Federal features of Indian Constitution

C) features of the Indian polity
The nature of the polity can be understood by examining citizenship, public services, judicial system, emergency provisions, the position of union control in normal times etc.

1) Citizenship: The constitution of India introduced single citizenship like Canada, but there is no separate citizenship of States. All citizens enjoy same rights all over the country irrespective of their birth or place of residence. The other federal states like US, Switzerland and Australia have a dual citizenship i.e national as well as state citizenship.

2) Public Services: In US, federal government and state governments have their own public services. But there is no such division amongst the public officials in India. The majority of the public servants are employed by the states but they administer both the union and State laws which are applicable to their respective States. Our constitution provides for creation of all India services ( IAS, IPS and IFS) which are common to both the union and the states. The members of these services are appointed and trained by the union and their services are intended for both union and State governments. However, they are under the overall supervision and control of union government which infringes on the federal nature of the polity.

3) Judicial System: The Indian Constitution has established an integrated judicial system with the Supreme Court at its apex and the High Courts of the states in below. This single system of courts enforces both the central as well as state laws. On the contrary, in the US, there is a bifurcation of the judiciary in between the federal and state governments. The federal laws are dealt with by Federal courts and state laws are dealt with by State courts.

4) Election Machinery: The election commission in India conducts elections to both central and state legislatures. The election commission is constituted by the president and the states have no say in this matter. In US, the election conducting machineries are separate for both the federal government and states.

5) Emergency Provisions: During the time of emergencies the Federal apparatus will transform into unitary system without any formal amendment to the constitution. Under constitution of India there are three types of emergencies viz national emergency, constitutional or state and financial emergency. While in normal times the union executive gives directions to the states in specified matters, but during emergencies the power of giving directions extends to all matters and the union exercises legislative powers on the subjects of states. The wisdom of the emergency provisions proved at the times of Chinese aggression in 1962 and Pakistan aggression in 1965 by pooling the strength of the whole nation as one.

6) Unitary bias in normal Times:
a) strong centre:- The division of power is in favour of the centre and highly inequitable from the point of view of federalism. The division of powers mentioned in the seventh schedule contains three lists- the union list consists of 100 subjects, the state list consists of 61 subjects and the concurrent list consists of 52 subjects. The residuary powers are given to the centre. In case of any overlap or conflict between Union list and state list it is the central law which prevails over the state law. The centre is given overriding powers over concurrent list.

b) power to make laws on the subjects in state list:-
The Parliament can make laws on subjects of state list under certain circumstances as follows

1) Under article 249, if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution with not less than two third majority, authorising the parliament to make laws on any state subject on the ground that it is expedient or necessary in the national interest, then the parliament can legislate over the subject.
2) Under article 253, the Parliament can make laws even on the subjects in the state list to comply with the International agreements to which India is a party.
3) The union government is empowered to issue directions upon the state governments to ensure due compliance with the legislative and administrative action of the union (article 256-257) and to supersede a state government which refuses to comply with such directions (article 365).

c) Financial Powers: Even during normal circumstances, the centre has very effective financial powers. In the 1st place the revenue generating items are under the control of the central government. Secondly, India adopted planning as an instrument for rapid economic progress and development thus resulting in considerable centralisation of economic decision making. The planning commission appointed by the union government controls and supervises the resource management of the states. Besides, the union government uses its discretion to give grants and loans to the states. This concentration of financial powers in the hands of the union causes irritants in the federal relations.

7) Integrated Audit Machinery: The comptroller and Auditor General of India audits the accounts of both the Union and the state governments and his appointment and removal is in the hands of president. In US, the American comptroller general has no role with respect to the accounts of the states.

8) Role of governors and president's rule: The role of governors is a controversial issue between the centre and the states. The Governor is a office holder appointed by the central government and his actions are viewed as an interference by the centre in the functioning of the state government. One of the most controversial articles in the constitution is article 356 which is to be applied, when a situation arises in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Of course the constitutional validity of the decision to impose president's rule can be subjected to the scrutiny of the judiciary.

III) Need for federalism:
Even before independence, most of our leaders of Nationalist movement were aware that to govern a large country like India, it would be necessary to have a federal system of the constitution. Federalism best suits to the conditions of India, which is a land of continental size with different regional, linguistic and religious diversities. Apart from it the presence of several million indigenous people also necessitates the federal setup. In a democratic polity the people of above mentioned diverse backgrounds have to share power and should govern themselves. At the time of independence there were more than 500 princely states which had to be merged with existing States or newly created States. It also necessitated to frame a federal constitution. Apart from that they also wanted to create a strong centre to stem disintegration and bring about social and political change.

IV) Nature of the Indian federalism:
The word federation is not at all mentioned in the constitution. According to article 1, of our constitution India, that is Bharat, shall be a union of States. Though the constitution is federal in structure the term 'union' is used because of certain advantages. The federal claim of the constitution is criticized by some foreign scholars. K.C.Wheare criticized the constitution of India as "quasifederal" and he further added that" Indian union is unitary state with subsidiary features rather than a federal state with unitary features".

K.Santhanam has also subscribed to the unitary bias of the constitution. He Observed " India has practically functioned as a unitary state though the union and the states have tried to function formally and legally as a federation". However the following political scientists differed with the above opinion. Paul Appleby characterizes the Indian system as "extremely federal". Morris Jones termed it as " bargaining federalism". Ivor Jennings described it as " a federation with strong centralising tendency". He further observed that "the Indian Constitution is mainly federal with unique safeguards for enforcing national unity and growth".

