Ch 2Federalism

Chapter 2: Federalism

Chapter 1 showed the vertical division of power among different levels of government. This chapter studies that arrangement — federalism — in detail: its features, how India's Constitution creates a federal system, how federalism is actually practised in India, and the third tier of local government.

1. What is Federalism?

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units (states/provinces) of the country. A federation has two levels (or tiers) of government — one for the entire country handling subjects of common national interest, and governments at the state level looking after the day-to-day administration of their state. Both levels enjoy their power independent of the other. (Many federations, like India, also have a third tier — local government.)

Contrast this with a unitary system, which has only one level of government (or sub-units subordinate to the centre); there the central government can pass orders to provincial/local governments. In a federal system the central government cannot order the state government to do something — the state has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the centre.

Dual objectives of federalism: to safeguard and promote the unity of the country, while at the same time accommodating regional diversity. This requires mutual trust and an agreement to live together.

2. Key Features of Federalism

1. There are two or more levels (tiers) of government.
2. Different tiers govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
3. The jurisdictions of the respective tiers are specified in the Constitution, so the existence and authority of each tier is constitutionally guaranteed.
4. The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government; such changes require the consent of both levels.
5. Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution and the powers of different levels of government; the highest court acts as an umpire in disputes between levels of government.
6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.

3. Two Kinds of Federations

4. What Makes India a Federal Country?

The Indian Constitution (though it does not use the word "federation") created a two-tier system — the Union Government and the State governments — later expanded to a third tier of local government (Panchayats and Municipalities). It contains a three-fold distribution of legislative powers:

• Residuary subjects — matters not in any list (e.g. computer software, which came up after the Constitution was made) — can be legislated upon only by the Union Government.
• All states do not have identical powers. Some states enjoy special provisions under Article 371 (e.g. certain north-eastern states such as Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram) to protect the land rights and culture of indigenous peoples.
• Some units are too small to become states — they are Union Territories (e.g. Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, the national capital Delhi). They do not have the full powers of a state; the Central Government has special powers to run them.
• The power-sharing arrangement is hard to change: amendments affecting it need a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament plus ratification by at least half of the state legislatures. The judiciary acts as umpire in centre-state disputes, and Union and State governments have separate powers to levy taxes.

5. How is Federalism Practised in India?

The real success of Indian federalism lies in its democratic politics, not just the constitutional provisions.

(a) Linguistic States

• The creation of linguistic states was the first and a major test for democratic politics in India. From 1947, boundaries of several old states were changed to create new states, so that people speaking the same language lived in the same state (state reorganisation gathered pace from 1953 onwards, e.g. Andhra Pradesh).
• Some states were also created to recognise culture, ethnicity or geography — Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand.
• National leaders initially feared that linguistic states would lead to disintegration, but experience shows they have actually made the country more united and administration easier.

(b) Language Policy

• The Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language, but Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40% of Indians, so safeguards protect other languages.
• Besides Hindi, 22 languages are recognised as Scheduled Languages in the Constitution; candidates may take central government examinations in any of these.
• States have their own official languages, in which much government work takes place.
• The use of English for official purposes continued after 1965 on the demand of non-Hindi-speaking states (especially Tamil Nadu, where the movement took a violent form). The central government agreed to continue English along with Hindi — a flexible approach, unlike Sri Lanka's Sinhala-only policy.

(c) Centre-State Relations

• For a long time, when the same party ruled at the centre and in most states, state governments did not exercise their autonomy; central governments even misused the Constitution to dismiss opposition-ruled state governments.
• After 1990 came the era of coalition governments at the centre and the rise of regional parties. Since no single party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, national parties had to form alliances with regional parties — leading to a new culture of power-sharing and respect for the autonomy of state governments.
• A major Supreme Court judgement made it difficult for the central government to dismiss state governments arbitrarily. Thus federal power-sharing today is more effective than in the early years after the Constitution came into force.

6. Decentralisation in India (The Third Tier)

Decentralisation means taking power away from Central and State governments and giving it to local government. Why is it needed?

• A vast country like India cannot be run only through two tiers — states are themselves as large as countries of Europe.
• Many issues and problems are best settled at the local level; people have better knowledge of local problems and needs.
• Local government makes direct participation in decision-making possible, which strengthens the habit of democracy — local self-government is the best way to realise democracy.

Before 1992, local bodies existed but were directly under state control, elections were not held regularly, and they had no powers or resources of their own. A major step was taken in 1992, when the Constitution was amended (the 73rd and 74th Amendments) to make the third tier more powerful and effective:

1. It is now constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
2. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and executive heads for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
3. At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women (many states have since raised this to 50%).
4. An independent State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
5. State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local bodies; each state constitutes a State Finance Commission for this (the nature of sharing varies from state to state).

Structure of Local Government

• Rural local government (Panchayati Raj): each village (or group of villages) has a gram panchayat — a council of ward members (panch) and a president (sarpanch), which works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha (all voters of the village, which must meet at least twice or thrice a year to approve the budget and review performance). A few gram panchayats are grouped into a panchayat samiti (block/mandal); all panchayat samitis in a district together form the zilla parishad, whose chairperson is its political head.
• Urban local government: municipalities in towns and municipal corporations in big cities, run by elected representatives; the municipal chairperson heads a municipality, while in a corporation the head is the mayor.

This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy in the world — about 36 lakh elected representatives in panchayats and municipalities, more than any other country. Constitutional status has deepened democracy and increased women's representation and voice.

Limitations

• Gram sabhas are not held regularly in most places; elections too are sometimes delayed.
• Most state governments have been reluctant to transfer significant powers and adequate resources to local governments — so little has been achieved of the real goal of decentralisation.