afterwards, to understand that states are distinct associative communities, within the federal structure of the indian union.
• Indeed, in a polity as plural as ours, linguistically, culturally, and ethnicallyit could not be any other way.

Need balance between democratic principle and federal principle:

• The primary reason for 1971 censusfor lok sabha elections has been unequal population growth among states.
• India’s most highly developed and prosperous states have been successful at family planning, while the poorer states continue to expand.
• The freeze was thus a chance to ensure that india’s most successful states are not punished politically for their success.
• Post 2026, when this compact end, there will be a seismic shift in national power towards india’s poorest and most populated states, which is sure to generate much resentment among the states that will lose political and economic power and influence.
• This calls for realignment in the balance between the democratic principle and the federal principlein the indian constitution.

Indian structure:

India’s quasi-federal structure has always been sui generis.

However, other federations (switzerland and belgium come to mind) have adopted other — less extreme — forms of reconciliation.

• Our founders knew that india’s diversity made federalism inevitable, but, fearing fissiparous tendencies among states that had never been a single political unit, they also created a strong centre.
• While history has been chequered, the fears for indian national unity simply on the basis of giving states greater powers have proven to be unfounded and if at all, it has been the other way.
• The 1956 reorganisation of states on linguistic lineswas a popular recognition of federal principles and yet did not result in separatist tendencies.
• Since then, new states within the union have been created in response to the demands of people for greater autonomy.
• In india, any clash between federal principles and democracy will inevitably also have linguistic, religious and cultural implications and may result in new forms of sub-regional chauvinism.
• Thus, there is an urgent need to reimagine our national compactanother freeze will only kick this thorny issue down the road and will continue to perpetuate an increasingly undemocratic set up.

Restructure these elements:

We have the components of such a new balance that need to be fine-tuned to indian realities.

• First, the powers of states vis-à-vis the centre contained in the lists and in the provisions dealing with altering boundaries of states must be increased to assuage the fear of smaller states that they will be dominated by bigger ones.
  • There is no reason to believe that empowering our states would cause national disintegration.
  • On the contrary, more localised decision-making is bound to increase national prosperity.
  • Indeed, this was the entire goal of the creation of panchayat governancethrough the 73rd and 74th amendments to the constitution, whose promise remains unfortunately unrealised.
• Second, the role and compositionof the rajya sabha, our house of states, must be expanded.
  • This would allow smaller states a kind of brake over national majoritarian politics that adversely impact them.
• Third, constitutional change and the change in financial redistributionbetween the states must require the consent of all or nearly all states (the fate of the goods and services tax, or gst, serves as a salutary warning in this regard).
  • Constitutional provisions dealing with language and religion must also be inviolate.
  • If india is a joint venture between majority and minority shareholders, the minority must be protected by a comprehensive list of “consensus items” that require unanimity — or at least, a super-majority — and not simple majority.
• Fourth, serious thought must be given to breaking up the biggest states into smaller units that will not by themselves dominate the national conversation.

Bigger state vs smaller states:

• Having established, thus, that states are important, self-contained units within the indian constitutional scheme, we must turn to an inherent contradiction between the principles of democracy and federalism, when federal units are unequal in size, population and economics.
• This is easy to comprehend. In a democratic set up, all citizens are equal and are thus entitled to equal representation in governance.
• But this would imply that bigger states are likely to dominate the national conversation over smaller states.
• Small states fear that they would get a smaller share of the pie economically, a much reduced say in national issues, and be irrelevant in the political governance of the country.
• In order to assuage this legitimate fear, federal democracieshave incorporated into their governing structures various kinds of compromises to ensure a balance between democratic principles and federal ones.

Conclusion:

Lampedusa’s il gattopardo contains the memorable quote; everything must change for everything to remain the same.

This includes the question of how we are to balance the competing claims of democracy and federalism, in the years to come.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-upcoming-crisis-in-indian-federalism/article35311014.ece

Question: indian constitution exhibits centralising tendencies to maintain unity and integrity of the nation? Comment.