Federalism does not consist of set of fixed principles but it is applied differently to different historical situations. American Federal polity is different from German or Indian federalism. As rightly described by Granville Austin Indian federalism is " cooperative federalism". The striking feature of federalism in India is cooperative relations between the centre and the states.

In 2015, Narendra Modi government took a decision to replace the planning commission by NITI AAYOG. It is also a positive move towards cooperative federalism. The NITI Aayog is closely working with the states to find out solutions to problems of poverty and development in the country. The recent successful implementation of GST, an indirect tax regime is an another best example of cooperative federalism.

V) Factors contributed for the creation of strong centre:
The constitution of India has made provision for strong union government. It was necessary because at the time of framing of the constitution there were centrifugal forces operating in the country. To bring about consolidation of such forces and to bring social and political integration the strong centre was the need of the hour. At the time of independence India was divided into provinces and more than 500 princely states which were needed to be integrated into Indian union. Apart from the problems of integration, India was also confronted with socio-economic diversities which could be best handled by a strong central government.

VI) Operation of federalism since independence:
Mere framework or skeleton framed by the constitution does not explain fully the nature of federalism but it is explained through actual political process which is flesh and blood of it. The foundation of federalism was laid under the leadership of Pt.Jawaharlal Nehru during 1950s and the early 1960s.

During this period the relations between the centre and the states were quite normal and cordial due to the dominance of the congress party both at the centre and in the states. The states felt that the grants in aid from the centre and the policies of socio-economic development of the centre would contribute for the growth in states. Therefore, there was not much stress between the relations of centre and the states.

After 1967, general elections the above scenario changed. Many opposition political parties came to power in large number of states putting an end to the dominance of congress party. This resulted in the strained relations between the centre and the states and gave birth to the demands for greater powers and greater autonomy to the states. The opposition parties felt that the central government was unduely interferring in the governance of the states. Prior to 1967, Article 356 was very sparingly used.

After 1967 it has been often used to dismiss state governments or to use the office of the governor to prevent the majority party or coalition of parties from assuming office. For instance, the central government removed elected governments in AndhraPradesh and Jammu & Kashmir in the decade of 1980. This particular political development gave birth to the concept of autonomy under a federal framework.

Since 1990s, the congress dominance has more or less ended and an era of coalitional politics at the centre has begun. Different political parties, both national and regional have come to power in the states too. This dynamic political development contributed for the greater say of states and wider scope for federalism. The concept of autonomy has become politically potent.

VII) Special Provisions:
The distinguishing feature of indian federalism is the differential treatment of some states due to their social and historical conditions. Most of the special provisions pertain to the North Eastern states. The special provisions are provided under Article 371.

VIII) Special status of Jammu & Kashmir:
Jammu & Kashmir has a special status under Article 370. According to it the concurrence of the state is required for making any laws in matters mentioned in the union and concurrent lists. In the case of other sattes the division of powers automatically applies but in case of J&K the central government has only limited powers giving the state a greater autonomy.

Conclusion:
Federalism is like a rainbow, where each colour is seperate, yet together they make a harmonious pattern. Federalism has to continuously maintain a difficult balance between the centre and the states. No legal or institutional formula can guarantee the smooth functioning of a federal polity. Ultimately, the people and the political process must develop a culture and a set of values and virtues like mutual trust, toleration and a spirit of cooperation. Federalism celebrates both unity as well as diversity. National unity cannot be built by streamlining differences. Such forced unity only generates greater social strife and alienation and tends finally to destroy unity. A responsive polity sensitive to diversities and to the demands for autonomy can alone be the basis of a cooperative federalism.

Previously asked questions:

1) Though the federal principle is dominant in our constitution and the principle is one of its basic features, but it is equally true that federalism under the Indian constitution leans in favour of strong centre, a feature that militates against the concept of strong federalism. Discuss. (Mains 2014)
2) The concept of cooperative federalism has been increasingly emphasised in recent years. Highlight the drawbacks in existing structure and the extent to which cooperative federalism would answer the shortcomings. (Mains 2015)
3) Did the Govt. of India Act lay down a federal constitution. Discuss (mains 2016).
4) Which of the following is not a feature of Indian federalism?
a) There is an independent judiciary in India.
b) Powers have been clearly divided between the centre and the states.
c) The federating units have been given unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha.
d) It is the result of an agreement among the federating units.

( Ans.d)

5) The parliament of India acquire the power to legislate on any item in the State List in the national interest if a resolution to that effect is passed by the

a) Lok Sabha by a simple majority of its total membership.
b) Lok Sabha by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.
c) Rajya Sabha by a simple majority of its total membership.
d) Rajya Sabha by a majority of not less than 2/3rds of its members present and voting.

(ANS. d)

6) Which of the following special powers have been conferred on the Rajya Sabha by the constitution of India?
a) To change the existing territory of a state and to change the name of a state.
b) To pass a resolution empowering the parliament to make laws in the state list and to create one or more all India services.
c) To amend the election procedure of the president and to determine the pension of the president after his/ her retirement.
d) To determine the functions of the Election commission and to determine the number of election commissioners.
(ANS. b)